Introducing new team member Sabina

Hola a todos! I’m Sabina, writing to introduce myself as one of Semilla Nueva’s newest interns. I’m here in Xela for the summer through a Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, and super excited to get started working.

I arrived on Monday, June 4^th, just about a week after graduating with my BA from Hunter College, City University of New York. I studied dance and gender studies, which may at first seem totally unrelated to the work I’ll be doing for Semilla Nueva, but I think that the critical perspectives I’ve gained with regards to race, class, and gender will be invaluable, and definitely inform my approach.

I’ll be working with Anne on Semilla Nueva’s nutrition program. Anne and Crysta just completed the pilot of this program, working with a group of women in Conrado de la Cruz to great success. Building on this momentum, next week we will travel to a new community, San Miguel las Pilas, where we hope to implement the nutrition program with a new group of women. I’ve had some great conversations this week with Semilla Nueva staff about the mission and values of the organization, so I’m really looking forward to seeing these ideals in action.

My other goals for my summer here in Guatemala include: to learn more about progressive, community-focused approaches to development; to learn more about the cultural/political history and climate of Guatemala; to figure out how this experience in Central America informs my identity and experience as a mixed, queer, Latina woman in the U.S.; to improve and gain confidence in my Spanish; to make friends (!); to move outside my comfort zone (whatever that may actually mean); and to support the work of Semilla Nueva in realistic, concrete ways. I’m grateful to all the staff who have already made me feel so welcome and at ease here. I think it’s going to be an exciting and productive couple of months!