The Ripple Effect

Yesterday I help collected rocks with Andres Anay. His house is made of adobe bricks and has water problems in the raining season. He wants to take off and reuse the roof , the floor is dirt but the new walls would be of concrete block and would help a lot. I am noticing that there are a lot of kids with respiratory problems and I suspect two main reasons: damp dirt floors and smoke inside the home. Andres doesn´t make enough money to qualify for a Habitat house and doesn´t have enough land for more animals. He makes $800 a year and has two horses and a foul. With this money he supports 4 kids, a wife, and both his parents. His father is 80 and went with us gathering rocks. We didn´t have to go far off the road, probably 10 minutes, where we loaded rocks onto one mule and one horse. When the animals were loaded we headed down the hill and sometimes Andre carried rocks on his back with the traditional strap around the forehead. For lunch we had one cup of beans and a cup and a half of eggs and chilies with about 20 tortillas. This was divided between 5 people. It rained lightly all day and was cold and the trail was slippery. Three times we lost a load of rocks, one time with the burro bucking across the field. We carried 7 tierras of rock out and he needs 40. Tierra is a pile of material about 3 feet high. Once the rocks are lined up along the road he can hire a truck to bring them home. At night we all had another set of clothes but we were cold and damp. I can not understand how he will build his house. He has saved 5000 quetzales but needs another 10000, which is about 1400 dollars. With the projects I am committed to I can only help out with about $250 but even that is a help. Right now I have not offered anything but I plan to. He is working hard, is responsible to his family, and only has two years of schooling.
I am doing OK. Fighting different bugs. Last night my stomach swelled up incredibly. I had strong exhaust out of both ends. I blamed in on a fruit name wisquil. It taste like a potato and is good in soups but yesterday it was just partially dried and for dinner Andre keep telling me eat eat. I escape with a few in my pocket which probable saved my life. I think I have streach marks. I will be done in Chel and Chajul around March 16th and look forward to a litle more creature comforts. The poverty here is hard for me but this life has be going on for years. Its is becoming more clear each day that I am living with Mayan Indians and not Guatemalans. In Nebaj last week I watched part of a demonstration of 150 Mayans with crosses and coffins and photos of family members they lost in the civil war. The blogspot Mi Mundo just ran a blog on the aniversery of the burning of the spanish embasy with directly affected these people. It is worth viewing.