Tacachico Water Filters
I think I mentioned this before, but we try to accommodate everyone who wants to go out on a water filter delivery run. It equips them to be better able to deliver the message back home during fundraising
efforts, and it's also a chance to get out of the clinic area and see a
little bit more of the country.
Unfortunately, by Thursday, we were in a little bit of trouble with our delivery schedule. Tuesday morning had not gone as planned, so the members of that group hadn't visited anyone's homes. And the group that was supposed to go out on Wednesday morning didn't, because of the chaos (read the previous post!). Ken spoke with Dr. Mike and got his permission to have not just one, but two makeup delivery sessions on Thursday. This was a big deal, because Thursday was our second and last day in Tacachico, and we didn't want to fall even more behind than we already were.
Here's the morning group heading out, complete with Dr. Mike!
I think everyone always gets a kick out of seeing sister driving the truck.
And... out the gate of the compound!
After lunch, the second group got its chance, with me accompanying as the photographer.
It was a pretty drive. The countryside was nicer than a lot of the other places we drove through, and there was less garbage on the side of the road than on the main highways.
As beautiful as some of the scenery was, it was certainly offset by the poverty of the houses we saw along the side of the road. Occasionally, we spotted newer, nicer houses that wouldn't have looked out of place in Texas, Arizona or New Mexico, but for the most part, that was not the case.
When we reached our destination, it was a whole different level. The flat dirt road was only wide enough to admit one vehicle at a time. A sugar field was on the left, with cow pastures on the right. Between the road and sugar field, there was a deep ditch or small gully, and it was along this gully that the lean-tos or shanties were built. There was a concrete watercourse on the right side, which carried the water that people had been previously drinking before it became too dirty. Now, the people living on this road get their water from a source that is 30 minutes walk away. They go in the morning to fetch the water and carry it back home in urns balanced on their heads.
We had four houses to deliver to and they were all within shouting distance of each other along this road.
The first was a household with a mom and a young daughter. We went through the whole training session before we realized that 92 year old grandpa was inside the shanty. Mom said he had basically been comatose for several weeks and that he was probably near death. Now a picture is worth 1,000 words, but the one thing these photos do not convey is the heat. It was around 94 degrees Fahrenheit air temp, with no AC, no fans and no breeze. And here's the poor old fellow lying on a bed in a metal shack. As you can imagine, the temperature was much higher than 94 inside.
Sister asked if we could go in and pray with him. It was an unexpected moment, but probably the most moving one of the entire week, from my perspective. A chance encounter lead to a group of strangers, young and old, most from a foreign land, gathering around the bedside of a dying man and trying to do the best they could to console him and pray with him as he stepped into eternity. I don't know how many weeks, days or hours he has left, but I hope our prayers helped and that God has mercy on him and all of us at the final hour.
Of course, mom was grateful for the new filter, and poured the first batch of water into it while we were still there. She's using one of the urns I mentioned earlier.
The next house we went to was larger, but made less use of corrugated metal and more use of plastic sheeting for the walls.
Anthony had to help assemble the spigots on the buckets because sister's wrist was weak from a surgery she had done a while back.
We didn't have to do a separate training session for this woman, because she had been watching the first one we did.
The final household had a teenage boy. The mom and one or more sisters were actually at the clinic in Tacachico waiting for their turn with the doctors. I don't know if it can be ascribed to having the handy young lad around, but this house was a little more well-built with some extra amenities. there was a set of concrete steps down the side of the gully. There was a very solid bridge across the creek, and even an outhouse. The walls of the house were completely corrugated metal, and the whole thing seemed more weather-tight.
This kid was also riding his bike five miles one way to and from school every day. Five miles isn't really that bad, but once you consider that he's doing it during the rainy season, on the shoulders of narrow, dangerous roads in a country with a high rate of gang violence, the picture becomes more grim.
I want to thank everyone again who donated for the water filters. I'm hoping these stories and photos can help you understand the stories of the people you're helping with your support!
Unfortunately, by Thursday, we were in a little bit of trouble with our delivery schedule. Tuesday morning had not gone as planned, so the members of that group hadn't visited anyone's homes. And the group that was supposed to go out on Wednesday morning didn't, because of the chaos (read the previous post!). Ken spoke with Dr. Mike and got his permission to have not just one, but two makeup delivery sessions on Thursday. This was a big deal, because Thursday was our second and last day in Tacachico, and we didn't want to fall even more behind than we already were.
Here's the morning group heading out, complete with Dr. Mike!
I think everyone always gets a kick out of seeing sister driving the truck.
And... out the gate of the compound!
After lunch, the second group got its chance, with me accompanying as the photographer.
It was a pretty drive. The countryside was nicer than a lot of the other places we drove through, and there was less garbage on the side of the road than on the main highways.
As beautiful as some of the scenery was, it was certainly offset by the poverty of the houses we saw along the side of the road. Occasionally, we spotted newer, nicer houses that wouldn't have looked out of place in Texas, Arizona or New Mexico, but for the most part, that was not the case.
When we reached our destination, it was a whole different level. The flat dirt road was only wide enough to admit one vehicle at a time. A sugar field was on the left, with cow pastures on the right. Between the road and sugar field, there was a deep ditch or small gully, and it was along this gully that the lean-tos or shanties were built. There was a concrete watercourse on the right side, which carried the water that people had been previously drinking before it became too dirty. Now, the people living on this road get their water from a source that is 30 minutes walk away. They go in the morning to fetch the water and carry it back home in urns balanced on their heads.
While we were there, we saw people bathing in the watercourse, which was sad because that water was so dirty that I wouldn't have even put a foot in it
We had four houses to deliver to and they were all within shouting distance of each other along this road.
The first was a household with a mom and a young daughter. We went through the whole training session before we realized that 92 year old grandpa was inside the shanty. Mom said he had basically been comatose for several weeks and that he was probably near death. Now a picture is worth 1,000 words, but the one thing these photos do not convey is the heat. It was around 94 degrees Fahrenheit air temp, with no AC, no fans and no breeze. And here's the poor old fellow lying on a bed in a metal shack. As you can imagine, the temperature was much higher than 94 inside.
Sister asked if we could go in and pray with him. It was an unexpected moment, but probably the most moving one of the entire week, from my perspective. A chance encounter lead to a group of strangers, young and old, most from a foreign land, gathering around the bedside of a dying man and trying to do the best they could to console him and pray with him as he stepped into eternity. I don't know how many weeks, days or hours he has left, but I hope our prayers helped and that God has mercy on him and all of us at the final hour.
Of course, mom was grateful for the new filter, and poured the first batch of water into it while we were still there. She's using one of the urns I mentioned earlier.
The next house we went to was larger, but made less use of corrugated metal and more use of plastic sheeting for the walls.
Anthony had to help assemble the spigots on the buckets because sister's wrist was weak from a surgery she had done a while back.
We didn't have to do a separate training session for this woman, because she had been watching the first one we did.
The final household had a teenage boy. The mom and one or more sisters were actually at the clinic in Tacachico waiting for their turn with the doctors. I don't know if it can be ascribed to having the handy young lad around, but this house was a little more well-built with some extra amenities. there was a set of concrete steps down the side of the gully. There was a very solid bridge across the creek, and even an outhouse. The walls of the house were completely corrugated metal, and the whole thing seemed more weather-tight.
This kid was also riding his bike five miles one way to and from school every day. Five miles isn't really that bad, but once you consider that he's doing it during the rainy season, on the shoulders of narrow, dangerous roads in a country with a high rate of gang violence, the picture becomes more grim.
I want to thank everyone again who donated for the water filters. I'm hoping these stories and photos can help you understand the stories of the people you're helping with your support!
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