Friday, February 18, 2011

Work hazards of deliveries............

Kemmel and I drove to Mactzul to meet everyone this morning. We continued with delivering the water filters in Mactzul V with Tomas and Maury. This was the first home we visited today. Diego is in the blue and green shirt.

We drove down the road to the next area and Tomas told us we would have to walk across a small bridge. Going across it the first time, I was just concerned with getting across. I heard Kemmel say, "Sheri, you can do it! There are two planks!" He just does not realize I am afraid of heights and there was no water in the river to break my fall..... on the return trip, I pulled out the camera for some photos :)

This is Pedro and Josefina Sucuqui Ordonez.

The father of Pedro and Josefina died a few months ago of congestive heart failure. He was a patient of Lisa's and the family was very appreciative of the care that he received.

This is Tomas Riquiac Marroquin.

This is the family of Rosa, Cristine and Carlos Marroquin Calel. As you can see, sometimes he numbers of names and people do not add up. There may be some children in the family who are not ABC Children, some of the children may be in school and sometimes there may be multiple families living together. So, the more people in the photo, the happier everyone is!

This is Felix in the blue and green shirt.

After lunch, Lisa was finished with her patients so we divided into two groups to finish the deliveries. I gave her one of the sticks we had found. She thought it was to fight off the dogs but I explained to her how we walk up and down, through the corn fields and over the pastures to the houses and a walking stick comes in handy!

This is Hector, in the brown shirt. His sister Karina is in school.

This is the Riquiac Garcia family. Tomas is in the purple shirt, Micaela is standing next to her mom and Juan is standing to the left of Tomas.

This is Edwin Yacon Leon.

This was the last filter to be delivered today. Anastasia is to the far left and Sebastian is wanting to be the first person to drink from the filter.

Now, all of the families in Mactzul V have water filters in their homes. We visited each home, taught them how to maintain the filter and asked if they had any questions.

As with any project, maintenance and follow-up are important. As odd as it may seem for in the United States, many homes here do not use Clorox. Many households do not use it because they can not afford it. As you have been able to see by the living conditions, Clorox may be an additional expense the family may not be able to afford. For his community, the Mactzul V church has offered to buy Clorox for the families that can not afford it, especially the widows.

The water filters are a step in preventive care. We hope to see a decrease in illnesses in the ABC Children and their families.

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