Hand Up

What does a white lab named Thistle have to do with environmental refugees in El Salvador? Well, a lot actually. I got home from El Salvador a week ago. It was an amazing journey that gave me a new outlook on life. I examined the lives of a group of people who are living in horrible conditions. Habitat for Humanity El Salvador did a great job of taking me around and translating for me. I can't give them enough thanks for all their help and support. I came home inspired though rather than depressed. The environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria have been through so much, but they refuse to quit and are actually extremely positive. They tackle life with such joy and an internal strength that few could match. I worked long hours while in El Salvador so when I got home I took three days off to regain my strength. I was happily welcomed by my dog Thistle who I rescued a year and a half ago.

Thistle was a rescue dog who was a little shy and super kind. She had been neglected by her previous owners who had left her in a crate in the closet. But with time and a loving home, Thistle opened up and the love just poured out. She was so happy to live somewhere where she was safe and treated well. Everyone loved Thistle. One of my neighbors would even let her sleep in their bed when I was out of town. Thistle had a sweet spirit that made people just melt. She always had a smile on her face and when I walked her people would instantly get a smile on their face when they saw her. There's no doubt that Thistle was living in heaven. She even had an international reach. I would show people in El Salvador her picture and their face would light up.

The environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria have been neglected, but once we help them get out of their current living conditions, they're going to light up our world just as Thistle did. Their going to make this world a better place. When we pay attention to our surroundings, we see that we can have an impact on the present and the future. Our actions are the one thing that we have a lot of power over. We can make a choice to have an active role in the prosperity of the world. When someone is living in sub-human conditions, it's our responsibility to help out and give them a chance to thrive!

My three days of relaxation before getting back to work on Thursday were awesome. I felt so humbled and gifted to be living in a nice neighborhood with access to fresh water, tasty food and a well built infrastructure. I spent a lot of time with Thistle. We went on walks, explored the woods and watched a few movies on the couch together. She was really happy. Come Thursday morning at 1am, things took a quick turn for the worst. Unknown to me, Thistle had a tumor and passed away during surgery later in the day. My world was crushed.

Thistle recieved another chance and got to live a year and half longer than she was suppose to. I saved her life and gave her a home where she was loved. She brought joy to many people because of that second chance. We have a chance to offer a hand up to some amazing people who are in need of our love and support. The environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria are going to bring us a lot of joy. Are you ready to change their lives forever?

Day 6 Put To Work And A Visit To The Promise Land

When you see a commercial on TV for people living in terrible conditions, they're always depicted as sad and miserable. I expected to see sad and miserable people when I arrived at the settlement. I saw hardship and pain, but surprisingly, I saw smiles and a fighting spirit that was inspiring rather than depressing. You can't help but respect and love these people. They're so kind, hardworking and unbeatable.

The environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria lost their homes in 2001. Two very large earthquakes destroyed their homes and wrecked their lives. They were put in four different ill-designed and ill-constructed temporary settlements. They were told they would be there just for six months. Its been twelve years and their still there.

Today I got a taste of just how hard they work. At the third settlement today, I asked if I could be of assistance and was put straight to work. I cut coffee tree branches in half to be sold as firewood, carried water and firewood across the settlement and helped make tortillas. The community got a big kick out of my help. They giggled at the sight of a large gringo getting dirty and doing their work. I got a taste of what their lives are like. Some of the work I did is work they do all day every day. Its tough, backbreaking work, yet they do it with a positive attitude.

It started to rain right when we arrived at the fourth and final settlement. We Jumped out of the truck and ran to the nearest shelter. A large stream quickly formed in the alleyway. It was wild to experience the settlement during a storm. I had heard of streams forming and water coming in the house, but today I experienced what it was actually like. Imagine water coming in from the ceiling, walls and floor. That's what its like for these people. It's pretty miserable.

Also today, I got to see the land where the new community will be built. It was a great piece of land that will accommodate 400 families. It had amazing views of two mountains. It was already subdivided with roads and it also has power lines already installed. All that it needs are houses on the lots and families to fill them.

These people, who live in such horrible conditions, are so strong and positive. Their story is sad, but it's inspiring too. At the fourth settlement today I was standing in an ill-constructed shelter with a bunch of bare-footed women and a little boy who were smiling as large at possible at me. Talking about what they do for a living and laughing at how their newest addition to the family has Chinese-looking eyes. Their wet feet were covered with mud as they stood in a puddle in their shelter. Water was coming in the shelter from everywhere. I got to truly understand how much these shelters can suck in the rain, but I also got to see just how awesome these people truly are as well. Every time it rains, think of the environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria.

 The settlement's gatekeeper

 

 Helping cut up firewood to be sold

 This is Karina. She's 22 and has two daughters. She walks an hour to collect firewood at the coffee plantations and then hikes an hour back with a full-load of sticks on her shoulders. Sometimes, her daughters come and help collect wood too.

 This where the Building Dreams project will be built. Four hundred homes will be built here. The land has been subdivided, roads have built and power lines have been installed. All it needs are homes and people.

  Armando is imaging what his house will look like.

Day 5 A Home Is To Family As Dirt Is To A Tree

This morning I went to a housing dedication near Santiago de Maria. For those of you who aren't familiar with Habitat's processes, a housing dedication is when a finished home is presented to the family. Before they started the ceremony, Patty and I walked into the newly finished house to take a look. Patty asked if I would like my picture taken in the house and I said, “Of course!” I went and sat on a concrete table attached to the wall in the family room. A little girl ran up to me. I figured she wanted to get in the picture. Instead she put her finger on the table and lifted it up to show it had just been painted. The fact I was wearing white seersucker shorts didn't help the situation. At least I got to take a part of their house back home with me.

Jorge Monlina, Habitat's Executive Director in El Salvador gave a great analogy in his speech at the dedication. That a home is to a family as dirt is to a tree. You can give a tree an optimal mix of sunlight and water, but if it has no dirt to grow its roots, it's as good as dead. That a family without a home will never yield fruit and give back to society. A family needs a place to grow its roots.

Habitat El Salvador provides the foundation for the family by providing a house. But just as a young tree rooted in the ground needs sunlight and water, a developing family needs skills and knowledge to grow and eventually yield fruit. Through financial education, leadership training, community development and economic development, the developing family grows strong and helps support a healthy eco-system. Habitat El Salvador's holistic housing solutions does this.

After the ceremony ended, the new homeowners of a brand new Habitat house showed me their old house. It was a shelter covered with steel sheets. The inside had a dirt floor and it was extremely hot in there. The grandma and her three granddaughters glowed with happiness and peace. Their standard of living had just skyrocketed. A dirt-floor shack to an earthquake-proof, well-insulated, steel-reinforced Habitat house. This family is moving out of the hell shack and into the house of their dreams.

After saying goodbye to everyone at the ceremony, we headed to Santiago de Maria. We went to a different temporary settlement this time. The previous settlement was built on an old coffee processing plant and many of the shelters had concrete floors. This settlement today was further up the mountain and all the shelters had dirt floors. There were signs of water erosion on the floors in the houses which no doubt was from rainwater flowing down the mountain and into their shelters.

Armando, the community's leader, showed us around. He told us about how people here don't believe that they're going to receive help. He said that us being there helps to renew their hope. That it helps them believe that they just might finally be taken to the promise land. After 12 years of broken promises, its only natural that they are skeptical.

I entered one lady's home and she showed me a very large gap in the roof that lets rainwater in. She took advantage of the problem and started collecting rainwater for washing clothes and such. The stairway leading up to her house would be any mom's worst nightmare. Certainly not the safest environment for a toddler as the stairs looked more like a rock cliff. She's raising three children in the shelter and she was as proud as could be. I asked her if I could take a picture of the food she was cooking and she insisted that she should be in the picture as well.

After touring the shelter, entering homes and talking with its residents, Armando talked about his son. Out of all the kids in the settlement, only his son went to college. He's in his third year and studying business administration. He wakes up at 4:30 in the morning, takes a bus to San Salvador where he attends college and gets back to the community at 8pm. He spends four hours a day on a bus. Armando then talked about how tough the kids are in the settlement. That they could have ten kinds of sicknesses and act like it's nothing. Last he said that it was his hope that the new community be built before he passed, if not for him, for the children.

As we rode home the Habitat El Salvador associates I was with talked about the visit to the settlement. Lindsey, a former Peace Corp field worker who saw intense poverty for 2 years said that she had never seen so many people concentrated in one area that were living in conditions that horrible. Hana, another former Peace Corp field worker gave a great observation by viewing what it must be like for the moms there. Like how am I going to feed my children? How am I going to keep living? What's my son doing while I'm gone? She noted that they just keep fighting and they accept you with smiles and open arms, even thought they've been let down so much. Truly these people deserve better.

I saw two extremes today. I saw a family who was glowing with happiness move into a new home. Their roots planted in the ground and ready to reach new heights. Then I saw a community who is living in conditions that are inhumane. Who's only wish is to have a permanent place to call home, a place that can serve as a strong foundation for greater things. 

This is one of the families who the dedication was for. In El Salvador, when they do a dedication, they do it for multiple families cause they build so many homes. This family was lucky, cause the dedication location was at their house. I got to give them a Bible and the keys to their new house. It was an awesome experience that I'll never forget. 

 The old house

 

Second settlement

Watch your step

 Armando is the man!