Gaspar

By Gaspar Ajtzalam 

At the end of my 9^th grade school year, I was studying in the Institute Cooperativa in the village of Paquila, Guatemala.  I knew that I would not be able to continue on to high school because my family didn’t have sufficient economic resources to support me.  So after receiving my ninth grade diploma I started working to support my family.

By January, 2010 I figured that I was going to be a farmer for the rest of my life. I was very sad because I really wanted to be a professional someday and support my mother and siblings better. My mom was doing the best she could for us, but it wasn’t enough.  My dad left the family when I was young.

My grandfather had the idea that I should become a pastor of the Methodist Church of Paquila village. He went to Santa Cruz del Quiché and met with John Wesley School director Amilcar Solórzano during the annual assembly of the Methodist Church.  My grandfather asked him about the possibility of a scholarship for me since I didn’t have the financial resources to continue my education.

Amilcar Solórzano and Fausto Natareno, the principals of the school, decided to give me an application for a scholarship so I could study Business Administration at the John Wesley School.  The idea was that the degree would one day allow me to support my family while I took on the job of pastor. [Editor's note: rural Guatemalan Methodist pastors are not paid a salary, but serve on a volunteer basis]  On January 16, 2010 my grandfather told my mom that I had been granted scholarship so I could continue my studies at the John Wesley School. I was sad and happy at the same time; sad because I had to leave my family and my village, but happy because I knew that I could finish high school and become a professional someday.

Everything happened so fast.  Amilcar found a place for me to stay in Santa Cruz. It was very hard for me in the beginning — I was homesick and I missed my family. Amilcar told me to be strong, because I have the opportunity to be in school and someday will have a better job and be able to support my family. His words encouraged me to continue.  I saw that this was too good of an opportunity to let get away.

My grandfather gave me some money to buy my meals and for some other necessities. I made some friends, but it was a very hard adjustment.  Since my favorite sport is soccer, I was able make friends when students got together and play during our free time. This helped me feel less homesick.

John Wesley School soccer team. Gaspar (in red) is the team captain.

I want to thank the John Wesley School, because they try to find help for students like me by working with our brothers and sisters from the United Methodist Church that support the school. I have the privilege of attending an excellent school that has very good teachers.  I am learning a lot.  I also have very good friends that have become my new family.

I also blessed because a United Methodist Church from the United States is supporting me to continue my education.  I am very grateful to Pastor Kim James and members of the Wesley UMC for their support. I know that there are a lot of young men like me that have very few resources and cannot continue with their education and have to work.

Gaspar is an 11^th grader studying Business Administration at the John Wesley School in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala.

With JWS buddies (Gaspar is horizontal)

John Wesley School students

by Erika Usui

In the four years that had passed since I first visited the John Wesley School in Santa Cruz del Quiché, much had changed – namely, an increased student body and an accommodating expansion of classrooms.  But as I greeted one student after another on my first day at the school where I would be  helping out with English classes, I was promptly reminded that some things had not changed: the infinitely curious minds and tender hearts of the students. 

“Como se dice mi amor in Ingles?” they asked me.

“My love,” I answered. 

“Y en Japones?” they asked, after having found out about my upbringing in Japan.

“Well, in Japanese, the exact phrase mi amor doesn’t exist,” I answered. 

Then, in a classic case of lost in translation, they exclaimed, “no existe amor en Japon?!”

Thus began my second visit to the school, a three-week course on language – and love. 

I had first visited the John Wesley School in spring of 2007 as a junior journalism and education major at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  The local Wesley Foundation, with its hip vibe and cool pastor, was making a trip to Guatemala for its alternative spring break program.  I signed on for the second of three trips that I would make with the group, eager to play my part in the gospel of social justice.  As a young college student, I finished the trip with a newfound awakening for international development.

Erika at the Lemoa orphanage in 2007

Fast forward to my college graduation and a somewhat scatterbrained few years in New York as a freelancer, and I found myself desperately yearning for some sort of inspiration.  What had inspired me in college? I thought.  Guatemala instantly came to mind.

So in April, 2011 I enthusiastically embarked on my second trip to Santa Cruz del Quiché, eager to share what I had learned at CU and in New York.  But three weeks later I had become very self-conscious, sheepishly wondering if I, not the students, was the biggest benefactor of this trip – and of the last trip, too. 

I especially remembered a conversation I had with a first grade student.  After a barrage of questions she had regarding her writing assignment (demonstrating a very high level of critical analysis), she turned the topic to the much-discussed one of love, and asked me, “estas feliz?” (“are you happy?”)

It was a perfect-weather April afternoon, the teachers had generously shared their midday snacks with me, and I was working with some of the sharpest gradeschoolers I had ever met. 

So my obvious answer was, “yes.”

With Pura Vida scholarship students in 2011

I suppose there is no easy moral in what I had learned on my first or second, trip to Guatemala.  But I’ve come to understand Pura Vida’s approach as one that maintains a sustainable solution to many of the challenges that we all – in both the developed and developing worlds – face.  And that approach is part of a global movement that not only advocates for literacy in rural communities, but also for a higher standard of living for everyone involved.

Back in New York and now preparing for further studies in public health, I continue my relationship with my beloved John Wesley School friends through e-mail and social media.  I also look back frequently at my journal to recall beautiful memories, and I continually remind myself of a conversation I had with Amilcar, one of the directors at the school.

“I hope that you will be an ambassador for the school when you are back in North America,” he had said. “I hope that you will be an ambassador for the students.”

And so I, in turn, would like to encourage more individuals to support the scholarship and construction programs, to nurture the education of incredibly intelligent minds.  I would also like to encourage more groups to take part in service trips, because a firsthand account provides a rich understanding of humanity that is unmatched by any other source.  And as I continue my discussion of language and love, I hope that I can make a positive difference in the students’ lives, as they have, for me.

JWS students

Margarita

by Bob Utter

My first visit to the John Wesley School was equally enlightening.  Here was a school filled with bright young minds eager to learn and determined to better themselves, if only given the opportunity.  We were treated like royalty, but their faith is firmly planted in God and His work. It became immediately obvious what a tremendous impact a small contribution can make in the life of child.

When I returned to Guatemala in 2009, I had my first opportunity to meet my sponsored student, Margarita. A precious little eight year old girl, who was so shy she could barely look up at me to meet my gaze.  With my lack of language skills we weren’t able to communicate much, but it was clear she understood that she was going to be able to stay in school.  Again, I was humbled and slightly embarrassed by the gracious appreciation shown by the family.

Margarita wrote to me often and I was able to visit her one more time, this time in her home village of Paquixic.  The group had already loaded back onto the bus when Margarita’s mother remembered she had brought a gift for me and dashed off to retrieve a red Guatemalan T-shirt.  We gathered up for a photo and I gave Margarita a hug, not knowing it would be our last.

Two months later when tropical storm Agatha stalled over the highlands, most of the world didn’t notice, but anyone with a connection to Pura Vida paid close attention.  When the news came, it was not good: serious flooding and mudslides throughout the area that Pura Vida supports.  The damage was widespread and extensive.  Then the call came: it was more than loss of property.  Little Margarita lost her life along with four family members in a horrific mud slide that destroyed three homes.  My sense of loss approached that of losing a member of my own family.  The world that I lived in suddenly looked very different.

So often at times like these, the feeling of helplessness is overwhelming because there is little that can be done to help; but again Pura Vida provided the avenue to make a difference and quickly assembled relief efforts, in some cases being the first to reach the now isolated villages with supplies.  But the sense of loss and helplessness still loomed heavy for those of us with such strong connections to the people of Guatemala.  Pura Vida trip leader John Williams closes every email with this thought: To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might be the world.  Almost imperceptibly, Margarita and her family had become my connection to my own faith.  It was obvious that more could and should be done.

Pura Vida then undertook the daunting task of locating suitable property and lining up contractors to rebuild Margarita’s family home.  Individual contributions and corporate matching funds were assembled to move the construction forward.  In March of this year I was able to reunite with Margarita’s family along with several members of my family at the site that would be their new home.

There is no greater grief in life than the loss of a child, and that understanding came crashing down while standing with Margarita’s mother and young sister at the site of the new home and presenting her with a framed picture of Margarita.  While it seemed the grief was insatiable, it was clear we were joined together by a higher power and that there truly was much to be thankful for.  The families, Pura Vida team members, and local contractors spent the next two weeks joined together by this higher power working on what we were so clearly called to do.

At St. Luke’s UMC in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Reverends Janet and Dave speak of the “thin places” that bring us closer to God.  They can be anywhere or no place, but I found my thin place in this beautiful spot in the Guatemalan highlands surrounded by people that will forever define my role in God’s world.

Bob Utter now sponsors the education of Margarita’s younger brother, Felix.

[ View slideshow of more photos from this story ]

Two red hats sit on a shelf in my home. One has the words “Happy Birthday, Jennifer” knit into the rim. It was made by Manuela, a 12-year-old scholarship student I met through Pura Vida. The second hat was a gift from her mother, which she presented when I visited their village last winter.

Manuela's photo bio from 2009

 I keep the hats where I can see them because they remind me why I’m grateful for Pura Vida and my involvement with it. The relationships I’ve developed since visiting Guatemala with Pura Vida last year have enriched my life, helped me grow personally and spiritually, and broadened my perspective of the world. And all that has happened in a single year.

What specifically do the red hats bring to mind? The first “red-hat” reminder is that generosity has nothing to do with wealth. Ingrid Manuela and her mother lost part of their home in the rains and mud slides last year. Every time it rains now, Ingrid Manuela shivers and prays, asking God to spare them from disaster.  She and her mother have little more than a room with a roof, and losing part of their home was devastating. Yet in the midst of this frightening time, they made a birthday present for me. As a percentage of their wealth it was an extraordinarily generous gift, and I found their kindness humbling. It reminded me that we can live with open hearts even in difficult times.

The second reminder is that the parents of Pura Vida’s scholarship students are an example for all of us.  I provide scholarship support to Ingrid Manuela through Pura Vida, but her mother loses income when her daughter is in school rather than working.  (Pura Vida mitigates the income loss to some extent.) I also think of what it must be like for her to watch her daughter learn subjects she never had the opportunity to study herself. If Ingrid Manuela completes her schooling, her life may be significantly different from her mother’s. It takes courage, faith and sacrifice for her to help her daughter enter a world she has never known herself.

The third reminder is that the world is richer and more complex than I ever imagined. My family is of European descent, and I’ve studied in and traveled to Europe many times. I’d never been to Central or South America before visiting with Pura Vida, however. Because of the interest in Guatemala that Pura Vida has fostered, I volunteered to write an article for a local publication last year about a former Guatemalan president who was in Denver for the Biennial of the Americas. His goal was to advocate for regional cooperation in solving social and economic challenges facing Latin American countries.  That conversation, coupled with what I’ve learned from Guatemalans and Americans involved with Pura Vida, has opened up an entirely new part of the world to me. It’s been fascinating, sad, challenging and enriching.

Pura Vida works on a small scale compared to some global nonprofits, but its limited geographic focus allows deeper relationships to develop among its Guatemalan and U.S. supporters. In one year of involvement, I’ve helped a little girl complete a year of schooling and expand her sense of what life could hold for her. In return, I’ve received two red hats—and a whole lot more.

Jennifer with Manuela and her mother

Jennifer Watson has been a member of the Pura Vida board of directors since 2010.

I recently returned from my seventh trip to Guatemala. This trip was my first “milk run”; my other trips have been March construction trips where we work on projects such as building adobe block homes for needy families. On this trip we delivered milk to many of the families in Lemoa and Chontola, visited the John Wesley School in Santa Cruz del Quiche for the dedication of their Phase 4 building addition and inauguration of 2011 classes, and took updated photos of scholarship students. We also checked out the site for a cinderblock home we’ll be building during the upcoming March construction trip, and I visited with the 5 students that our family sponsors. This trip was less hectic than previous January trips; because the scholarship program has grown so much, it is no longer physically possible to deliver backpacks and visit all the villages the students live in.

I enjoyed these scheduled parts of the trip.  For me, though, the best parts of the trip were spending a week with my older daughter Kristine (for whom it this was the third milk run) and the spur of the moment visits to three families.

The first family was in Chontala. The Trinity UMC youth began construction on a cinderblock home last June for a woman who was about to be evicted from her rental home. The youth were able to complete it to about waist height. Upon returning to Denver, they raised funds to pay a contractor to finish the home, which happened just before our trip. The woman and her family was just about to move in; she was extremely grateful, gave us a gift to bring back to the youth group, and told us that she would never be able to repay Pura Vida for the home. The home has running water, but there was no budget for an electrical connection. We met some of her family members; 12 people will be living in the 2 bedroom home.

Family with new home in Chontala

We met the second family a little bit later, on our way back to Chichicastenango. The family’s home had been wiped out by the mudslides in June of 2010. Three of their children were killed. The Trinity youth had raised funds to buy corrugated steel, which the family used to build a shed for the 6 of them to live in until their home is eventually rebuilt. The shed was so dark that we had to take a flash photograph to see what was inside.

After visiting the John Wesley School, Josselin Adamari (“Ada”), one of the scholarship students, invited us to her home. She lives a few blocks away, with her mother, grandparents, and two siblings. The family is very poor; the mother does laundry for others as their primary source of income. Ada is a “poster child” for the Pura Vida scholarship program: she is very bright and there is no way that her family could afford for her to attend school. One of the most touching moments was when Ada hugged Mark and cried because she was so grateful for his help with her education.

Mark and Ada

We were only able to spend time with these families because we were a small group of 6 and had some schedule flexibility. I was very fortunate to visit them at their homes, hear their stories, better understand how people live in rural Guatemala, and better appreciate how our work with Pura Vida is making a difference.

Ken and Kristine Fong with their sponsored student Karla

Ken Fong is a prolific student sponsor and all-around Pura Vida volunteer.  In 2010 he was presented with Pura Vida’s Pure Life award for his dedication in helping with our work in Guatemala.

This was my third trip to Guatemala, and it was my most poignant and exciting so far.  The accommodations were very good, the showers hot, and the meals delicious.  However, what I am taking away from the week in Chichicastenango and Santa Cruz are these:

• The wonderful spirit of the people we encountered who always had a smile and a friendly greeting despite living in what most of us would consider unacceptable conditions.
• The great joy of the people, adults and children alike, when they received the milk we distributed.  It was incredible to think that this would be the only milk that many of these families would have all year. 
• Meeting the families and the children at the John Wesley School.  It seemed obvious that education was highly valued by all who were there and the students seemed eager to get back to school.  They welcomed us warmly and were overjoyed with the new classrooms that we dedicated.  Just a few more rooms on the third floor are needed to complete the facility and bring it to its full capacity. 
• The tremendous need for educational scholarships.  Dozens of children and youth are awaiting someone to sponsor them for school.  I experienced tremendous joy in meeting three of my scholarship recipients again and meeting for the first time my new student.  They comprise a Guatemalan family for me (I am grandpa for all of them–says something about my age).
• The most painful experiences were those with families who lost family members during the tremendous downpours of the tropical storm that swept through this area in late May and early June of 2010.  Visiting the cemetery in Chichi and seeing the graves of children who were killed in mudslides was sobering.
• Meeting a family who lost their home and only through the efforts of a youth group from Colorado now have a makeshift metal container in which they live; they have no immediate prospect for rebuilding their home because there is no money.

So many are doing so much with so little.  Giving to the programs is NOT giving a handout but giving a hand to help people find a better life through education.

I will be going to Guatemala, to Chichi and Quiche as often as the Lord allows me to.  Going to Guatemala has a price…you lose your heart there.

[ See a slideshow of photos from the trip ]

Ray with two of his sponsored students

Ray Miller is a retired pastor of the United Methodist Church; he is also a frequent Pura Vida trip attendee.

In the spirit of year-end reflection, the Pura Vida community again has many blessings to consider. We have, for example, an unprecedented scholarship class with respect to both numbers of students and communities served. Phase 4 expansion of the John Wesley School is underway, adding a third(!) floor, and nary a brick remains of the single-story structure that started it all. Six teams traveled with Pura Vida to Guatemala this year, adding numerous veterans to the rolls. And Pura Vida now—finally, yeah!—has a full-time executive director and sufficient volunteer strength to meaningfully respond to overwhelming tragedy like never before. Yet even with this tremendous organizational success, Pura Vida’s greatest accomplishments remain individual—one child at a time, one volunteer at a time, one leader at a time. Such was evident during the most recent Pura Vida October project tour.

This year’s October project tour introduced our team of multi-trip veterans (Mark and Lesly Ely, Gary Conner, Dave and Jana Money, and Dawn & me) plus our protection detail (Erica Money, Pura Vida’s most recent trip participant) to many new experiences. Certainly a high point of the trip was participating in three John Wesley School graduation ceremonies. Gary Conner served as padrino, or sponsor, for the kindergarten class, Jana and Dave Money did so for the ninth grade class, and Dawn and I filled this role for the sixth graders. In addition to seeing so many kids involved in what has become a truly Pomp and Circumstance ceremony, I was struck by the notion that the sixth grade class included students we met on our very first visit to the John Wesley School, who were in the first grade then, which was also the first year the school was in operation. I look forward to seeing their ultimate graduation when they’re the first class to progress through each and every grade of the John Wesley School.

Gary Conner participating in the Kindergarten graduation

We had great fun interviewing the new scholarship candidates—all 100 or so of them. Of course Lesly conducted the bulk of the interviewing while the rest of us looked on or tried to evoke picture smiles from traditionally stoic faces, at least when they’re having their pictures taken. Otherwise, they can be all smiles. Judge for yourself whether we were successful as you peruse the pictures of students still seeking sponsors. Amilcar and Fausto, the JWS directors, participated in many of the interviews, with hilariously different approaches to interviewing style. Amilcar could be caught signaling answers when he saw a child struggling, or he would divert attention from their distress by having them sing a song or recite poetry, rather than answer questions. Fausto, on the other hand, ever the Socratic, wasn’t pleased until he’d probed the depth of a child’s knowledge. “What’s your favorite subject?” {In Spanish, of course} “English, huh? Count to 10 in English for me.” <squirm, squirm> “Oh it’s math now?” What’s 5 times 7?” Those two make such a pair… 

Amilcar and Fausto with scholarship applicants

Surely the most sobering part of the trip involved the family of Margarita, a scholarship student killed in a mudslide caused by Tropical Storm Agatha. In all, five members of the extended family were lost, along with their homes. We traveled to Paquixic to assist them in finding a new plot of land to build a house on. Then as part of the Day of the Dead activities, we visited the Chichi cemetery to place flowers on Margarita’s grave.

It was well past dark and too early for the peak of the Day of the Dead events when we visited the cemetery, but even though the crowds were not yet present, the place felt quite different, but not necessarily eerily so. For example, freshly painted gravesites glowed from many candles, and most were decorated, newly painted, or at least freshly cleaned. Small groups of people wandered around respectfully—mournfully—making it evident that the locals take honoring their loved ones quite seriously, especially during this time of year.

The cemetery visit chillingly contrasted with other Day of the Dead events, specifically a spectacular fireworks display, if you can call it that. In the “Dance of the Bull,” taking place in the Chichi town square, one after another “bulls” donned what might be described as “fireworks suits,” only to be taunted by the … well, guys fresh out of the local watering hole, as rockets, sparklers, Roman candles, whirly birds, and every conceivable form of explosive noisemaker showered sparks over the “fearless” matadors. From only a single fuse, the contraptions went off for—no kidding—fifteen minutes in some cases.

The All Hallows Eve festivities ended our stay in Chichi, after which we headed to Antigua for the traditional final night stay. On the drive to Chichi, we stopped off in Sumpango for the annual kite festival. I can’t imagine some of these house-sized kites ever getting off the ground, but if wishes were wind, it could happen.

Whether returning to Guatemala or visiting for the first time, the Pura Vida October Project Tour and Scholarship Trip is a great way to discover the many ways to engage the Pura Vida mission and experience Guatemala’s beauty, especially, of course, our native friends. Put it on your list for next year!

Gene and his wife Dawn with their sponsored student

Gene has been a member of the Pura Vida board of directors since 2003.  He is currently serving as board president.

It’s one thing to vacation in a foreign country, sample their hotels, see their sights, buy some souvenirs and head home.  It is quite another to work with the locals, volunteering and helping to make their lives better.

My trip to Guatemala in September with Pura Vida was my first time volunteering on a medical mission and it was excellent.  The group coordinator, David, did an excellent job managing logistics and keeping everyone informed.  It was obvious throughout that the safety of the group was his top priority and there was never any doubt that he was handling the situation.  I also saw nothing but quality and integrity in the locals that David worked with.

My biggest initial concern was that  my lack of medical knowledge would relegate me to a helpful but uninteresting position in a dusty corner of the clinic.  This was not the case.  In fact there were no dusty corners at the clinic.  We spent the first day cleaning and organizing the already clean and well organized clinic to best fit our needs.  The next day we met and screened patients for the following week of surgeries and that was when I saw just how important our work was to the local community.  There were many who had travelled long distances in great pain and it was a pleasure to put them on the schedule.  I fully intended to help people on this mission but when you see 3 and sometimes 4 generations of a family waiting in line to see you the impact of your services becomes very real.

John Gaedeke and Laura Marchelya with a patient in Guatemala

The varied skill set of the volunteers was impressive as well.  For many it was their first medical mission, but the veterans were quick to share their knowledge and those like myself with little medical ability were encouraged to work at different areas around the clinic throughout the week.  I helped clean, medicate, translate and console.  I met the locals from the surrounding villages and their children and we talked about health, shelter, food and family, concerns that translate in any language.

We worked long, full days at the clinic but each night a beautiful hotel in the mountains awaited with excellent food, views and hot water.

The highlight of my trip was going to a Pura Vida school and later meeting a family whose home had been built through help from Pura Vida.  I got to see first hand the benefits of long-term commitment by an organization.  By providing education, medical services and shelter in Guatemala Pura Vida is helping a people to help themselves and that sits really well with me.  The added bonus for the volunteer is that you get credit for all the past good that Pura Vida has done.  You can enter a school to the sound of applauding students.  You can accept an invitation to visit a small hut on a hillside in the middle of the jungle.

Your helping hand not only benefits the immediate needs of the local people, it paves the way for the next group of volunteers with its ripple effect.  I think that’s the true genius behind Pura Vida and I am proud to have been a part of it.

John Gaedeke was a member of Pura Vida’s September 2010 Surgical Mission to Guatemala.

This trip was my first international and first medical mission trip.  I went as a support team member from St. Paul UMC in Abilene, TX.  8 members from our congregation joined others from Colorado, Alaska, Kentucky, and Ohio.  We were a diverse group that quickly became tightly bound by Christ’s love and our opportunity to serve.

Guatemala is breathtakingly beautiful.  My senses could hardly take it all in. 

The Salud y Paz clinic is amazing.  Our team worked together finding ways to use each of our varied gifts and talents to provide surgery and recovery for 29 patients in four days.  My main project was laundry and hand-holding, shoulder patting, and more laundry.  Menial tasks.  Necessary tasks.  Joy-filled work.  The one night that I worked the night shift we completed all the laundry at 2:30 in the morning and I was still joyful to be able to provide that service.  The remarkable health-giving procedures provided by our doctors and nurses were awesome to witness.  The thankfulness and gratitude of the patients and their families was humbling to receive. Jesus tells us to serve others.

Pam Rowley and Susan Mouser at the clinic in Guatemala

To my delight as a retired school teacher, we were able to visit the John Wesley School.   The educational statistics for children in Guatemala are very sad indeed, but the John Wesley School and Pura Vida are doing wonderful work to change those dismal statistics for the students we saw.  I look forward to providing a scholarship for a student, to helping fill the library with books, and to returning next year to visit again.

Our team director and leaders, our translators and bus drivers were the best.  They were compassionate and competent and delightful.  Our team was well cared for every day and we were always safe and well informed.  I am so grateful to them.

This trip was a FIRST for me in many ways.  I pray it will not be my last trip with Pura Vida or my last trip to Guatemala.

Susan Mouser was a member of Pura Vida’s September 2010 Surgical Mission to Guatemala.

On July 6, representatives from the John Wesley School delivered more relief supplies to 32 families we identified in June as still needing support.  Supplies were received by 12 families in Pocohil and 20 families in Patulup.  Each family received the following:

* 5 bags of Maseca tortilla mix
* 4 cans of black beans
* 9 pounds of pasta
* 4 pounds of rice
* 6 pounds of sugar
* 3 pounds of oatmeal
* 3 pounds corn porridge
* 12 soup packets
* 12 rolls of toilet paper
* 2 pounds of salt
* 1 bag of candy
* 1 package bouillon
* 96 single-serving bags of water.

Things are improving slowly, but with the rainy season well underway, it is hard for these families to work what remains of their property.  Many areas are still without a reliable water supply.

We are looking into the possibility of rebuilding homes once the rainy season ends. Check back for updates.

See our Flickr site for more images.