We've now spent three days working on houses in an area of Ahuachapan called Los Buenos. The AUMC contingent is working on two houses -- one that is just being started, and one that is essentially complete, but needs a few final touches.
We knew that the house that was going to be started from scratch was going to require lots of digging. Forget the power tools; this was going to be spade work. Figuring that the other house (a) would be easier, and (b) would need a translator, and also knowing that I'm a wuss, I volunteered for the other group.
We (anywhere between about 5 and 9 of us) are working on the house of don Alfredo Rincan. The work so far has been entirely a process of digging up dirt, moving it from point A to point B, then dumping in the appropriate spot. If you've ever helped unload pumpkins, you know the drill. Although definitely physical, it has been made that much easier by the active participation of don Alfredo and some other special helpers that have popped by.
The community is called Los Buenos because many of the people here have the surname Bueno. I understand that there are a total of about 5,000 people living there.
The roads are unpaved and narrow, barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but nobody can afford a car so traffic is not a problem.
There is no running water, in general. Instead, women and girls will go down to a well with a large jug balanced on their heads and bring enough for the day back to a holding tank. This can take several trips. To get running water requires paying both an initial fee to get connected to the water system and a monthly cost to get the actual water.
With no running water, there are no flush toilets. The Rincan family's new house has a toilet, but it is flushed by dumping a pan of water into the bowl. I have not yet encountered what those people without Habitat-built houses have to use.
The Rincan family still cooks outdoors, even with their finished house. This, I understand, is by choice.
But even with all the poverty, there are blessings. Don Alfredo is a pleasant man who works very hard alongside us, and sees our participation with him as a blessing. His wife, Reina, rules over the household (Reina is Spanish for "queen"), does the daily work, but is quick with a smile and a laugh.
Two daughters live at home -- Katy, 15, who wants to go to the university and study to be a nurse... or police. Iris, the youngest, is 8, and while naturally quite shy, was out helping us today in the bucket/pumpkin line, working as hard as anyone. There are four other daughters, two of which we've now met.
We regularly see people walking by as we work. Mothers going to the well or carrying children. Kids. Lots of kids. Every one of them has wide eyes and a beautiful smile.
On Monday, three little boys, Miguel, Roberto, and Miguel, came by to watch. Roberto is a first grader; the Miguels are in second. Perhaps no more than five minutes after they came by, Jack stopped by with his camera. My attempts to use Jack's camera are best not documented, but we were eventually able to get some very good pictures of the kids.
Roberto, the first grader, decided to help us on Monday, and he came back again on Tuesday. He carried his share of the load, quite literally, although he's just not big enough to be able to carry a bucket of dirt by the handle. He complained every time we didn't fill the bucket hard enough, never realizing that it was the adults who preferred lighter loads.
Don Alfredo, dona Reina, and several other adults have told us that we are blessings for being there and helping them. I guess that's true, but these people are themselves blessed. Perhaps not with material goods, but with a joy of life and an ethic for hard work that I can only aspire to. Getting to know them is a blessing to me.
-Stewart
We knew that the house that was going to be started from scratch was going to require lots of digging. Forget the power tools; this was going to be spade work. Figuring that the other house (a) would be easier, and (b) would need a translator, and also knowing that I'm a wuss, I volunteered for the other group.
We (anywhere between about 5 and 9 of us) are working on the house of don Alfredo Rincan. The work so far has been entirely a process of digging up dirt, moving it from point A to point B, then dumping in the appropriate spot. If you've ever helped unload pumpkins, you know the drill. Although definitely physical, it has been made that much easier by the active participation of don Alfredo and some other special helpers that have popped by.
The community is called Los Buenos because many of the people here have the surname Bueno. I understand that there are a total of about 5,000 people living there.
The roads are unpaved and narrow, barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but nobody can afford a car so traffic is not a problem.
There is no running water, in general. Instead, women and girls will go down to a well with a large jug balanced on their heads and bring enough for the day back to a holding tank. This can take several trips. To get running water requires paying both an initial fee to get connected to the water system and a monthly cost to get the actual water.
With no running water, there are no flush toilets. The Rincan family's new house has a toilet, but it is flushed by dumping a pan of water into the bowl. I have not yet encountered what those people without Habitat-built houses have to use.
The Rincan family still cooks outdoors, even with their finished house. This, I understand, is by choice.
But even with all the poverty, there are blessings. Don Alfredo is a pleasant man who works very hard alongside us, and sees our participation with him as a blessing. His wife, Reina, rules over the household (Reina is Spanish for "queen"), does the daily work, but is quick with a smile and a laugh.
Two daughters live at home -- Katy, 15, who wants to go to the university and study to be a nurse... or police. Iris, the youngest, is 8, and while naturally quite shy, was out helping us today in the bucket/pumpkin line, working as hard as anyone. There are four other daughters, two of which we've now met.
We regularly see people walking by as we work. Mothers going to the well or carrying children. Kids. Lots of kids. Every one of them has wide eyes and a beautiful smile.
On Monday, three little boys, Miguel, Roberto, and Miguel, came by to watch. Roberto is a first grader; the Miguels are in second. Perhaps no more than five minutes after they came by, Jack stopped by with his camera. My attempts to use Jack's camera are best not documented, but we were eventually able to get some very good pictures of the kids.
Roberto, the first grader, decided to help us on Monday, and he came back again on Tuesday. He carried his share of the load, quite literally, although he's just not big enough to be able to carry a bucket of dirt by the handle. He complained every time we didn't fill the bucket hard enough, never realizing that it was the adults who preferred lighter loads.
Don Alfredo, dona Reina, and several other adults have told us that we are blessings for being there and helping them. I guess that's true, but these people are themselves blessed. Perhaps not with material goods, but with a joy of life and an ethic for hard work that I can only aspire to. Getting to know them is a blessing to me.
-Stewart
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