HALF WAY!

Hey All

As the title suggests, im at the half way point of my journey. Apologies to all as it has been a while since my last entry. Hopefully this entry will make up for it!

PROYECTO SANITARIO

I just want to thank all those who have donated to the project so far. There have been some very generous donations and as you can see from the donation thermometer above, we are at 530 euro. So just 4470 to go!! Its seems like alot but there are a few table quizes coming up so keep an eye on facebook for details. As for those of you who´d still like to donate personally, just click the donation button below the map of La Cumbre. If you are new to the blog and are wondering what Proyecto Sanitario is all about, just scroll down the page and watch the video.

So now I think maybe a bit about what I have been upto over the last month or so. As you can see from the map above, I am currently working in a very large area called La Cumbre. It is situated above the town of Chiantla, Heuheutenango at an approx height of 3000m! Pretty high alright.

I am currently living in Chiantla with a local family. I live with two new little twin sisters called Vivian and Paulina, their mother Sandra and her friend Sara. They are a very friendly Family who have welcomed me warmly into their home for 5 months.

My general day consists of commuting from Chiantla to work in La Cumbre at 7am. I usually take th local Bus (which is always interesting). To put it simply, the bus drivers are mad! they take risks you and I wouldnt dream of and its better to keep your head down while travelling with them. As some of you may also know, I have recently bought a scrambler and I am very very found of her. The problem with La Cumbre is its size and the various communities are scattered far apart, sometimes 2 to 3 hours by foot!. Bessy has now solved this problem, bless her :)

My work in La Cumbre is quite varied. I work with an organisation over here called "seeds of help" (http://www.seedsofhelp.org/) For the first few weeks I was teaching children and local communities the basics of growing crops and basic english- I have only recently started working with local families in rain water storage tank construction.

Basically, there are 26 families in an area of La Cumbre called Los Angeles!, who need tanks. "Seeds of help" provide all the materials needed for tank construction apart from the sand, which must be provided by each familiy. You´ve heard of Irish time, well its nothing compared to Guatemalan time! Everything here moves at a snails pace and I have to say it is a little frustrating sometimes. This being the case, it took longer than usual for the families to source the sand required. Once each family had the materials needed, "seeds of help" built two tanks for two of the 26 families (selected by lottery). The aim of this was to teach the families the construction method. Following the constrction of the two tanks, "seeds of help" will provide support and assistance in the construction of the remaining tanks.

I currently work with a local who is also a full time employee of "seeds of help" called Roberto. We have recently completed the construction of one of these tanks. Below is a small video detailing its construction. Hope you enjoy.

I am aslo currently helping a friend near the spanish school I studied in for the first month, raise funds needed to finish the construction of a school for approx 130 children. He is a local Guatemalan and recently visited a christrian group in the USA to try and raise more funds needed. I made a small video for him to help explain to situation, and here it is:

Well thats about it for now. Thanks for reading and again a massive thanks to all those who have donated to Proyecto Sanitario so far. And to all those who havent, for shame!!! just kidding :)

Con cuidado

Chepe