First off, we met with Genésis Empresarial, the MFI we came to Guatemala to partner LC with for subsidized housing through the government. Only took 3 ½ weeks to get that meeting. Then she told us they aren’t working with the government anymore and given the upcoming elections, it would be best to table any projects until no earlier than March 2012. Guess it’s a good thing we’d been working on alternative solutions! Frustrating but given her reaction, anecdotes we’d collected, and the experience of ConstruCasa I'm glad we didn’t start the project only to lose money, be put indefinitely on hold, or have homes constructed 25% and abandoned.
The second objective in our meeting was to discuss Genésis’ willingness to be the Guatemalan partner of a new microfinance fund in the US to benefit LC and later other communities in Guatemala. This was very positively received and we’re looking forward to helping construct the fund when we get back to Nashville.
Wondering when we were ever going to do anything other than work this summer, we decided to join Tyler for a trip to Tikal…that day. Tikal is the largest excavation site in the Americas and home to the largest Mayan city. The driver of our overnight bus to Tikal was apparently unaware that a 70-degree night does not require full heat for 9 hours. We arrived sweating and dazed at 6am in Flores where we jumped on a 1 ½ hour shuttle to the ruins. Enormous temples and stunning views – hard to imagine building them then. At the final temple we climbed had a nearly vertical staircase, with the bottom rails loosely held down by a rope (safety first). This is one of the few times I've had anxiety from heights – what a climb, and then in the rain!
A handful of Shalom board members and the Executive Director gathered in Guatemala for a few days, giving us a chance to share the information we’d collected, the projects in process, and our recommendations thus far. Most exciting was arranging for them to see the homes Un Techo Para Mi País built in Palencia, a town outside of Guatemala City. We hoped this would build momentum for partnering with UTPMP in Las Conchas. Everyone was able to walk through a home at UTPMP’s offices but unfortunately only two were able to make it to the town – sometimes cars just don’t make it up the unpaved mountains!
The next day Mario and I set out in the afternoon to join UTPMP on a weekend build. The task: 50 homes, 3 towns, 2 days, 500 volunteers. For a country with a very limited culture of service, there was an incredible amount of energy to start the work! I don’t think I could have organized a volunteer army of 500 college friends for 2 ½ days of work; very impressive.
The first day we worked hard. The builds include zero power tools because families often live in questionable land situations and may need to take the house apart to move later. That being said, we dug 12 1m-deep holes to secure the pillars that lifted the house. Shovel – iron pole. Level – plastic tube with water. And then secured the floor panels to end the day! A bathing suit and sink shower later we were some of the first to sleep (are we getting old?). The next morning after learning how to play “Ninja” we set off again. We had the walls up before breakfast/brunch and ate with Don Rito, who would receive the home. Then we set about getting the roof up, the windows in and finally the door in place. What an incredible sight to sit on the roof and see the 30 or so sites getting new homes! 
Exhausted but exhilarated from such a hands-on weekend – one that made an immediate difference – Mario and I had a project of our own to be excited about. The power of social media graced us when Shannon posted a blurb about making solar lights (55W equivalent) from soda bottles. It didn’t take long to see the potential for such a project in LC. Kevin from Shalom took care of materials and on Tuesday we arrived ready to experiment. After buying 200Q worth of soda and giving it out to a million kids we worked with two Guatemalan high school kids to cut the lamina, cleaned the bottles, secured with wire, and sealed the bottle in the lamina. The next step: who is going to be willing to let us cut a hole in their roof for the first light? Given that almost no one believed us that the soda bottle was going to be a light, this could have been tricky. Luckily Rudy has workshop and volunteered that we could try in there. Skeptical at first, after installing that light he was ecstatic! The light was as bright as any bulb and clearer than the electrical one he had in place already. A roaring success.
Tomorrow I will spend probably my last day in Las Conchas working on these lights. A young boy talked to Mario while we were building at the school and even though he was skeptical, asked if he could have one at his house. When we found out where he lived it was pure serendipity. The boy lives in a tin home of 12 people including 9 kids. They have no water, no lights, no electricity, and no stove. The mom happened to walk by while we were installing at Rudy’s and after showing her, she told us how happy it would make her to know that her kids could do their homework inside instead of having to go outside, if they did it at all. If nothing else comes out of this summer, I think this light project will give both of us enough comfort that it was not a waste.
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