I'm finally getting down to the business of reporting what I have been doing here in Guatemala.
First: A huge thank you to all the wonderful friends who answered the call for donations for the children who attend the hospital in Santiago. I was able to deliver a large duffel bag of baby blankets and clothes, lots of kid's vitamins, crayons, coloring books and other medications as well as yummy chocolate for the staff! The hospital was most appreciative of the thoughtfulness and generosity of all those who donated.
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| LtoR: Lyn Dickey and Karin Bergstresser |
A momentous event happened this past week. Most of you will remember the devastation that occurred in Panabaj after the mudslides that Hurricane Stan caused.
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| Concepción and the remains of her home |
Two of the surviving Panabaj families, Diego and Mercedes and Gregorio and Concepción were built houses in a cooperative venture between The Ayudamos Foundation and Cojolya. They were told then that we would hold title for five years and then the titles would be transferred to their names and they would own the property free and clear. Well, five years sped by and it was time for the property to be turned over to the families. This photo is of the families when the houses were being built, including some of our volunteers.
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| The houses near completion |
This week, Atun (representative of Cojolya) and I spent many hours waiting outside the Muni office with the families, attempting to get the process completed. The first day we waited about five hours and were not able to even get the process started. It was a wonderful day anyway because it seems at some point in the day everyone in Santiago passes by the Muni offices and I was re-acquainted with many friends and had lots of great visits while we were waiting. By the time we actually did get into the office itself, their computers crashed and that was that. We were back the next day as well and the day after that....Finally, the new titles were issued and they were presented to the families.
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| Presenting titles to the families |
The families gifted me with a local painting of Lake Atitlan as well as a beautiful rebosa that they had woven for me. I was also treated to a delightful lunch. Good times!
