Jacqui's account of a trip into the community - meet some of the families that your donations are helping.

Hello All~

     I've been out visiting Bacalar families this week, on my own and with our patron saint Pedro of the Hurricane relief Work.  During our visits, several people recalled Wendy fondly and recounted her help during the days after Hurricane Dean helped.  Although she passed on, it’s clear that her spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of the pueblo!

     While it was proposed that we target three families with our reconstruction funds, I think that we could help a few extra with a little creativity.  There are LOTS of people who need help rebuilding, some of whom are living with extended family or in borrowed spaces and others who have been in tarp and carton structures since the storm. 

     Many Bacalar families are on the official list for an INFOVIR house that the Mexican government is graciously providing to hurricane victims who lost their homes.  Construction has already started on these, and supposedly over 800 local families will get the gift of one of these 4 by 7 meter concrete block houses.  Only those who can demonstrate property titles are eligible, however, so the ironic injustice of the INFOVIR program is that some of those who need help most are out of luck.  

    The ideal candidates for our rebuilding efforts, therefore, are those who aren't INFOVIR recipients and yet with clear enough claim to their land that they won't be evicted either.  Pedro and I surveyed neighborhoods and families, and found several who have make-shift homes that need to be repaired and/or finished.  They all consist of (or are compatible with) the traditional Maya style construction with sticks lashed together side by side vertically over a concrete base, and that is the style we plan to expand upon.  For roofing, we will join forces with the Catholic charity Caritas (www.caritas.org), who’s already purchased metal laminate for approximately 55 homes.  Father Bernardino is thrilled at our proposed donation of 500usd (5000pesos) towards screws, and has offered to give us enough roofing material for 5 homes for our project. 

     Below you'll be able to read about three families who will benefit from the reconstruction funds.  You can also click on photo link on the home page to see a pictures of the families and the on going construction.  With $1500usd, I expect that we can easily do these three projects. 

      I've enlisted the help of a general contractor, Juan Carlos, who's already ordered wood for the first project.  Hopefully be able to start work next weekend. 

 Velazquez Palma Family

    Lucrecia and Juan Jose Velazquez Palma moved to Bacalar last year with their four children.  Juan Jose soon afterward suffered a work-related accident that has left him paraplegic, and the family has been struggling ever since to make ends meet.  They had managed to build a temporary structure on the lot that they own, but that was badly damaged in the hurricane.  They have a “patchwork” palapa now, made from gifted tarps and carton and metal sheets, with fabric hanging in the doorways.  Lucrecia has been trying to get her family on the INFOVIR list, but despite having a property title, their names didn’t appear on the most recent list.  She still hopes to get that straightened out so that they receive a room on the front edge of their property eventually.

    In the meantime her family would love help in finishing their existing home. The current corner posts and roof beams on the 4 by 6 meter structure are sturdy, so the project will involve the installation of a concrete base, walls with 2.5 meter tall wooden palos, saskab flooring (limestone powder packed down firmly, also traditional), and laminated metal roofing.  Since the family doesn’t have family and friends in the area, we’ll provide the labor as well. 

Chan Tool Family

    Anita Chan Tool is a beautiful elder who lives in a small concrete room with her daughter Esperanza.  They previously enjoyed the use of a thatched roof kitchen on her granddaughter’s property next door, but due to hurricane damage they currently cook in a corner of their tiny studio.  While they have a property title, the women don’t qualify for the INFOVIR program since they already have a concrete structure.  Esperanza envisions building a 4 by 4 wooden addition on the back that would serve as living space and a kitchen, and was delighted at the prospect of getting our help.  She believes that her son and other family members would be able to do the construction if we deliver the needed materials…sascab, concrete, 2.5 meter high palos, and laminate roofing. 

Mexx Canul Family

     You’ll find photos of the Micaela Mexx Canul and her husband Emilio Dzul Castillo on the Bacalar Mosaico (www.bacalarmosaico.com) website from the days immediately following Hurricane Dean and during the current construction.  This older couple lived under their collapsed roof for weeks until they managed to create a palapa with scrap wood and tarps and carton.  Micaela’s son left Mexico looking for work years ago. They live on the corner of his and his wife's property indefinitely.   I talked with them about our rebuilding plans, which would be to finish the 4 by 7 meter structure by installing the sascab floor, 2 meter palos for the walls and a laminate roof.  Micaela is thrilled…as you can see from her smile in one of the photos.    

There is already a fourth and a fifth family and a sixth abuelita actually, but I was a little embarrassed to admit it.  Since you're still reading, I'll tell you about them!  Maybe together we can help make sure that there's enough money (another 2,500usd would be wonderful).

The fourth is a house for Maria Gevoveva Poot, her husband Antonio, and their four children.  The good news is that Antonio is one of five brothers who have lots of experience in the building trades.  They've already managed to build four corner posts and a roof of carton laminate, so they'll only need the concrete base, sascab, and palos for their 3.5 by 7 meter structure.  In exchange for these materials, the brothers are willing to offer their labor on Sundays to help with the reconstruction of Lucrecia’s and Micaela's houses, as well as adding an addition to their uncle Jose Ezekiel Poot Estrella who lives next door.