The mural Kids
& Dogs mural we painted in Parramos last week was just one part in something
that hopefully will become a substantial educational programme about (street)
dogs. People in Guatemala have of course always had animals. But more and more
rural communities are turning into urban centres and that requires a new attitude
towards pets and domestic animals. Parramos is one of those towns were dozens if
not hundreds of stray animals wander the streets, surviving on garbage, suffering
hard lives and forming a nuisance for its human habitants. A few local women
have taken on this huge task of taking care of them and are doing their best to
have as many of these stray animals spay and neutered. But they can’t do it
alone, neither is it just their responsibility.
With the
organization I volunteer for, Unidos Para los Aninales, we have developed an
activity book for children with lots of information and tips on how to take
care of your dog, especially aimed at a Guatemalan target group with limited resources.
But we can
do more. So I returned to Parramos to teach a workshop for eleven children age
7-11. Also participating in the workshop were Lupita, Griselda and another dog,
all three of them live at the Municipality of Parramos. The children learned
about who’s responsibility it is to take care of street dogs (everybody’s!),
why sterilization and vaccination is so important and what food is good for
dogs. The children got to classify some food samples (beneficial/poisonous) and
after the activity the “good” food was shared with the dogs who were
surprisingly uninterested!
Then it was
time to paint. Each participant made a poster with a cat or dog. Some of them
made two! It was such a fun morning, the kids didn’t want it to end. Of course,
each child received a copy of our activity book Cómo Cuidar a mi Chucho.
Hopefully to be repeated!
Many thanks
to Amada from Parramos for setting this up and helping during the workshop, and
the Municipality of Parramos for providing the space and PR. Especially thanks to Colour4Kids for sponsoring this project.
