We’re all just people 

January 10th, 2017

OK, we did it. We survived the first day of building under blazing El Salvadorian sun! Although, we may not ever wake up from the incredibly deep sleeps we’ll have tonight…

It is so incredible to be here with these warm and friendly people, building alongside of them. It’s been so great to see the progression of how well the locals have learned to build the homes over the years. They are totally involved and even leading the building at times. It’s quite something to see that growth – knowing that not just metal houses are being built up here, but also people’s skills and empowerment.

The families nearby the work sites, taking care of the kids and even bringing us juicy watermelons and cookies.

One more wall being assembled before the roof trusses are installed.
Lito (Daniel), Anna Maria, with kids Amediel, Angel and Amilcar. Lito is a bean and corn farmer. They just moved into this immediate area 2 months ago, but just down the hill from where they were living as they were transported for this new house. They’re “incredibly happy and thankful for what they’ve just received”.
Jose, Maria and daughter Rosita. Jose is a farmer and Maria is a tortilla maker, they’ve lived in this remote valley for 50 years. Rosita has two kids, 1 and 3.  Jose, after thanking us for the house, told us he hoped God would bless us more and more. And when we asked them what they hoped God would bless them with they said only for the health of their grandchildren who are currently sick.
Esperanza, Alexander and Rudy. German is the husband and father and currently works out of town. Esperanza said that this new house is providing a dry home for them. They’ll keep the old house as a kitchen. When asked what their biggest hope is they said just that their family would be together more.
Talking to families after they’ve seen their new house is a powerful experience. We don’t know the whole meaning of it, but we sure get an amazing glimpse of how big of a life transformation we’ve just participated in. Most of the people are moving from mud and straw houses which usually have insect infested walls and leak during rainy season. Often the eyes of the families fill with tears as they take in their new setting.
Shelter Canada is the organization we partner with for this initiative in El Salvador. These house numbers get placed above the door and every house that gets built and becomes somewhat of an address for the home. Shelter remains in contact with the families after the physical houses are built to support them as their community continues to get more and more established.

We’ve been quite intentional as a team about staying present and enjoying the process with the people here – an effort to slow down and not just get consumed with the agenda of production and it’s been paying off. When we met as a group this evening to reflect on the day it was great to hear how many of us had genuine experiences with the locals despite the language barrier. So many stories of camaraderie with both our team and the locals and also the peaceful spirit of the day felt by all of us.