And so it begins...

Over spring break (last week), I went on an incredible, fundamentally life-altering trip to Guatemala. Working with volunteers from all over the world and the Gesundheit Institute, we dressed up daily as clowns (stay with me) and spread happiness to orphanages, clinics, nursing homes, and other places in need of emotional up-lifting. It was a fantastic opportunity to use what remains of my diminished Spanish language skills, help people, act ridiculous, wear old outfits from my high school show choir, and meet incredible people.

I am starting this blog because I made a pact with one of my fellow clowns, a doctor from Calgary, CA, that I would post every week if he did the same. So here it is Jeptha, my first blog post! I'm sure yours will be a great read, and I am looking forward to it!

For my first post, I wrote several emails home during my trip describing the experience. I will include a portion of one of these emails from last week. I discussed the humanitarian clown organization (yes they are a thing, I never knew) we worked with down in Guatemala, Las Fabricas de Sonrisas.

"Las Fabricas de Sonrisas means "Factories of Smiles" and is the name of the Guatemalan clown organization that we are volunteering with here. The structure and history of Fabricas is a fascinating one. The group was founded 5 years ago on the belief that humanitarian clowning could bring love, community, and kindness to Guatemala and the world. The organization is highly structured, with a director board and 75 branches across Guatemala. The organization educates "Doctors" (expert humanitarian clowns) in their school every weekend and during the week the clowns go out to spread smiles to individuals severely in need of happiness throughout Guatemala. They never accept money, and are exclusively staffed by volunteers. The organizations educates clowns in their school in "generations" and through their process have developed an organization over 4000 strong throughout Guatemala. The organization has spread to El Salvador and these clowns of kindness are constantly looking for new opportunities. It is incredible to see an organization with a culture of such professionalism and love in the heart of Guatemala. I learned last night that Guatemala has the highest murder rate in the Western Hemisphere. We are discouraged from walking the streets at night. There are only certain, well lit public places that we are told are safe to go. This place has a certain darkness about it, but that darkness is challenged by the forces of love and kindness that I see in Fabricas. These people are so warm and so loving and I believe may hold the power to changing Guatemala. With more and more clowns every generation, Guatemala is becoming a better place,
one smile at a time."

Thank you for reading, and I will see you next week.

Zach