This is my buddy Gaspar's home. It has been built into the side of the hill. Gaspar and his mother used to live in the Uncles house. However the uncle needed his home back. Gaspar's house is made of discarded pieces of lumber and galvanized sheet metel that has been nailed together. The floor is dirt and when it rains a river of mud runs through his home since the home has been set into a hillside and there is no proper drainage to divert the water from running through his home.
Gaspar has a condition that causes his skin to continuously have blisters all over. The blisters pop and bleed and Gaspar is often in pain. Gaspar, for me, was one of the most inspireing children I have ever met. Here, he and his mother are at their home. Both sporting big smiles. Albert expained that Habitat for Humanity provides homes in Guatemala but that their program does not work in this area because they will only build "Big fancy homes costing $5000." Habitat operates as a low cost mortgage company and these people facing adverse condition simply cannot afford the mortgage on such an expensive home. I thought many times that it would be nice to see Gaspar and his family in a proper home but the problem extends beyond just money. A proper home needs to be on better land or the current land would need to be improved. The project would also need to be overseen.
Gaspar loves to build things. At the school he has built some toys for himself. I believe that these are the only toys he has. I was working on projects for the school and would have Gaspar help me with the hammering and sanding. This was how we became friends. We made an played with airplanes together. Normally shy, he enjoyed running around the school and playing soccer with our children. When he was happy he would do a little jig sometimes. What a triumph of the human spirit.
We really enjoyed the staff at Centro Maya. They seemed to have good relationships and really worked well together. We took this picture of staff and students having fun on s steep hill on the way out to lunch. It could easily be made into one of those motivational posters and labeled "Teamwork".
This is my buddy Gaspar's home. It has been built into the side of the hill. Gaspar and his mother used to live in the Uncles house. However the uncle needed his home back. Gaspar's house is made of discarded pieces of lumber and galvanized sheet metel that has been nailed together. The floor is dirt and when it rains a river of mud runs through his home since the home has been set into a hillside and there is no proper drainage to divert the water from running through his home.
Gaspar has a condition that causes his skin to continuously have blisters all over. The blisters pop and bleed and Gaspar is often in pain. Gaspar, for me, was one of the most inspireing children I have ever met. Here, he and his mother are at their home. Both sporting big smiles. Albert expained that Habitat for Humanity provides homes in Guatemala but that their program does not work in this area because they will only build "Big fancy homes costing $5000." Habitat operates as a low cost mortgage company and these people facing adverse condition simply cannot afford the mortgage on such an expensive home. I thought many times that it would be nice to see Gaspar and his family in a proper home but the problem extends beyond just money. A proper home needs to be on better land or the current land would need to be improved. The project would also need to be overseen.
Gaspar loves to build things. At the school he has built some toys for himself. I believe that these are the only toys he has. I was working on projects for the school and would have Gaspar help me with the hammering and sanding. This was how we became friends. We made an played with airplanes together. Normally shy, he enjoyed running around the school and playing soccer with our children. When he was happy he would do a little jig sometimes. What a triumph of the human spirit.
We really enjoyed the staff at Centro Maya. They seemed to have good relationships and really worked well together. We took this picture of staff and students having fun on s steep hill on the way out to lunch. It could easily be made into one of those motivational posters and labeled "Teamwork".
1 comment:
Rumor has it that with some additional contributions Habitat and others are building a house for Gaspar and his family!!!
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