"My cup of coffee may be small, but it's mine" I read this quote in Spanish in the back fender of an old truck this morning on our way to visit some of the 20 families. Later, I remembered this quote after meeting a remarkable ice-cream man who had received a concrete floor thanks to the donations made to Project Genesis.
Our first stop was the home of Israel and Clarissa. They have 4 boys and 1 girl. Israel works as a farmer and Clarissa is a house wife. We built a concrete floor for this family because their former Adobe home had been destroyed by an earthquake. Clarissa pulls out a tin a can to show me a picture of the damage the earthquake had done to their former home (see pic below). Guatemalan authorities had promised Israel and his family a new home but help never came. Several years later, they are still attempting to rebuild their home and lives. Clarissa expressed her gratitude by sharing what having a concrete floor means to her; she says now her children are less prone to illness because their is less moisture in their home. Dirt floor homes accumulate a lot of moisture particularly in rainy seasons. She and her husband wanted to thank everyone in the US who donated to Project Genesis. Below is a picture of her old house damaged by the earthquake. Neighbors helped build them a new block home and Project Genesis helped build a concrete floor. Cement was still a bit wet but we took a picture anyway.
The next home belonged to Placido and his wife Rubi. The have 4 boys and 1 girl. Both Placido and Ruby were very pleasant and polite people. Before I even had a chance to begin a conversation Placido looked at me and said "thank you for giving us part of our dignity back; having a concrete floor may not be much to some, but to me and my family it means having a home that feels like a home. It may not be much, but it's ours". His comment made me think of the quote I had seen earlier on the fender of the old truck. His wife Rubi added that having people help them made them want to help themselves even more and improve their lives. I could feel the honesty and motivation radiating from this family. They took so much pride in their new floor that Placido had painted part of it red where the colors would divide the living room from the bedroom and kitchen as seen below.
Not only did Placido take pride in his home, he also took pride in his job as an ice-cream man. Actually, he even made his own ice-cream. He walked us through the process and gave us a coconut ice-cream bar to sample. It was delicious.
On the way out his property I saw his father-in-law chopping wood. It looked easy enough....I didn't think aiming at a piece of wood could be so hard, but I'm here to tell you: it's not about brute strength as I thought, it's about technique. Live and learn.
Sometimes simply listening to a family share their experiences and not trying to solve and figure things out is best. The human experience of empathy went a long way the next family. Julia lives with her husband Abelino and 6 other relatives and family members. Her teen daughter, Gladys, has Downs Sydrome. When we showed up she was using her all-purpose wash station to do her family's laundry. Thanks to donations made to Project Genesis, Julia does not have to wash down by the river near her home where it is difficult for her to watch her special needs daughter.
Listening and watching Julia share her story was difficult but always a sacred privilege. Her husband and son are chronic alcoholics. Everyday they drink excessively and on some days both husband and son physically abuse Julia. Throughout her story she would show me a different scar and throughout her story I would stare through her just enough to regain my composure. A difficult life to bear for Mrs Julia. You will be in my thoughts.
The next home belonged to Catalina and Manolo. They have 1 boy and 1 girl. Manolo was away farming his land when we showed up to take pictures of their new concrete floor. Catalina expressed her gratitude to the donors of Project Genesis for giving her children a concrete floor where they can play and walk barefoot without getting their feet dirty.
Maria and her husband Alejandro received an all-purpose wash station thanks to Project Genesis. Alejandro is a farmer. María and her husband have 7 children. She is grateful for her wash station because washing down at the river causes her severe back pain from being hunched over. She took us to the place where she used to do her laundry (see pic below). Then showed us her new wash station and expressed her gratitude for the donors living in the US.
Last family for today was Fernando and Elidica and their 3 boys and 3 girls. Last year, I had delivered Christmas gift bags to their children. This year, thanks to donations made to Project Genesis, they received an all-purpose wash station. During my conversation with Fernando he was secretive about most of my questions and referred to himself as a business man. I left it at that and asked his wife if she found the wash station useful. She said it saved her long trips to the river for water because she could store water in the wash station. This made it convenient for her to do laundry and wash dishes.
Thank you all for keeping up with my blog. Have a good day.
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