Village People

photocrati gallery

A few local people from Quetzali, near San Marcos in the San Pedro district of Guatemala, the tiny village I've just returned from. I was mainly taking pictures of the children who benefit from the local church project sponsored by the american charity, Compassion. As with most strong communities the women seemed to be at its it's heart, cooking, teaching and looking out for the children, most of whom survive in the most basic accommodation with little to eat. The few men I met including the gent in the hat here, worked by the river breaking stones with a sledgehammer and loading them into truck. Proper back-breaking work but they are entertained by the man in the blue shirt who turned out to also be the local clown and showed us a few tricks including this umbrella "illusion".
More about sponsoring children through Compassion here: http://www.compassionuk.org/