Hey all...well, sorry I have not written in months...it seems I forgot I had a blog. Well, not really... but busyness is more like it. Anyhow...I would like to fill you in on some projects that we are doing here in the month of July. We (Mil Palmeras) are hosting two summer teams from the US. During their time here they will be doing several small home projects. I would like to show you the "before" pictures as well as the "after" pictures - once the projects are complete. There are nine projects in all - here are two of the nine.
The people who own these homes are poor - dirt poor. Most have handicaps and some sort of disabilities.
Margarita:
About five years ago she was sitting in her house when a truck plowed through her living room and severely injured her. Leaving her paralyzed from the waist down and with out the use of her (mangled) left arm. She lives in a 10x15 foot house with and son and a daughter. Her kitchen is on the back porch (or where a back porch should be). The kitchen area is 5x10 feet (10 being the width of the house). The bathroom is an outhouse with two thin wood strips for the wheelchair to pull up and in. The shower (no pic) is several sticks in the ground with bean bags sown together for privacy - all that coupled with a open sewage drainage ditch just beyond the bathroom and shower area - that actually floods during rainy season and gets within 5 feet of the house...nice huh?
During this project we are attempting to:
1. Give her a wooden floor for a kitchen area.
2. Replace the roof over the kitchen.
3. Build a walkway/ramp from the kitchen to the bathroom/shower.
4. Build a accessible bathroom and shower for her.
Some pictures:
Kitchen area and roof.
The outhouse with wheelchair boards.
Mario:
Mario was in an auto accident that burned 60% of his body and crushed his legs. He needs a walker or wheelchair to get around. His wife is also mentally handicapped. Their house is leaning about 15 degrees and we are going to try to straighten the house and make it upright. ALSO - they own the piece of property they are on, but have a small problem. Because they are handicapped - and because there was a small space available from their house to the fence - someone "squatted" on that piece of property (becuase they can't defend themselves) and built a house (yes, your read correctly). On each of the 9 projects (six with this first team and three with the 2nd team) I am placing men from the church to be responsible for a house. I just so happen to have a lawyer that wanted to help with this house...so, Lord willing justice will soon be served...AND, their house will be a better place to live.
If you look you can see the house leaning to the left.
Here is another pic - house leaning to the left.
Also...the little house in front before the fence is not theirs!
Will post more pics as the projects are finished!
Thanks for reading!
Marshall
