Day 6: When Two is Actually Four

Franco: Happy Holidays to everyone reading Project HELLO's blog posts. I wanted to apologize for the one day delay in our posts. I will do my best to get everyone up to speed on our work, especially those of you who donated and contributed to our humanitarian efforts in Guatemala. 

There are many impoverished families living here in Sibinal (84 percent of the population). As much as we would like to help every single one of these beautiful families, Project HELLO and Generacion Magnificat have established that we would focus on three types of families: 1) Single parent homes 2) homes where there are physical or mental disabilities/illness and 3) the elderly. 

I would also like to add that our team from the US has NOT been involved in building every concrete floor, roof, stove, all-purpose wash stations or transporting materials. It is unrealistic that we could get 25 homes done in 14 days. However, there is still much work to be done in 10 homes. Some days our team visits families which have received a particular item or items to ensure that they received what they were promised. We also educated the families on the benefits of their new stove or concrete floor. 

In the past, I have also learned the importance of listening to people's stories. Behind each of these 25 families there is a story waiting to be told. As you will see in some of the pictures below, our team does not simply check on the items in each home, we also sit down with the family and if they are willing to share their story it is our honor and privilege to listen. 

The first family today is Doña Garcia. Your donations helped Doña Garcia and her family of seven with a concrete floor. Her husband often leaves for long periods of time to Mexico where he tries to find work in order to feed his family. Every few weeks he comes home, but his earning are barely enough to feed his family. Thanks to your donations, Doña Garcia now has a concrete floor where she is building a new room for her family. Her adobe house was badly damaged by an earthquake in 2013. She told me about the fear her and her family feel every night when they go to bed, unsure if the walls or roof will cave in. When she found out she would be getting a concrete floor, she and her children began working harder and saving for walls and aluminum roof. Again, here is a perfect example of a family doing for themselves as much as they can and not just expecting to receive. 

Second, we visited Don Morales. This man's resilience deeply impacted me. Don Morales was born with his left leg missing. Yet he tries his best to makes ends meet as a merchant selling sugar, rice and beans at the local market. I had heard about Don Morales carrying heavy crates up and down the inclined dirt roads in Sibinal on one leg while using a wood cane to support his missing leg. When he walked into the room of his home to meet us I felt as if I were standing in front of someone I admired even without having ever met them. With your kind donations, Don Morales was afforded a stove. Even though he never married or had children. He has taken the responsibility of taking care of his elderly parents and six of his nephews. You will see pictures of Don Morales, his parents, the stove they are currently using and the new stove your donations purchased (it takes 15 days for the new stove to dry so it is currently not functional). 

Next, we visited the Berduo family. Don Eleazar Berduo and his wife have six children. Thanks to your donations they received a wood burning stove. Don Berduo told us his story as he diligently separated beans out of stalks. He spoke about being a farmer and working his fields but not having enough land to grow food for his family and have enough left over to sell. He talked about traveling to Mexico to find work and doing different jobs around his neighborhood in order to feed his family. Doña Berduo was thankful for her new stove because it meant they would spend less on fire wood. She also mentioned how one of her younger children had burnt his hand on their current stove. Their eldest daughter Anna was thankful she would not have to worry about the smoke getting into her eyes. Below are pictures of what their current stove looks like compared to their new stove purchased with your donations. 

Olivia: This Christmas Eve was 1,000 times different from any Christmas Eve I've ever experienced. The day started out visiting and interviewing families who have already benefited from your donations by receiving a concrete floor or a new stove,  or planchas as they're called here. I thoroughly enjoy the home visits because I get to listen to the families' stories and watch their smiles as they talk about how their new stove or concrete floor benefits their lives. One particular family, Don Eleazar's, stood out to me this morning. One, when we first arrived at his house he was in the process of drying and shelling beans. These were no ordinary beans though - not to me anyway. They were beautiful! They were all different colors: chocolate brown, speckled grey, goldenrod yellow, and a beautiful lavender color! These beans were a simple reminder this Christmas Eve that there is beauty everywhere - even in the little things. 

Don Eleazar's family visit  also stood out to me because of what he and his family had to say. During these home visits, we typically record a video introducing the family, the work that was done to their homes (thanks to your donations),  and give the family the opportunity to share their stories or express their thoughts and feelings about the work done to their homes. These videos typically last 3 - 4 minutes on average. Don Eleazar's lasted close to 15 minutes. It was important for him and his wife to show how this new stove, with its chimney, higher working surface, and controlled fire will help keep his family safer and healthier. Even though my arms were starting to shake from the effort of holding the camera steady for 15 minutes, I'm glad Don Eleazar and his family had the opportunity to speak from the heart.

Along with the morning home visits, eating duck for lunch, and this awesome Christmas/birthday party we had this evening, what made this Christmas Eve the most different from the others was a visit to an extremely impoverished family whose home is nestled in the hillside at the end of a winding trail. There are five children in this home. It's hard to guess their ages on sight. The malnutrition and their behavior makes them seem much younger than they are. The entire family made my heart ache, but one little girl caught my attention. She was very distant for a majority of the visit, that is until I squatted down to her eye level and introduced myself. I said "Me llamo Olivia." My name is Olivia. At first she shook her head as if she didn't believe that was my name. But I smiled and repeated myself, stuck out my hand and said "Mucho gusto." Nice to meet you. That broke the ice. She jumped into my arms with a huge smile and laughed. I wasn't expecting that! I twirled her around and threw her up in the air - she didn't weigh much. I asked her how old she was and her mother said four. What?! Four? This child is the size of a two-year-old and developmentally is nowhere near the milestones of most four-year-olds. I loved playing with her and visiting her family, but in the back of my mind I wondered what will happen to this little girl and her brother and sisters? In a rather horrifying way, it's incredible to see poverty's affect on the world. This isn't what Christmas Eve is normally like, but never before have I been more thankful that I have always had enough food to nourish my body. It just occurred to me that some kids will never know what the word "leftovers" mean when it comes to food. That's one thing that I love about the holidays are the leftovers. Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for reading.

P.S. check out my Facebook page I shared a video of some really cool people singing some Christmas tunes. ;) Feliz Navidad!