Filters
This last week we have
been busy placing Sawyer Water Filters in four communities. The communities chosen all lack a water system
and the families rely on the collection of rain water to supply their potable water needs. Lacking
water tanks or large containers they store water in open pits lined with
plastic. At times the pits do not even have a liner and are no more than a glorified
mud puddle. It was due to this server need that
our Ixil committee voted to carry the filters higher into the mountains
to serve those communities with the greatest need.
We have utilized
almost all forms of transportation to reach our desired destinations. Villages
have mobilized the men to hike out and carry the filters on their backs.
We have loaded mules,
crossed rivers and creeks, climbed up one side of a mountain and down the
other.
Trucks and buses have
been commandeered when there were roads to help us reach the village. Yet at
the end of our journey success was always measured by enjoying a cup of clean
water with a family.
It is always and
adventure to head into the mountains but
even more important than the adventure of the trail is the adventure of sharing
life with these people of vision. Three
of the communities we visited are made up of people who are pushing further
back into the mountains in search of land to farm. The inhabitants did not have
enough land to support their families where they were and are seeking a place
that can support their future. It is challenging to say the least to start a
new life when the resources you have can be carried on your back.
Our guide to the
village of Xecano, Pedro, brought his
wife Maria and youngest child with him. They had been visiting friend and relatives in
Chel. It is a hard hike for me and the men in rubber boots but women negotiate
these trails in a shoe that is no more than a plastic slipper. I enjoyed watching the respect and care Pedro
showed his wife as he helped her through hard spots on the trail. After four
hours of hiking we arived in Xecano where Maria started a fire, cooked lunch and dinner, carried watered
and offered to wash my pants. To say she is a strong women almost belittles the
fact that she will endure so much to secure a place for her family.
While I was there each of the three new
villages brought out an important paper for me to read - a
legal recognition by the government of their right to settle in their new
communities. Lack of schooling, medical care, stores, running water and more
are made more palatable with the right to own and farm their own land.
Our arrival in Horno
Chel brought back an appropriate memory. The last time I visited this house I
was thirsted but the drink they gave me came right back up within a half an
hour. How many days of health do we give when we hand out the gift of pure
water.
By the time we reached
Horno Chel I had learned how to give the simple instructions of how to assemble
and care for the filters in Ixil. Each step forward I make with the language
seems like a milestone. Here everyone is busy assembling their filters.
This young mother is
collecting water from one of the better constructed water tanks. There are mosquito
larva and a worm larva in the water. You can see the larva in my hand here.
We ate lunch in this home one day. I am sittiing on the bed and you are seeing half of the home in this picture. There are nine people who live here. Lunch was tortillas and a chile sauce.
Thankfulness was the key word everday.
Some common water tanks.
200 families like these send a thank you to Miracles in Action, Moorings Presbyterian Church, and The Herod Fondation for the support that made this possible.
THANKS TO ALL
