Dustin's Habitat Adventures: Day 4 Sick But Not Dead

Imagine there's just been an earthquake and you come home to find that your house has been completely destroyed. You have nothing. No belongings. No food. No sense of home. Your just out in the streets trying to figure out what your going to do next. The Red Cross comes by and gives you a tent. Its raining outside. Your wet, tired, homeless and hungry. You persevere and put up your tent. It's so humid and hot you can barely stand to spend a minute in it. You keep fighting everyday, hoping just to have a home again. A dry and safe place for you and your family. Your put in a temporary settlement and your told you will just be there 6 months. Your new temporary home is even hotter inside than the tent. It's covered entirely with steel sheets and acts as an oven as the sun's ray make contact. Imagine that no further help comes and this tin can becomes your permanent home for the next 12 years. Welcome to the life of an environmental refuge in Santiago de Maria.

I was suppose to arrive in Santiago de Maria yesterday, but I became extremely sick and had to go to the hospital. After some rest and strong medicine, I'm back on my feet. Today I arrived in Santiago de Maria. In 2001, there were two very large earthquakes in El Salvador. Santiago de Maria was one part that was hit extremely hard. Aid came, but some people never received the help they were promised. They were moved into a temporary settlement with the notion that they would only be there for 6 months. Its been 12 years now.

There are 4 separate settlements and I went to the largest settlement today. It has about 200 families. They were very kind to me. I was invited into their homes. I was told stories, concerns and hopes. I learned a lot about them and their struggle. But even though they had struggled so much, they were proud, steadfast and extremely hopeful. I found their strength to be highly inspirational. Once Winston Churchill gave a speech at a college graduation and it contained only three sentences. He stood in front of a group of new graduates and said, “Never give up,” three times and then sat back down. These kind, loving and strong people truly understand the meaning of never give up.

One of their biggest hopes is to move into a permanent home. Every person I met said that. They complained of the intense heat, the water leaking in their homes and the health problems that comes from living in such conditions. Grey water is all throughout the settlement. There are no drainage systems. There's not enough fresh water. 5 families or roughly 30 people share a bathroom. No one would ever want to live in such conditions. If you were living in those conditions and someone gave a little money to help you get a permanent home, you would appreciate that person so much. That person would be your personal hero.

The Building Dreams Project, run by Habitat for Humanity El Salvador, is going to make these people's dreams come true. The land is ready and all that is needed is to raise funds to build the houses and the community. This project is going to cost about $6 million and will provide houses for 400 families. There are homes in Charlotte that cost $6 million and one family lives there. These people are living in such horrible conditions. They deserve better. They need our support.

Habitat El Salvador will be providing holistic housing solutions and will be making sure that they are a resilient community. Holistic housing solutions means that they will help provide housing, financial education, community development and economic development. Habitat El Salvador is not just going to build the new community and say goodbye. They're going to make sure that the community is successful. That the community has a social structure and management team. That they have a basic understanding of how to save money and build wealth. That they have greater economic opportunity. Resilient community means that the community will be prepared in the event of a disaster. Habitat homes in El Salvador are designed to withstand earthquakes, but other things might need attention if disaster strikes. For example, how to fix the infrastructure and repair roofs. The Building Dreams project has been designed to make dreams come true, but its also been designed to be sustainable and realistic as well.

Will you help me spread the word about the environmental refugees of Santiago de Maria? I hope you will. Today I saw an 8 year child doing gang hand signals and I bet his mother really hopes you will too.

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
1 John 3:17

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person’s suffering and bring that person joy.”

Thich Nhat Hanh