Today I jumped in the back of Dario’s truck around 6:15 a.m. for the beginning of another adventure. We picked up a few teachers from El Yalu along the side of the road as we headed to “destination unknown” (for me, anyways). I was a little unsure of how the day would unfold, I just knew that we were going with all of the El Yalu staff to bring supplies to a school in need. We met up with a van (one of those 14 passenger Eurovans with the extra fold down seats) in a parking lot. Teachers poured out of the van with bags and bags of rice, beans, clothes, and other supplies. Along with the supplies Avivara had provided, we managed to fill the entire truck until it was riding low in the back.
I found a spot, amongst 18 others, in the Eurovan. The Latin pop was blasting as we took off for a school located in a community devastated by mudslides after the recent storm Agatha. The area was inaccessible for quite some time due to mudslides in the road.
The teachers joked around with smiles on their faces as we drove higher into the mountains. I think they were all excited to have the day off. The El Yalu staff is an extremely close-knit group. Being in their presence is always one big fiesta. Along the way, I was having some trouble breathing because I have a chest cold and it was quite stuffy in the van. We stopped several times, which I didn’t mind. Once at a mushroom stand, a few times at different schools for directions, and one time to help push Dario’s overly-loaded truck up a hill. Every time I was happy for a breather as we unloaded like those clown cars at the circus.
We drove by several recently-cleared mudslides as we made our way higher into the mountains. The weather became quite chilly as the altitude increased. Many of the houses changed from cement to adobe which signified the change in climate. I wore 3 layers of jackets (mostly for riding in the back of the truck) and still felt cold when we arrived at the school.
The students were fascinated by us, especially Ann and I because I’m sure they rarely see Gringos. Ann began chatting with a few students and before long an entire group of students were around her with wide-eyes and smiles.
We distributed the supplies for the community in a bucket-brigade fashion. Afterwards, the group decided to take a walk to see the village. As we walked, we passed baby pigs, goats, and several dogs. I enjoyed looking at the adobe and wood homes (not found in the lower regions). Ann and I chatted about how everywhere in Guatemala is mountainous terrain. It’s almost impossible to avoid building a home next to a possible slide area.
After walking down a large switch-back hill, we came to an impassible area in the road, where dirt from one side of the road had collapsed in a large pile along the other side. We were told by a few men standing next to that pile that a house was buried with 5 children and their mother inside. The father was the only survivor. I don’t know if he was one of the men standing there although there was one man in particular who had the most somber look on his face. He may have been the father, but I couldn’t understand everything that he was saying in Spanish. I can’t imagine what that would be like. Six other people in the community had also been killed in the recent mudslides.
We headed back up the hill as it began to downpour. School children ran past us with garbage bags on their heads. Once we made it back to the school those same men by the mudslide (I don’t know how they got up the hill so fast) gave us tea and bread. Gustavo and the director of El Yalu made a speech to members of the school and community about why we had come and how we hoped the goods would be distributed fairly.
We said our goodbyes and Ann and I jumped in the back of the truck for a cold and rainy ride back to Antigua. Luckily, we had garbage bags too.
The donations towards Avivara for disaster relief made this trip possible!
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