The start of a new year brings the start of a new project =) Along with the other current volunteers, I have organized a construction project in which we will be working with families to make safety and sanitation improvements to their homes in El Porvenir (which translates to "the future").
**Please check out our website for more information on this project and to see how you can help!!
One of the families we are working with lives in an impoverished area of El Porvenir and they don't even have windows or doors on their mud house. We were connected with this family through Pastor Jorge Williams from the church that we use as one of our locations for VAP. We had an extra bed in the volunteer houses and when we decided to donate it, he brought us to this family. They have 6 children living in this small space and they were extremely appreciative to have another bed to share amongst them.
When we met this family, the baby girl was only 9 days old and she didn't have a name. Upon Pastor Jorge's suggestion, they decided to name her Karly Elizabeth. Elizabeth is both the mother's name and the name of one of the other volunteers. She is now just over a month old and is absolutely precious <3
We also donated some toys and clothes to the family and they were thrilled :)
A big part of the Porvenir Construction Project will be building bathrooms... with actual walls though!
This is the style of toilet we will use because it requires very little maintenance and will benefit the families for a long period of time. The hardest work will probably be digging the huge hole that lies beneath it!
We will also potentially build pilas (large sinks/tubs full of clean water for washing, etc.), pour concrete flours, or build furniture--all based on the needs of the families.
At another site, we will be building a couple of bathrooms for several families to share.
This special project is completely funded and organized by the volunteers, but the families will work with us to do the actual construction. We are also getting other community members involved! One of the men in our adult English classes is in charge of the current road construction in El Porvenir and he has offered to volunteer his spare time to work on these projects.
Our goal is to address some of the underlying factors that contribute to health and safety issues, in hopes of improving the lives of our students and their families. If you also feel inspired to help, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our website:
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