Archive for NGOs
Follow Up to “Conversation with a Volunteer”
Posted by: | CommentsRead this:
A Cochrane church has begun a special relationship with a community in Guatemala.
A group of teens from the Cochrane Alliance Church returned from a 10-day trip to San Raymundo, Guatemala, on July 15, after helping build homes and lives for impoverished members of a partner church.
“Compared to our other trips and experiences with the students, this was by far the best one,” said Dave Yang, pastor of student ministries at the church.
So far, so good, right?
Then this:
With the help of the church and community, about $70,000 was raised to send the youth mission, and a second group of adults, who leave Aug. 6.
Naturally I’m relieved that the kids had a good trip, and apparently they built a house for a family, but I wondered, “How many children could you feed for $70,000?”
Using the Don Marco Index of Vital Economic Indicators, we discover that a child can eat one meal here for $1. That’s tortillas, rice, beans and an egg or two. Perhaps not my favorite meal, but enough to avoid starvation. At three meals a day, 365 days a year…well, you know where this is going…
You could feed four kids three meals a day from birth to age 18 on $70,000.
You could give 191 kids one meal a day-which might be the difference between starving and not-for a whole year on $70,000.
You could buy enough biosand water filters to provide 20,000 people fresh drinking water for the next 10 years on $70,000.
Or you could send a group of evangelical kids to Guatemala for 10 days. And you could do it twice a year for the next five years and be proud of it.
Welcome to GuateLiving.
Related: Conversation With a Volunteer
Face of Hunger
Posted by: | CommentsI was impatiently waiting for my cappucino and complaining out loud that yet another ‘abundance of bacteria’ report from the lab was going to put my war/famine/disease-proof weight plan at risk when I read this:
they were the last patients of the day… a young little teenage mama and a little bundle wrapped up in her lap which i assumed to be her baby. and to be honest, i look one look at them and thought, “this should be an easy one… another tired new mama with a baby that cries…” however, as sally unwrapped the little one, i was unprepared for what i saw. before us lay a tiny little two week old baby, skin and bones, very dehydrated, that barely had the strength to move, let alone cry or eat.
diagnosing their child with diarrhea, these two young parents had done the only thing they could think of and gone to the local pharmacy and bought up some commonly used adult cold and cough medicine, and another medicine commonly used here for diarrhea. further aggravating the situation, this poor little baby now oozed from all the trauma done to her young stomach. as we searched for a car to take them to the hospital where they would hopefully get the help needed to get their baby better (if the equipment to do so is there) and further exams and labs done, i watched the baby…
continue reading at Walking On
Mas Pollitos
Posted by: | CommentsThey have been a long time coming but our egg laying chickens arrived today! Futuro de los Niños built our gorgeous safety fenced chicken coop (El Coop), adding running water, electricity and all the food and water feeders and today the Mazariegos/Girón family, with donations from their friends, family and co-workers, brought our gorgeous new ladies who will be providing lots of eggs for our kids. Our 50 hens are ready to lay so we hope to have eggs over the weekend. The kids, as well as all of us adults, were so excited that the chickens are finally here. We have food to feed them for the next few months and the hens will be dining on leftovers from our garden as well. Truly these girls are living the life of luxury, floors made of….
continue reading at Semillas de Amor
Guate Vag-O-Thon
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Agape In Action:
Today started off less stressful-ly than I was prepared for, which was good and bad in a way– only 8 total patients came for consults with us, when we were expecting more like 15 or so from what we were told of how many were turned away yesterday! I’m worried that people didn’t bother returning, even though I tried very hard to explain to people in the waiting room in one long “speech” about how we would see everyone that showed up even if it was today or Tuesday… But we just have to continue to trust that God sent those that needed us and do our best to help those that come.
We scheduled three more surgeries today out of clinic, which we were able to mostly get done before we got started in the OR. Then Monica and Tom went up and did a prostate surgery (slightly outside the scope of most general OB/Gyns…) while I finished up clinic, which made starting our vaginal case much less stressful with no one waiting on us. The case– a vaginal hysterectomy with anterior repair, culdoplasty, and perineorrhapy for a complete prolapse for you gynecologic types– or what we often affectionately refer to as a “vag-a-thon” for the others!– went quite well overall but was very challenging. We will pray that she recovers well and doesn’t have her problems recur in the future– her name is Maria.
Our third case today was supposed to be the lady we blogged about yesterday with the ovarian mass and no complaints, but her labwork showed that her hemoglobin (measure of anemia) was at about half the level it should be (7.3) and we needed to get some blood donated for her before we could safely start! The husband’s blood type was not compatible with hers and they only have one son in the area whose blood type they don’t know, so it was looking a little iffy for a while. Then the family members of the first lady we operated on offered to “donate” theirs for her (for a fee, of course… I stayed out of those negotiations!) and we thought we were back in business.
continue reading at Agape In Action
Agua Pura
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the first thing visitors to Guatemala, and much of Central America and Mexico, are likely to read about is the hazard of drinking local water. To put it bluntly, drinking anything other than purified water from a reliable source is a serious ‘no-no’. In fact, polluted water is the primary cause of diarrhea, a leading cause of death in Guatemala and many other poor countries.
Of course, most expats and many locals buy bottled water in the form of 5 gallon jugs, known locally as ‘garifones’. You can buy them in la bodegona or the mercado (or
Simple yet elegant.
at major retailers in the city), and they are delivered by the firms themselves. We have water delivered twice a week at a cost of 10 quetzales (about $1.20) each. We’ve had no epidemics drinking this water, although yours truly has had more than one bout of Ciproflaxin in the last year, probably a reflection of my street eating habits more than the water at home.
Anyway, every now and then the water delivery guys don’t show for a few days, and our potable water source is dangerously low. Sure, you can boil water, but at this altitude it takes a very long time and results in odd-tasting water that is still not definitively pure. Plus, if there were ever a real breakdown in the supply line, we might need a longer-term, independent solution, so I began looking around for alternatives.
There are several options for walter filters, including the local company EcoFiltro, and the globally-known Berkey filter. However, each has a limited life span and is dependent on exotic or manufactured components that might fail or otherwise be difficult to replace, especially in an emergency. That’s why I was so excited when I heard about the BioSand filter, made from natural components and the central focus of a local NGO, Servants for Him.
Here’s how the filter works:
Water is poured into the top of the filter as needed, where a diffuser plate placed above the sand bed dissipates the initial force of the water. Traveling slowly through the sand bed, the water then passes through a bed of prepared sand media and collects in a pipe at the base of the filter. At this point, the water is propelled through plastic piping encased in the concrete exterior and out of the filter for the user to collect.
Each time water is poured into the filter, the filter ‘learns’ about the pathogens in the water and is able to better identify and trap them. When Forrest, from Servants for Him, brought mine over and installed it, he told us it would take a few weeks of daily use for the filter to ‘learn’ enough about our water source, and then offered a much more technical explanation:
When water is poured into the top of the filter, the organic material it is carrying is trapped at the surface of the fine sand, forming a biological layer or “schmutzdecke.” This biological layer matures over one to three weeks, depending on volume of water put through the filter and the amount of nutrients and micro-organisms in the water.
Of course, the only thing that really matters is how effective the filter is. According to a World Health Organization study in Haiti, the filter is 98.5% effective in removing E. Coli (a nasty bug I’ve had intimate experience with). Some data supplied by Servants for Him:
- More than 96% of fecal coliforms
- 100% of protozoa and helminthes
- 50-90% of organic and inorganic toxicants
- Greater that 75% of iron and manganese
- Suspended sediments, in all or part
One of the reasons I love this filter is it has a very long life, a decade or more. It’s simple to operate and difficult to break. Some of the other more modern options have a lifespan of a year or less, or have components that could easily be rendered ineffective by the small children in my house. This concrete filter filled with sand and gravel is heavy and doesn’t attract attention, except the occasional crayon. And, unlike some of the more ‘advanced’ filters, this stuff can deal with really nasty water, so if there were ever a long-term disruption, say perhaps following a severe earthquake, a devastating Hurricane, or some sort of epidemic that disrupted or polluted normal water supplies, I could pour almost anything into this filter and, once it has adapted to the source, I’d have drinkable water. Forrest does recommend that a few drops of bleach might help finish off any of the lingering 1.5% that makes it through.
I haven’t tested it yet but will be comparing it with the water I get from the neighborhood well (many of the gated communities here have their own wells), with city water and the bottled water that is delivered to my house. Stay tuned!
P.S. I know some of you engineer types will want more information so I’m going to include some pictures from the setup process.
WWDMD #3
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the Logans:
So, yesterday morning I found Don Jose. I didn’t recognize his crumpled body slumped in the street. His trademark sombrero was missing from his head. He looked drawn in and his hands were cold to the touch. He had bodily fluids on his shirt and pants. He wouldn’t move.What should I do? I prayed again to God, out loud, surrounded by a group of other drunk Mayans…who I’m sure, were wondering what a Gringo was doing hanging around the bars downtown and showing interest in this sleeping old man. This didn’t feel safe, but I knew I should do something. But Don Jose would not awaken and I looked as confused as I felt.As I turned to walk away God gentled whispered… “What if he were you’re Dad?” “But God, he is not my Dad?” NoDon Jose? Lifted from The Journey
answer. I guess that wasn’t the question. Again… “What if he were your Dad?”
So I picked up his crumpled body and threw him over my shoulder at the protestations of the crowd of drunks. Iwaived down a Tuk-Tuk and brought him to our home. Carried him into our house. I put him in our guest room bed. Heather looked at me as if to say, “Honey, I love you…but now what?” I answered without her asking, “I don’t know what to do next, but I’m acting as if he were my Dad.”5 hours later, after cleaning him up, and keeping him calm, feeding him some eggs and forcing water down him…Itook him to his own home. This time he could walk with his arm around my shoulders. He looked better and alive. And my home only needed to be cleaned from all the fluids that kept spurting from him. My kids acted with love. My wife was a wonderful care-mate with me.As I was walking him home we passed many, many people. The sight of a big gringo walking a little, old, drunkMayan man home drew a mixture of humorous smiles and looks of shock. This job… if done at all, would be done by a family member. A wife, or daughter. But when I brought him to his home, I was greeted by his wife, his sister…daughters, and children with hugs and kisses. So, at least for them…it felt like the right thing to do.Will he be at work today? Will he now stop drinking because he knows his life isn’t hidden from me? I don’t know. But we are praying and he knows that I know now. He knows that I care.
I haven’t been able to deduce from the blog who Don Jose is, so perhaps he is a long-time friend of the family. I have to say this is one case where I would likely take a ‘pass’ on helping the drunk, presumably vomiting man from the street to my home. For one, we already have people in this house who can’t control their bodily functions, two, I don’t know what some drunk is likely to do in my home and/or to my family. The old nuns used to teach (before they gave up their habits and faith for feminism), that the first rule of charity was ‘Do no harm’. I don’t need the Wife or daughter in danger so I can help a guy who’s drinking himself into acoma.
I would be inclined to help a starving child or person in need of emergency medical care, even in my home if that was appropriate. If I were a single guy roaming the country doing good deeds, that would be different. In fact, on some days that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But I think I would draw the line here. Am I just a scaredy cat? WWYD?
P.S. What is it with indigenous people and their drinking? Around the world this seems to be a predictable theme.
It’s For the Children
Posted by: | CommentsLast month I got the opportunity to meet long-time reader, blogger and recent resident of Guatemala Kerry Smith. Kerry blogs at ¿Dónde están mis pantalones? and is working at La Limonada in the capital. Kerry is coming into this opportunity with her eyes wide open and has what I think is a healthy perspective.
La Limonada is a Christian organization that works to take children from the worst slums of the capital and provide them food, clothes, an education, in short, a better life. For you libs, this is real ‘hope and change’, the kind that actually makes a difference in the life of someone who is suffering. Yes, I know some of you won’t want to have anything to do with a Christian organization and believe both the kids and society would be better off had they just been aborted, but they’re here now and these people are doing good things, so….
I want to encourage you to make a tax-deductible donation to support Kerry’s work and the children at La Lemonada by going here. You can click on monthly donation, select the team member (Kerry Smith), and contribute by credit card or check.
God’s Wrath
Posted by: | CommentsKemmel and Lisa share a few stories from their mission work:
Sting-y Church Member Gets Taste of God’s Wrath
In Mactzul V during a church meeting to discuss the upcoming construction of their new church building, the members began pledge their personal funding committments to the work. As they went around the room, each family would anounce how much they planned to give over the next year. They came to one brother (quite wealthy in livestock) who said he felt like nobody should be compelled to give, and that he was not going to do it. The church elders said that was fine, and that it was a free-will offering outside of normal giving. A few days later, a call for help came from the man and his family after they and their livestock had been severely attacked by a colmena–a swarm of honey bees! Two of their bulls had been killed and the whole family was suffering from the stings. Several of the church leaders ran over to help them and took up a collection of Q500 to help pay for their medicine. They family was humbled and ashamed of their prior behavior and immediately asked for forgiveness and offered money to the building fund.Police (or rather, Posse) Blotter
A teenaged girl from the town of Chijtinnimit was kidnapped and left in one of the area garbage dumps one night, arousing fear in that town and surrounding communities. Shortly after midnight, townspeople gathered to decide what to do. The girl was found alive and after further questioning, it was discovered that she had been running around with a man–who was already married. It is hypothesized that the spurned wife ordered the kidnapping. Plans are being made to sort out the trouble between the two families.Plans for Teachers’ Protest Rally Strike Out
Friday morning was kicked off by an early-morning call from our physician Dr. Lux who was planning to travel to Clinica Ezell that day. There were reports of a teachers’ strike on the first day of school–all of the main crossroads in the country were to be blocked in an effort to get their concerns addressed by the government. Among the complaints are the job cuts for thousand of teachers despite growing school censuses and lack of teachers in many communities. As the morning progressed no signs of traffic blockade were seen. Rumors of late-morning initiation began to fly–citing first-day-of-school duties to attend to. The day’s activites went smoothly with no stops in traffic, or rioting. Local papers the following day showed photos of a few lonely maninfesters on the palace steps. Maybe they are afraid to loose their jobs too.
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