Today I visited the last five houses on the list to receive aid. These folks aren’t actually from Yulais, though; they are from outlying villages and walk quite a ways in to Yulais to participate in the lectures. Two come from Pett, about a half-hour walk. Two others come from Lataq, which is about an HOUR of walking up a crazy mountain. If these poor ladies are walking that far every week to hear us talk about not pooping in the field, then the least I can do is go to their house and put some concrete on their dirt floor.
That picture on the left is one of the houses I went to visit today, as seen from our side of the valley. Oftentimes it’s invisible in the clouds. After a pretty serious trek up there with Elisea and Maricela, my intrepid guides, I met the two families. Neither have electricity, but one house has a tiny solar panel on the roof that powers two compact fluorescent lights in the house and a radio, which at the time was playing a Christian talk show.
Despite their poverty, I was smitten with the beauty of the place. I’d always wondered what it was like up here in Lataq, every time the clouds clear enough that I can see it. Now I know, and it’s one of the few places in Guatemala I’d consider living. I told them so. The nodded their heads like I was totally insane.
One family wants a concrete floor, and the other a new stove to replace their barely-serviceable xan (adobe) stove. It will be my biggest challenge of the project, I think, to get the materials up here (I’m thinking donkeys). But I have a feeling it will also be the most rewarding. After I’d taken my measurements and photos, the mother of the second house ran over and gave me three eggs. That’s how they are here.
As we started back down, Elisea said something to Marisela in Q’anjob’al. I didn’t catch it, so I asked them to tell me what they were saying. “Man, those people are POOR,” she said. “The poorest I know.” That’s kindof the pot calling the kettle black, but I understand the sentiment. No matter how poor or rich you are, there is always someone who is more so.
Here is a view of my own village, as seen from Lataq. It’s an urban sprawl by comparison.
