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XELA PAGES GUATEMALAN NEWSLETTER http://www.xelapages.com/ Issue #8, July 28, 1999 Current Subscriber - 712 ============================================== Copyright 1999 By Tom Lingenfelter -- Xela Pages NOTE: This Newsletter is sent to subscribers, friends, and business associates. This is NOT UCE or SPAM everyone on this list has contacted me in the past or subscribed to this newsletter. Xela Pages will NEVER provide its subscriber list to ANYONE. We respect
the privacy of our readers. If you
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Please, if you have been to Guatemala or any other Central American country and would like to share your experiences with other Xela Pages readers send your stroy to: mailto:articles@trafficman.com I am getting a little tired of reading my own words and I am sure you all would like to hear from others as well. So, no matter how big or small your story please send them to me and I will make you famous by publishing your story online!! ***************************************
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There are 33 banks in Guatemala of all different sizes and rankings. As would be expected the largest and strongest pay the least amount of interest, while the smaller, lower ranked banks are paying higher rates. I have placed a list of the banks that have web sites under the Business Resource link on my web site Xela Pages Travel Guide http://www.xelapages.com. You can also find the banking laws of Guatemala in Spanish. Some risks to consider before investing: 1. Financial Security - NO FDIC Insurance in Guatemala, however, each bank within the Guatemala banking system must contribute .33 cents of every Quetzal invested into a central fund. This fund can then be used if or when a member bank has a financial challenge. I am told that to date, Guatemala has not had a bank failure. There have been banks in trouble but typically a larger bank or maybe a foreign bank has stepped in and bought the troubled institution. 2. Currency risk - The exchange rate of the US$ to GTQ (Guatemalan Quetzal) has been steadily rising over the last 2 years. When I first arrived in March 1998 the rate was around $1.00US = Q6.25. Now the rate is edging past Q7.35 and looking only higher. This is not a bad thing before you change your money into Quetzals to invest or if you are just traveling through. However, if you invest your money in Quetzals and then in the future want to change your Quetzals back into US $ you need to consider what you will have to pay for the $$'s in the future. At the rate we are going it will be more than Q7.35 to $1US. 3. Tax Consequences - I don't have the foggiest idea what your personal
tax situation is, nor do I want to know. But when investing taxes
are always an issue.
I spent a few days walking around town talking to the banks. I
tried to hit a cross sections of banks so you can see the differences in
rates. Most banks told me these rates are negotiable and all the
banks said the more money you invest and the longer you keep your money
in the bank, the more they will negotiate! Rank is based on a
*Note: All accounts based in Quetzals must pay a 10% VAT (value-added
tax) on the interest they earn. Therefore, you have to subtract 10% of
your interest to get the real rate of return. All quoted rates are
Quetzal Based Accounts Banks Rank Minimum Rates Banco Industrial
1
Q3,000 9% to 14%
Dollar based accounts: You can find US Dollar based accounts in some banks at this time. Most banks use a US bank in Miami to offer this service to their clients. Some use banks in the Bahamas, Bermuda…etc as well. You do not have to pay Guatemalan's VAT on the US Dollars that you earn in most of these accounts. Again these accounts are "Plazo Fijo" or Time Deposits (CD's) US Dollar Accounts Minimum Rates Westrust Bank
$5,000 4.75% to 6.75%
As with all investments there are a risks and rewards. If you plan on living or retiring in Guatemala and you have some investment money, bring it with you. With very little money you can earn enough from CD investments to provide for a comfortable lifestyle and if you have a pension along with that you can live like a King! This is just a brief idea of banking in Guatemala. For more information email me your questions and I will see what I can do. Tom Lingenfelter
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Editor's Note: On July 14th, 1999 the Rio Dulce region, which is located on the Carribeen Coast of Guatemala, experienced a large earthquake. While there was damage in the Rio Dulce region, as you will see below, Quetzaltenango and the majority of Guatemala was uneffected. This note is not meant to take away from the damage experienced by those in the Rio Dulce region. It is only here help ease your concerns and to let you know that if you are planing a trip to Guatemala this summer this earthquake should not disrupted those plans. Please take a minute and read about Casa Guatemala Orphanage and if you have the resources to help no matter how small a donation I am sure it will be greatly appreciated. If you have specific question about your travel plans email me anytime mailto:tom@xelapages.com ---------------------------------------
Dear Friends, As you may or may not know, Pete and I took Johanna back to Guatemala last week for a holiday. We spent a couple of days in the city, then arrived at Casa Guatemala Rio Dulce on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning at about 8.00 we suffered an earthquake which I think lasted about 15 seconds. It shook the ground, the buildings and obviously the people very violently and was extremely frightening. We have since discovered that it was a quake of 6.1 on the Richter scale whose epicenter was on the Motagua fault about 30 miles (50 km) from Casa Guatemala at Rio Dulce. Miraculously none was killed at CG - there were cuts and bruises, and one volunteer needed 5 stitches in her hand. We were all very upset, but the worst damage was done to the buildings. This is what we saw, and I must stress that this is just what we could see without going into any buildings. Angie will have up-to-date information on what has come to light since we left: Ranchon (where toddlers and all girls sleep) is damaged beyond repair. (Pillar supports broken, concrete floor collapsed, whole structure leaning badly at various angles). This will have to be demolished by experts for safety reasons. Kitchen, dining room and young boys living area is damaged beyond repair. (Pillar supports broken, concrete floor broken at one end and unstable in other areas, boys bathroom on first floor came down into room below.) Will also need demolishing by experts. Angie's house (where visiting groups stayed) is damaged beyond repair. (Pillar supports broken, ground floor collapsed, side of building collapsed, upper floor collapsed and is leaning at 30 degrees). All docks and bridges very badly damaged. Half of clinic dock gone completely and collapsed in another part. Bridge to volunteers' house collapsed in 3 or 4 places. All other docks collapsed in at least one place and are unstable in others due to pillar supports broken. Office and storerooms, older boys living area and teachers' living area and most of school have obvious severe damage but it wasn't clear to us if this was structural so they may be able to be repaired. (Angie will have more up to date info obviously). Bad cracks have opened up in some concrete paths and in the concrete floor of the cancha (basketball court). Cracks have also appeared in the ground in various places. The Kinder building, Volunteers' house, clinic, farm buildings and greenhouses, and "Fernando's house" : we're not sure at the moment what damage has been done to them. Although they are still able to pump well water into the storage tanks the pipes taking water to showers and taps have broken. All sewerage pipes seem to have been smashed. River water system to flush toilets is broken. Generator was still working and providing light at the school. I am sure you appreciate how urgently Casa Guatemala needs money right now, to make safe places for the children to sleep and eat (they are currently staying in the new concrete school building which appeared to be least affected), and to provide clean water and sanitation systems. In the slightly longer term, another area to provide schooling will have to be found or I believe the courts may close the home and split the children up. In addition to the normal running costs for food and gas etc., and the emergency repair costs, they will need plenty of money for proper and safe demolition, and rebuilding of probably three-quarters of the structures. It is so important that we can raise enough money quickly so they are not forced into closure. I have to say that I personally (Rachel) did not cope very well with the situation. I suppose I was in shock and worried about Johanna (we were in Angie's house when it collapsed) but the fact is I was not a lot of use practically. The staff, children and volunteers (including Pete) were brilliant however, and quickly started salvaging food, clothes, bedding etc. They constructed a makeshift tent in the football field for us all to sleep in that night. Temporary cooking arrangements were made in the school and outside and like a miracle lunch (including freshly made tortillas) appeared on time. Angie quickly came over from Backpackers (where they also suffered severe damage) and was very shocked at the situation. We thought for a while that it was just too much for her, that she would give in, but by the next day she was making decisions, organizing salvage work, sending out pleas for help, and borrowing money to start the most urgent repairs on the water system. Incidentally, there were about 8 small aftershocks over the next couple of days which were extremely frightening for everyone, as there was the risk they might bring down the already unstable buildings. These are likely to continue for a couple of weeks apparently. As you appreciate, this is a general letter for everyone we can think of who may be able to help. Some of you have heard or will soon hear something from Angie, but we wanted to tell you about it ourselves too. We came home on Wednesday, as we felt that we can do a lot more to help from here, raising funds and telling people what it was actually like. We have a short video of some of the damage and also photos, which we are happy to send to whoever can use them for fundraising purposes. The full extent of the damage to the orphanage can be seen by going to the orphanage website: http://www.mayaparadise.com/casaguae.htm
For donations in Britain, you can use the account we set up for Hurricane Mitch relief: A/c name: CASA GUATEMALA FUND
Or you can use Casa Guatemala's account in the U.S.: A/c name: CASA GUATEMALA
For more info, specific questions, photos or video, please don't hesitate to contact us on this email address or by phone on 0151 606 0729 (00 44 151 606 0729 from outside UK). Sorry this letter is a bit chaotic but I thought it important to get something out as quickly as possible. Please please please do whatever you can to help. Thank you. With best wishes from Rachel, Pete and Johanna Brown.
These buildings lost: office building and storerooms, "Fernando's house" (used to house visiting groups), teacher's house, one of greenhouses, chicken house roof, three wooden water towers. These buildings not very safe: volunteers' house and employees' living quarters. These buildings OK: new concrete school building, old wooden school building, clinic and Kindergarten. Kindergarten is now being used as the school, and teachers are having to commute in every day (an extra cost to the orphanage). PLEASE SEE PHOTOS and information from Angie on the following website: http://www.mayaparadise.com/cgd.htm Additional information for donations: PLEASE SEND YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
IN CANADA: REG:0863223-03
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Prensa Libre Newspaper - Spanish
Siglo XXI & Siglo News - Spanish/English
Revue Magazine - English
La Hora Newspaper - Spanish
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Have a great trip!! Tom Lingenfelter - Editor
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