Wednesday, 22 July 2009 13:14

Good Neighbors: Characters

"Good Neighbors: Characters" will introduce a staff member from one of the international Good Neighbors offices across the world every other week. This week, GN:C focuses on Lilian Lopez, Manager of the Sponsorship Services Department at our Good Neighbors Guatemala field office, who recently returned from a Good Neighbors conference in Nepal.

Q: How old are you, and where were you raised?
A: I'm twenty years old, and I've lived in Guatemala City my entire life.

Q: What's your educational background?
A: I studied in public schools for the most part. I took English classes as well as stenography classes. In Guatemala, in order to graduate from high school, you need to have a 'major' in mind, so I chose a Bacchalaurates in Business-related Computer Sciences.

I'm currently studying Business Administration at the National University of Guatemala through night classes, and I'm also continuing to study English.

Q: Can you describe your typical day at Good Neighbors Guatemala?
A: The type of work I'm doing at Good Neighbors Guatemala is mostly anything and everything related with Sponsorship Services. Everything from gathering, updating and registering children’s information, case management, coordinating contact between children and their sponsors, to overseeing monetary gifts. I generate the project reports, and once I've collected and collated them all, I can make a general report. I also handle the bulletins for publicity purposes, and I assist the project manager whenever possible.

Q: What made you want to work for Good Neighbors?
A: I always thought that working for Good Neighbors was completely different from other jobs: at GN, you don’t just do work because you need to survive. Instead, you work for the people. You don’t just help people, but you also can change people’s mentalities, and through that you can also help change the world.

I've learned that I'm here to serve, not to be served.

Q: What's your favorite project that you're currently operating in Guatemala?
A: Currently, we have a project site in Guatemala with different programs: Esperanza [a preschool], the [public health] clinic, and the two public schools that we support. The truth is that I don’t really have a favorite project; they’re all different and special. However, I do identify more with the projects where the children benefit directly much more than those projects that indirectly benefit the children.

Q: What's a typical day at Good Neighbors Guatemala like?
A: We basically work on a weekly plan with various activities. Occasionally, the [Guatemala] country director requests a specific task, or we're asked for more information by various Good Neighbors offices. That weekly plan includes a little of what I mentioned before, everything from sponsorship services to cleaning the office. For the most part, though, we tend to focus on sponsorship services and project monitoring.

Q: What message would you like to share with our current and prospective sponsors?
A: My message would be this: Guatemala is characterized not only by its natural beauty, but also by the extreme poverty that afflicts families which is detrimental to children. The children of Guatemala are the most beautiful kids in the world. They have the right to a better future, and it is not right that they are condemned to live in extreme poverty. That is why your collaboration is vitally important for us, to help us improve the world that these children live in and hopefully bridge our way to a better future.