ST. ANDREW DEANERY - When Anne Kraemer was just seven years old, she told her parents that she was going to one day become an archaeologist. Almost 20 years later, a little girl's dream has evolved into her life's work, as Kraemer puts her skills to use to improve the lives of the people of Guatemala.

Growing up in Cincinnati, where her family attended All Saints Parish, Kraemer said, "I fell in love with the ancient Maya temples, pyramids and ruins that I saw in the pages of National Geographic and Archaeology magazine. It was then I decided I had to go to Guatemala and Mexico to see these sites."

COURTESY PHOTO

Anne Kraemer, a graduate of Ursuline Academy, poses with the family she's living with in Guatemala.

She first traveled there in December of 2003 to conduct research for a master's degree in anthropology and returned to spend the summers in Guatemala for the next several years. "I initially came to Guatemala for academic reasons, to do 'field work,'" explained Kraemer. "That quickly changed to 'life work' as I lived and worked among the Kaqchikel and K'iche' Maya."

"The Maya people of Guatemala are some of the kindest, most gentle and humble people I have ever met," she said. "Often I will be welcomed into a very poor, humble home. Yet, every time, they offer me coffee and bread or other foods when I know they can barely afford food for their own family. They are warm, friendly people who love their children dearly and keep their family close. One thing I love the most about the people here is their humor, their smiles and hearty laughs. Life can be so hard but, at times, it is better to sit on the porch, talk about the weather, share stories, smile or make jokes."

Kraemer is currently spending the year in Guatemala conducting additional research as part of a Fulbright Student Fellowship. Her goal is to make life better for the people by improving non-profit organizations and U.S. policy to the country through increased understanding of its population. "My focus for this year is development work on behalf of the local communities in which we wish to serve," she explained. "After spending many years on and off in Guatemala, I have heard from many community members that mission trips, non-profit groups or Peace Corps projects are not sustainable or do not work because there is too large of a separation between the local communities and those who run the project. Also, I learned there is a lack of accountability for NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and what they do in Guatemala."

There are excellent mission projects, NGOs and Peace Corps projects, and "we should utilize those as the example so we can learn to value the input of the local community," Kraemer continued. "Just because the people here are poor does not mean they do not know how to survive or do not have ideas about what can change their lives for the better. They have many ideas. They simply lack the networks, connections and educational opportunities that we have been blessed with. This is where NGOs should be. They should be the agents of change working with the local ideas and collaborating with them because, in the end, it is their future, not ours, not the future of an NGO."

The list of needs among those to whom she ministers is endless, said Kraemer. "Overall, the greatest need that I see is the glimpse of hope and opportunity. These are two things that almost all of the poor of Guatemala never have. They are situated as third class citizens, with little to no upward mobility, educational opportunities or the hope that things will change. Of course, they need food, medicine, good and constant health care, vitamins, clothes, school supplies, better education, technology, homes, paved roads, better sanitation, potable water and toys, but all of these come second to hope that the future can be different."

At present, Kraemer is working with two NGO's to bring school supplies, computers and, hopefully, within the next 10 months, a sustainable health clinic to the area. "I want to give these boys hope," she said referring to the students she is trying to help. "I want to them to have hope that they can go to school past sixth grade and to have the knowledge that they are loved and supported, and I will always support their dreams. Many of the people here can't dream about what they want to be in life because they drop out of school in third grade to go to work. Through education, these young boys can have a decision about their future."

Thanks to additional funding, Kraemer will be able to continue her work during the first part of 2008. She then plans to return to the United States to continue working on her doctorate. Yet, she will always return to Guatemala, she said, because "it is not just a place where I have been doing my research. The people are my friends, and many are family. All have deeply impacted me and changed my life forever."