TROY — When 63-year old Deb Walters visited Guatemala nine years ago, the living conditions she saw were permanently etched in her mind. Unlike some who walk away unaffected, Walters felt compelled to help.
“I visited the Guatemala City garbage dump,” she remembered. “I smelled the methane and the rotten garbage. I felt the choking dust blowing around and saw the vultures circling overhead. I talked with the parents who support their families by scavenging through the garbage to find food, clothing, and items that they can recycle.”
Talking to mothers, she heard their yearning for their children to attend school, “learn to read and have a better future.”
Walters, who is a retired cognitive scientist, said that she has been traveling to Guatemala a few times each year to volunteer with the Maine nonprofit Safe Passage which works with the families and helps children attend school.
“Some children from the dump started school at the age of 12, passed two grades a year, learned English and graduated high school,” said Walters. “The Safe Passage graduates are now earning six times the average wage in the community.”
Walters said that she was so inspired by the success of the children and their families that she wants to share their stories and raise money for the Safe Passage school.
“I began thinking about combining two of my passions—the children in the dump and kayak expeditions,” she said. “I want to paddle from my home in Maine to their home in Guatemala, stopping along the way to share their stories.”
Walters plans to leave Maine by kayak in July and arrive in Guatemala sometime during the next ten months. She plans to travel 10 to 30 miles each day depending upon the weather and will stop ashore each night. Some people along the route who learned of her plans have offered a spare bedroom for a night. (There’s a form on her website for people who would like to host her for a night and another for groups who would like her to speak).
Walters also plans to spend some nights in a tent a supporter donated. A number of businesses have donated equipment, including her kayak. Individuals can sponsor her financially by the mile. She’s also seeking cash contributions from businesses that want a marketing partnership.
“This expedition may sound daunting,” Walters conceded. “But not if you think of it in another way. This is just going out kayaking, camping for a day and a night, and then doing it again, and again, and again—until I get to Guatemala. It’s really very simple.”
For more information, see: www.safepassage.org/expedition.