"HOW WONDERFUL IT IS THAT NOBODY HAS TO WAIT A SINGLE MOMENT BEFORE BEGINNING TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE."

I just read these words at the Rainbow Reading Room, one of my favorite work spots of late in the lovely colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala.

I can think of no better way to begin this letter to you, as I think of all the somebodies I've met over the past few months, people who have so little and yet care so much.

These are people who have decided not to wait a single moment, because there is no time to lose. People like Agustin Cholá of the community on Lake Atitlan called La Esperanza - the Spanish word for Hope.

Agustin Chola rallies the neighbors after Agatha

I met Agustin the day after he, along with his neighbors, had just lost his home to Tropical Storm Agatha. All around him thousands of newly homeless were giving in to desperation as it became increasingly evident that their public officials were clueless and corrupt. But Cholá rallied his neighbors to seize the moment and go after a dream: the idea of creating an ecological park and a community farm where their community once stood, and to seek a loan that will allow them to buy a new parcel of land and begin anew, together, to construct a new Esperanza, one in keeping with ecological design principles.

Then there's Don Francisco Mateo Rocael, the Mayan spiritual and community leader who has helped to organize a movement of more than 600,000 Mayans from around the country in a series of consultas, or plebiscites, unanimously rejecting the presence of transnational mining and hydroelectric companies on their ancestral lands.

Tens of thousands of Mayan mine resisters take back their pyramids at Zaculeu

I interviewed Don Francisco recently as tens of thousands of Mayan villagers gathered recently in Guatemala to share their stories with the world's highest-ranking authority on indigenous law - James Anaya, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights, was traveling through the country on a weeklong fact-finding mission. The tour came in the wake of international condemnation of Goldcorp's handling of the Marlin Mine and calls for its closure by the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights, the Catholic Church, the International Labor Organization and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Rigoberta Menchu.

Anaya ended his preliminary investigation on Friday with a sharply worded message to the Guatemalan government, saying it was in violation of international law, and should suspend mining operations immediately pending further investigation.

Not a word about all of this, apparently, was presented in the English-language media. Not in the New York Times. Not in the Washington Post. Not even in the Huffington Post, except the piece posted by yours truly. My story, now making its way around the blogosphere, is apparently the only English-language coverage of Anaya's historic visit and the multitudinous response.

Making waves in an ocean can be a lonely job, whether you are a community organizer, a Mayan spiritual leader or an independent journalist, and I need your help getting the word out about these and other local heroes and the changes they are making.

I've already built a Facebook following of more than 8,600 readers which has become an active networking site for environmental and community groups throughout the Americas, primarily concentrated in Mexico and Guatemala, where I've spent most of my time. With Facebook, it's easy to target audiences in specific countries or even specific cities. Now, as I prepare to head south to El Salvador and then Nicaragua, I'd like to grow that base in new countries.

Unfortunately it requires advertising to reach out in new places, and advertising costs money. It's a tiny budget compared to the multinational corporations and complacent attitudes we're up against, but it's a budget nonetheless. Since I started in Mexico in January, I've gained some 5,700 followers in Mexico and more than 1,500 in Guatemala. Some are volunteering to help with translations; some are finding out about and volunteering with local action groups. Some are learning about permaculture, urban agriculture and the ecovillage movement; others are turning out for eco-fairs and bicycling events, volunteering to help with post-disaster relief and more.

Meanwhile, I'm producing multimedia materials that can be used by local groups in their fundraising and organizing efforts. I'm broadcasting podcasts in two cities and appearing on radio programs in the places I go. I'm gearing up to make a presentation at the Social Forum of the Americas in August in Paraguay, where tens of thousands of like-minded people will be developing action plans on the conviction that "Another World is Possible."

It seems we are making an impact - but as I prepare to move to the next stage, I need to know I'm not alone. So I'm asking you, dear reader, to pitch in if you can, so that others can find out about the many ways in which they can join the struggle for planetary survival.

I'm not asking for me. I'm asking for Rosa Maria Chan, the former archaeologist who gave up a prestigious post on a UNESCO-recognized site in Guatemala's ancient Mayan kingdom to take over a social-environmental organization that had hit on hard times - because she decided it was more important to work with the modern-day Mayans to help them preserve their way of life and their beloved Peten. I was able to produce a much-needed informational video for her organization.

Martin and Carmina

I'm asking for Martin Toc and Carmina Velasquez, two young evangelical leaders who gave up their jobs to organize a youth movement that would turn their rural town into an ecovillage. I was able to teach them and their group how to set up a blog, and am continuing to work with them on fundraising efforts.

I'm asking for Agustin and the people of La Esperanza, who are counting on me to produce a video and an article they can use as they look for funding in their new venture. I'm asking for the hundreds of thousands of indigenous resisters to transnational companies whose voices are not being transmitted by our national media. I'm asking on behalf of these and many more who are dedicating their lives to the change that needs to happen right now. But I need your support.

Many of you have already contributed, with words of support, by helping to spread the word and by contributing articles, translations or other help. I need for you to keep doing that, and more. Please continue to help spread the word. And please consider making a financial contribution, as well.

You don't have to wait a single moment.

You can make a donation through PayPal on our website, http://theesperanzaproject.org/get-involved, or you can write a check to The Esperanza Project, c/o Audrey Lee, 161 Lovera Blvd., San Antonio, Texas 78212.

Thank you so much for being there.

Yours truly,
Tracy L. Barnett
for
The Esperanza Project