Round 4 - May 20 - El Paraíso, Z. 18

After the President of Guatemala decided on the 17 May to completely "lock down" the country for the entire weekend, he completely thwarted our plans. Instead of being able to visit our families in zone 18 on Saturday, we had to postpone our delivery for Wednesday, May 20th. 

Slum of Guatemala, El Paraíso, Zone 18

Through our incredible staff and community leader Gerber, we were able to make more contacts and add another community in Zone 18.  This community is called El Paraíso (the paradise), but there is little to see of it. 

It is a municipality located on a steep slope, with narrow streets, only slightly paved areas, all of which are inaccessible by car. Neither is there running water nor a sewage system in the municipality, and the houses are mainly built of corrugated iron and a few block elements, which only sparsely protect against the now slowly starting, heavy rainfall. 

The above mentioned circumstances became a logistical challenge for us, but we successfully mastered it. 

A helper team of 11 people, 2 big cars full of food and 1 car for the transport of people enabled us to visit all families in one day. 

This week, we put a special emphasis on supporting elderly people, people with disabilities and single mothers. 

Many smiling faces, tears of joy, but also frightening news made the day a special and emotional experience for everyone involved. 

For three people, our help came too late. They succumbed to starvation as they left the little food  that was left to their children and grandchildren. 

A thousand thanks to the enormous donations that reached us in the last weeks and made our work possible.