Los Dias de Servicio en Zacapa, Guatemala: Proyectos

The trip to Zacapa, Guatemala started through my church, St. Michael Catholic Parish, in conjunction with Hearts in Motion (HIM). Approximately, 40 Kentuckians departed from Louisville, KY on July 18 to return on July 27, 2014. The group consisted of 12 from St. Michael and the rest from 4 churches in the Meade County area primarily focused as a high school youth ministry trip with young adults and parents.

We stepped out and embraced three work sites Sunday through Thursday within the state of Zacapa. The three sites varied in their offerings and needs so we divided into groups based on these needs. Some individuals rotated between the sites throughout the week while some individuals stayed primarily at the same site.

The three sites included...

            Volunteer Fire Department where the group worked on removing the debris where stairs had been demolished to replace with new non-deteriorating stairs, and then begin the process of rebuilding the wall and building frames for the stairs. Frames were built with rebar and wire. Youth learned the mechanics of cement making, laying brick, and more.

            Pueblo Modelo, the community in which we delivered food and clothes to on Saturday was our second home. There the group worked on rebar frames for a bathroom on the side of the school, building wooden walls with doors to separate a classroom into two, and playing with the children during their morning break.

           

            Thirdly, the majority of the group worked at the HIM Nutrition Center plus complex. The complex currently has three main buildings which some are still in progress. The first building is the Nutrition Center built of wood. It was in need of weather protectant having not been touched for many years. Therefore, the team varnished the exterior of the building along with the interior open gazebo area which is also exposed to the outside elements. The wood was in such need of protectant that we quickly ran out of varnish and had to patiently wait for more varnish to come in from Guatemala City via one of the Bomberos.

            Behind the Nutrition Center is an orphanage, which officially opened after we left, and they are in the process of building a senior center/living corridors for longer term missionaries. In the middle rests a gazebo/patio area and eventually going down the hill from the gazebo the hopes of a hotel for short term missionaries. To connect all of these buildings, sidewalks are being built with cinder block/rock walls with plants alongside the walks. The team also assisted in cementing slate rock to the cinder block walls, moving dirt, and planting flowers along the sidewalks. One day the team even moved 400 concrete blocks for the actual sidewalks into piles to quicken the contractors lying of the actual sidewalks.

Fotos del Proyecto