Day 2 - #cfcatrip Visiting Santos and Angela´s Home

Day Two of our CFCA Guatemala Awareness Trip started at the St. James Cathedral in Guatemala City. We arrived right after Mass started so we don´t have inside footage of the beautiful transept but here´s a quick video highlighting a few key points.



We stopped at a CFCA Guatemalan sub-project to meet with sponsored families and see first hand how CFCA is providing encouragement and the means for these families to become self-sustaining as they build a path out of poverty.

We were welcomed with open arms and joyous hearts by over 100 families cheering our arrival. All the families love seeing Mr. Bob - Senor Roberto, founder of CFCA.

The goal of today for me was to experience first hand how we, as CFCA sponsors, walk with families on the path out of poverty via sustainable projects and education. We visited two family homes. It was humbling. 

This is my first CFCA trip The need is everywhere, the poverty is grave. It immediately became overwhelming for me (as I am a fixer) but the joy and love shines through stronger than the need - there is not despair in the eyes of the community, there is something stronger that is very hard to explain. There´s a spark in these Mayan eyes - a spark of hope, faith, respect and admiration. 

But then again, it hits me...
So much poverty. And I say this to Bob and he answers "so much hope." 

And I say, "With so much need, how do you make an impact?"  and Bob responds, "One family at a time." 
 
Seeing the sustainable programs in action in the community helped me understand how to see the tree of hope (one family at a time) through the forest of poverty. 

So much hope. So much love. So much respect.

In the first home, the family greeted us at the door with big hugs. The warmth this family expressed for Judy-Anne, Luis (CFCA Guatemalan Communication Liason), Maria (CFCA social worker for this community) and me was overwhelming. The father, Santos, was so proud of his two sponsored daughters, Marta and Ingrid. He very eloquently told us how incredibly talented they are. He was such a proud dad and his daughters and wife lit up as he told us stories about his daughters.

He shared how Marta is a leader in her school and takes care of goats and chickens (purchased with help from CFCA´s sustainable program) to help her family with additional income. Ingrid is shy and very intelligent. She loves going to school and wants to be a teacher.

Angela, the mother, talked about how the family is very active with giving back to the community through CFCA. Maria told me she picked Angela´s family for us to meet with because Angela is so involved with giving back to the community and Santos´ work ethic is well known throughout this area of Guatemala.

Angela shared that our visit was so special to their family that her husband took the day off work in the fields to greet us. He works Monday-Saturday 7a-7p (not including his 20-40 minute commute - walking to the fields). I wanted to ask when he had time to build their home including figuring out how to wire it for electricity - for lights.

Marta gave us a tour of their home that Santos built by himself - tin roof, concrete block basis, cornstalk walls and dirt packed floors. The one same table they have is used for many things but most importantly for Marta to do her homework. They have lights so she can study at night after her chores are finished including watching her younger siblings.

I´ll update this blog with video footage that Judy-Anne and Luis captured (post trip) so you can really see Santos and Angela´s family´s love for each other and CFCA and most importantly, how step-by-step they are walking the path out of poverty.
 

Interested in learning more about CFCA and why I chose to sponsor a child? Here's my story.

While I’m in Guatemala, I’ll be posting recap blogs with video here on this blog and in-the-moment updates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala mission awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my CFCA awareness trip experience via my social channels. 
 

.

Day 1 #cfcatrip - Dile Hola a Guate!

Judy-Anne Goldman, CFCA Multimedia Manager, and I started today at MCI in Kansas City around 3a. A bit blurry eyed from lack of sleep but thankful that the winter storm passed us, here's a brief video kicking off our Guatemala (Guate) adventure.

Our flight from Atlanta to Guate had boarded when we landed in ATL so we dashed to get on it and here's the gorgeous view during our descent into Guatemala City. 

Yes, we went from 10 degrees to 85 degrees in about 6 hours. The CFCA staff met us at the airport along with other sponsors. I think all told there's about 35 sponsors on this trip. We'll be sharing some of their stories throughout our trip and we have a talkative crew so we'll continue sharing stories here for as long as this crew wants. 

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we met with Dave and four generations of family members from his sponsored daughter, Evelyn (more of Dave's story coming in a sponsors´stories compilation post) but here's a pic to show the amazing emotional bond Dave has with Evelyn whom he has been sponsoring for 14 years.  Evelyn's father died when she was two years old and Dave started sponsoring her shortly after. I felt honored to be part of their conversation. To see the mutual love and respect they had for each other. This special bond through sponsorship took my breath away. 

This afternoon we worked out connectivity issues and took in this incredible sunset. 

We have an insanely beautiful sunset video to share but we need to do some post production so we'll post it later. The whole CFCA crew joined Bob and Cristina Hentzen for our first awareness trip dinner where Chico and Brenda, our staff leads, welcomed us with open arms and treated us to a fantastic Guatemalan feast. Mucho gusto!

What I am learning first hand is every sponsor has a very different yet very similar sponsorship story. Different circumstances on why they are sponsoring but how they feel is very much the same. It's the relationship they have with their sponsored child that defines the how - there is a bond that can only be created in a hand up, heart-filled way that is defined by CFCA's mission. 

Say hello to Guate! Buen viaje!

Interested in learning more about CFCA and why I chose to sponsor? Here's my story.

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala mission awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my mission awareness experience via my social channels. 

CFCA Trip - A Little Bit of Info About CFCA

Thanks for giving me some wonderful ideas on what I should share with you while on my CFCA awareness trip to Guatemala. A couple of you asked me to share a little bit more about CFCA, so here's a video highlighting CFCA's founders and a quick financial overview.

This is the CFCA story from the founders themselves:

And you asked about CFCA's financials:

I am very happy to report that 93.7 percent of CFCA's expenses go toward program support. Details on CFCA's 2011 financials are here.

Now back to the big share...

We are going to keep the content under wraps and unfold it through out the trip. Please come back to this blog or follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram. Everything Guatemala trip-related will be tagged with #cfcatrip.

My trip is coming right up on December 26. If you have been on a CFCA awareness trip, please connect with me on Twitter or Facebook. Also, if you have any other questions about CFCA, I'm all ears. 

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my awareness experience via my social channels. 

CFCA Trip - What Do You Want Me To Share During My Trip?

Ok, so you know I'm headed to Guatemala for a mission awareness trip and I want to know what you would like for me to share while I'm there via this blog - the title kinda summarizes that, right?

But first, a little bit about why I'm going to Guatemala...

CFCA is a global non-profit organization headquartered in my hometown - Kansas City, Kansas. CFCA's mission is a passion of mine:

Our mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.

• We provide personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth, aging and their families so they may live with dignity, achieve their desired potential and participate fully in society.
• We invite people of good will to live in daily solidarity with the world’s poor through one-to-one sponsorship.
• We build community by fostering relationships of mutual respect, understanding and support that are culturally diverse, empowering and without religious or other prejudice.

Grounded in the Gospel call to serve the poor, CFCA is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faith traditions to create a worldwide community of compassion and service.

A nonprofit organization (NPO) working with persons of all faith traditions to create a worldwide community of compassion and service - if you know me well, you know this isn't just a passion but a perfect calling for me. 

You can read a bit about why John and I sponsor Angelica, teenager in Guatemala, through CFCA in this blog post.  It has been a dream of ours since we started sponsoring Angelica in 1998 to meet her through one of CFCA's mission awareness trips. The CFCA infographic below is from about a year ago and gives overview answers to common CFCA mission awareness trip questions:

With four kids and two full-time working-out-of-the-home parents we decided to put that dream on permanent hold. I began doing more local volunteering with CFCA including helping with public service announcements and fundraising events.

Last year, I became a member of CFCA's Social Media Advisory Board and was thrilled when CFCA asked me to be their first mission awareness trip social media advocate. I am going to meet Angelica - our sponsored daughter who we have been "talking" with via letters for the last 14 years! This is going to be amazing for me. I honestly don't have the words. And if technology and the local wifi holds up, I'll be sharing it with you in real-time or near real-time.

I'll also be interviewing CFCA staff and families and understanding local CFCA initiatives including micro-lending businesses (which I'm really excited about given my start-up roots).

So now that you have a little background, please let me know what you'd like to hear about and see me do while I'm in Guatemala. Judy-Anne Goldman of CFCA will be with me and we'll have a video camera and laptop in tow so we'll be ready to capture and deliver on your requests. 

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala mission awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my mission awareness experience via my social channels. 

CFCA Trip - Compliation Post: What I Need To Pack for my Guatemala Mission Awareness Trip

So I asked you through this blog,  Facebook and Twitter what three things I should pack for my upcoming CFCA mission awareness trip to Guatemala. You know good advice comes in threes and here's the excellent suggestions I received and am planning to pack:

• Peanut Butter - Angela Robson
• Multi-purpose wet wipes - Kerry Bettenhausen  and Erica McClenny 
• Use your phone to take pictures of any prescription bottles for meds you may take, your passport/travel docs, etc. If you misplace anything or need a prescription, get questioned about a med at customs inspection, etc. it makes things so much easier - Matt Ridings (#lightbulbbrilliant)
• Good shoes - Katelynn G
•  Toilet paper - Veronica
• A small bottle of pure tea tea oil - it works as natural astringent and bug repellant for scratches and bug bites - Kerry Bettenhausen  
• A Camera - Shanxi
• Crafts for the kids - Angela Robson
• Water Purifying Bottles - Erica McClenny (this was a oh-wow, they make those? suggestion for me)
• A sarong wrap - besides being a comfortable skirt, it can be used as quick robe, towel or extra blanket. - Judy-Anne Goldman
• Sunscreen - Veronica
• Liquid bath soap - Judy-Anne Goldman
• A light jacket/sweater for evenings - Katelynn G
• Medicine - Veronica
• Comfortable clothing you can mix and match over several days - Shanxi
• Jake Jacobson is letting me borrow his Garmin Forerunner so I can share with you where I've traveled every day of my trip - Thanks, Jake! - Jake Jacobson
• And my favorite - Matt's Travel Gear Pinterest Board (lots of great ideas for all your travel).

 Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas around question number one! 

I don't leave for Guatemala until December 26th so keep the suggestions coming. My next CFCA post will be question number two as I crowdsource my way to prepping for this wonderful trip.

Find out more about why I'm going to Guatemala on my personal CFCA page.

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala mission awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my mission awareness experience via my social channels. 

CFCA Trip - Three Things I Need To Pack

The next several posts, and a smattering of posts thereafter, are going to be about social media - but not about the industry or my work. I’m switching my lens to social media for social good.

See, I’m going on my first trip to Guatemala with CFCA leaving on December 26, 2013, to meet my family’s sponsored child, Angelica. John and I have been sponsoring her since 1998 – since before any of our kiddos were born.  

This meeting has been a long time in the making! And I’m looking forward to taking y’all along for the festivities but first, I really need your help. Nope, I’m not asking for money to get me to Guatemala. I really need your brain power - your developing country traveling expertise.

I need advice in preparation for this big trip and what better place to ask for advice than my online community?! Via all my social channels, I’ll be asking a developing country trip related question on Tuesday of every week until I leave for Guatemala. By then I hope to be educated through all of you and ready to take on the adventure ahead of me.

And here’s my first question: What are the top three things I must pack and why?

In my upcoming posts, I’m going to be sharing the reasons I’m going; what CFCA is about; what CFCA is planning for me while I’m in Guatemala; and of course, at the end of each week I’ll do a compilation post of the answers to the weekly question.

While I’m in Guatemala, I’ll be posting recap blogs with video here on this blog and in-the-moment updates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram,  and Pinterest. All updates will be tagged with #cfcatrip.

I can’t begin to share with you how excited I am to be going to Guatemala and meeting Angelica. I’m looking forward to learning from all of you.  I appreciate you helping this developing country trip noobie become a developing country trip expert! We have less than six weeks, friends, so get me your answers in the comment section below to Week One’s question: What are the top three things I must pack and why?

Let’s do this!

DISCLOSURE: CFCA is covering my flight and lodging for my Guatemala mission awareness trip in return for me documenting my trip via blog posts and sharing my mission awareness experience via my social channels. 

Big Brands and SoLoMo – WOMMA Summit

Editor's note: This post was originally published on Expion's blog.

Scott Gulbransen, H&R Block‘s Director of Social Business Strategy, and me – Zena Weist, Expion‘s Vice President of Strategy – talked Social, Local and Mobile (SoLoMo) big brand initiatives at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)  Summit in Las Vegas last week.



The presentation started out with highlights from Edison Research‘s latest Social Habit report.  Scott and I shared examples of large brands that are leading the way in social, local and mobile such as Hilton Worldwide, Target, Oreo, AMC Theatres and Charmin. With a lot of self-deprecating humor,  we shared our own social case study of H&R Block which focused on the importance of an executive sponsor, patience – lots of patience, empowering local offices and having measurable key performance indicators that align with business objectives.


It was a unique vantage point talk given I used to run social for H&R Block and Scott is now its social champion. And though we talked about H&R Block and how Expion’s SMMS helps Scott’s team manage and optimize their local social channels, we really got a boost from talking with other brand social leaders and discussing how they are crafting their own paths with SoLoMo. It’s fantastic to see so many passionate souls doing what they do because they love their craft and the ever-shifting dynamics of our space.
Please review our WOMMA presentation in prezi (prezi is just more fun than ppt). All the snazzy prezi moves are all Scott. I realized what a prezi noob I am while I watched him create this prezi. Thanks, Scott!

Scott and I would love to know your thoughts on the deck. Please share comments below. Also, if you haven’t checked out the WOMMA Summit in awhile, we were both really impressed with the content and community vibe. A big social share of the best in breed case studies from leading brands in the industry.