On Tuesday, May 20, we traveled to Panabaj, Guatemala. When we arrived in Panabaj, we were met by the Director of ANADESA in the Parque de la Paz (The Peace Park). Juan, the Director of ANADESA, took us on a tour of Panabaj and told us of the tragedies that Panabaj has faced.
In October 2005, Hurricane Stan caused torrential rainfalls in Panabaj. While sleeping, a side on one of the volcanoes surrounding Panabaj collapsed, causing over 3 meters of mud to cover the tiny town of Panabaj. Many lost their homes, lives, family members. MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) came to Panabaj’s rescue. Since Hurricane Stan, MCC has built 83 new homes in Panabaj. We were fortunate to be able to live in an MCC-built home.
We stayed with families in Panabaj from Tuesday evening through early Sunday morning. I was able to enjoy the first part of my home stay with my family; however, I like several other Bluffton students got sick during this time. Although I was sick, I still did many of the activities, such as cutting fire wood with a machete and building a concrete stove.
Panabaj is located on Lake Atitlan. The lake was absolutely amazing. The water was clear as can be and with the volcanoes next to the lake, the view was breathtaking.
While staying with my host family, I truly realized how lucky I am to have the things that I do, such as: warm showers, a variety of foods, TVs and radios, etc. I will never take these things for granted again.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Sounds great! Our group from EMU just returned from Guate on the 18th of April, 2008. I, along with 4 others did a 2 week service in Panabaj and Tzanchaj same as you guys. Many of us got sick as well while we stayed in host families, because they don't use Agua Pura for cooking, but they are working on changing that since we were the first group for them to host. Curious to hear what host family you stayed with? I stayed with Jose and Concepcion Morales with there 4 kids.
Post a Comment