Water Projects Update

From the "be careful what you wish for" files....last Fall, after we moved to the mountains of Guatemala, it took quite a while to get things moving regarding water projects.  Now, there's more going on than we can do, which is a good thing, but has contributed to some tiredness.  What many people don't realize is that when they ask "how long does it take to build a water system for a village?" is that the actual construction is the easiest (and most fun) part of the whole thing.  But it's only the short middle phase in between the planning and engineering on one end and training and operations on the other.  There are lots of opportunities to "go build stuff" or "write a check to build a ____" in the world, but the acts of getting villagers' buy-in on the system layout and then their commitment to maintain it once it's built can take a long time, and it's not the sort of thing that can be done remotely - it involves meetings and relationships and trust.  And sometimes frustration.

But all the sweat and work and often-tiresome meetings pays off a thousand times over when you see a system built and see it working and see villagers take pride in something that they:

1. Had direct input on (not all organizations do that)
2. Worked hard for (not all communities do that), and
3. See as "theirs".

In January, a team of professionals from Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon engineers in Nashville came down to build a water system for the village of Sesalche II, one of the two largest villages in the Valley, with close to 1,000 people.  Their previous water sources were muddy pools in the middle of town and were very polluted with runoff from the market and with the daily chores of washing clothes and bodies in the water supply.  We identified a very high spring that had more than ample flow in it and designed a system to feed essentially the entire village.  It's as good a system as you'll find anywhere.

There are several aspects of this project that are exceptionally rewarding to me.  Having people tell you that they believe this will save their lives is a good feeling.  Working alongside former co-workers and friends is also a very good feeling, as is hearing them say how much they want to be involved in future projects.  Here are a couple of pictures of the project:

This is a group of men moving a 350-pound concrete pila up to a church in the middle of town, they have since constructed a house around the pila and use it many times a day.  Sometimes, during construction, we had as many as 50 men at a time working with us.

I just thought this little guy was cute.  When I walked up, he and another kid were playing in the pila near their home.  Technically they were wasting water, but my kids play in the sprinkler sometimes too...

We actually do some engineering as well.  This is Kris checking the level of another tank on a different hillside to make sure the two are level.  I mean, what sort of missionaries would we be if we didn't make sure that the hydraulic grade line between two reservoirs maintained a steady hydrostatic pressure, anyway?

This was a trenching crew I'd put up against any mechanized crew in the US.  The first four guys were digging a trench, the next two were placing the pipe into the trench and the last three were covering the pipe.  They went about 2,000 feet in one afternoon.

My favorite memory of the "work" in Sesalche II.  We routed a waterline from a tank (the one Kris is looking at in the photo above) down to the school, and in the process came across this tiny house in the woods with an elderly woman in it.  Because the most direct line from the tank to the school was literally underneath her porch, I made up some garbage story about how, in exchange for running the line by her house, we needed to add a water spigot at her house (the other sources in Sesalche II were "community" pilas).  This wasn't entirely true, but it just sort of seemed like the right thing to do, so for the first time in 80 years this woman can get water at her house, rather than walking 1/2 hour in mud down to a polluted spring.

We have other projects going on right now - a couple of them very large.  I'll post some good pictures of a water tank we are building in Sesalche I (not adjacent to Sesalche II - go figure) and of some upcoming projects in Semesche (the other large community in the Valley) and Sequixpur, where there is enough water in one spring to supply virtually everyone in the Valley with water.  Exciting stuff.

I Think I'll Be a Gypsy

If I could sum up the months of January and February into one word, it would be SUITCASES.  I have packed and unpacked my family more in these two months than I believe I ever have before between our comings and, more often, goings from the valley.  And so, it was a relief to finally make it back to the valley a couple of weeks ago for the long-term.  We were instantly busy visiting communities to talk about water and to teach dental health, and we were glad to finally be home.  So naturally, three nights after we arrived at our home in the valley, we decided to take a family trip to the ancient ruins of Tikal in the Peten region of Guatemala (why not pack up the suitcases again??)!  I’m beginning to think that I’ve found my true calling in life…gypsy.

Our family trip began as most do: with a child who threw up and a Visa card that was denied at the car rental company (“We placed a stop on your card because we noticed unusual activity in the country of Guatemala.”  “For the ten-thousandth time:  WE LIVE HERE!!”).  But, we made it into the truck before noon and were off!  Here in Guatemala, the journey to your destination can be almost as exciting, if not more, than the destination itself.  We were stopped at several military check-points where scary looking guys with automatic weapons over their shoulders stuck their heads in the car and turned out to be very friendly when all was said and done.  We found out that my husband has a very hard time seeing speed bumps that are unmarked, and we are all recovering from a massive case of whiplash even now.  We also discovered that in order to get to Tikal from Coban, you need to cross a teeny river in a tiny town by ferry.  As you can see in the picture below, we even got to ride this ferry with a gas truck!  This concerned our youngest child, Ben, but we are happy to report that all parties made it across safely.  After only a couple of speed bumps more, we arrived at Tikal.

 

The ancient city of Tikal is found smack-dab in the middle of undisturbed jungle.  It is one of the most beautiful and most frightening places I’ve seen in my life.  Our hotel, appropriately called the Jungle Inn, was located right in the heart of this jungle, and the beds had mosquito nets and spiders that were uncomfortably large.  There were howler monkeys in the trees along with spider monkeys, and I also saw, for the first time in the wild, a Toucan.  As luck would have it, there are also lots of animals of the serpent variety in Tikal, and I happened to be the only one who saw these beastly things ( 2 in fact).  I think this is because I was the one looking out for them the most.  I saw more species of birds and wildlife than I ever have or probably ever will see again in the wild.

You can, Toucan!

A Spider Monkey swinging down to take a look

Our bungalow

All these things pale in comparison, however, with the main attractions in Tikal: The Pyramids!  There is a unique feeling that comes over you when you climb a pyramid that you know was built by hand 1500 years ago, and we got the opportunity to climb several of these structures before our day was done in the park.  It was also priceless to see the look on Cata’s face, a descendant of the Mayan Empire, as she climbed the pyramids that her forefathers built.  My children, because they are Star Wars aficionados, discovered shortly before we went to Tikal that the rebel base in A New Hope was filmed in Tikal.  Therefore, their favorite structure was pyramid 4 where you could look out and picture the Star Wars battleships landing at the base at the end of a long day (look for it the next time you watch A New Hope).  My favorite place was sitting just below an ancient throne and looking out at The Grand Plaza as the sun was beginning to set.  To say the least, we are counting what we learned at Tikal as a field trip of a lifetime for our boys and at least 1 week’s worth of homeschooling (we’re getting kinda liberal on what we call school).  The experience was more than what I can put into words.

Picture Star Wars ships landing here

Three good-looking kiddos in their happy place

Great shot of a temple through the jungle

The Grand Plaza

The Jaguar Temple

Cata standing where her forefathers once stood

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and it was time for us to get back to the valley and the projects that are in full swing here.  We bumped our way back through the Peten and even found a Pizza Hut on the way which tasted like a slice of our home in the States.  And when we finally made it back, we found the sight of the bodega and our home here in the valley to be a sweet and inviting one.  Perhaps I’m not destined to be a gypsy after all, but it sure is fun to pretend sometimes J.