Reflections from Guatemala

Life Journey

Part 2- Projects and Impacts

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series. The first installment is here.

We did so much more than the site visit to Alconá. We were invited to an opening of a new school in another town within Joyabaj called Chosavic. This town was once only a couple dozen families, with little differentiation from other communities in the area. Around 15 years ago they built a schoolhouse which had a unique feature — a soccer field! As described in Part 1, flat land is very rare (therefore valuable with respect to agricultural purposes), but there was a dream to have a full-size soccer field.

In the ensuing years many families flocked to Chosavic so their kids too could play soccer as part of going to school (imagine the biggest lure of a school being a soccer field!). The school and community flourished as a result, with a school population over 500 students! The MSOE EWB chapter was called on to design and lead in the construction of an additional schoolhouse to alleviate overcrowding. The design was done and the project was completed during COVID, so unfortunately none of the college students involved got to participate in the construction (but construction oversight/guidance was given by the local EWB organization).

The community wanted a “ribbon cutting” celebration, and coordinated such an event to when we would be available to attend. This was so much more than a ribbon-cutting. The community went all-out with hiring a full band (complete with amps, electronics, LED screens, etc) and hosting several soccer games (with professional national teams), in addition to rides for the kids and A LOT of food. Considering how meager the community is, devoting such resources for such an event showed how important this accomplishment was!

The ceremony was in an open amphitheater. Children and women were in traditional dress, and marched in with the flag, singing the Guatemalan national anthem. Schoolchildren performed skits. The leaders of Chosavic and the mayor of Joyabaj spoke (A LOT of people spoke). Our faculty advisor was recognized and spoke to the crowd. It was a very moving event. The community was proud of their hard work and dedication and was very appreciative of the support and guidance of EWB.

After the ribbon cutting a wonderful lunch was provided, consisting of a traditional soup, chicken, and a tamale-like items wrapped in banana leaves (I am told this dish is called Pepian de Pollo).

It was a wonderful time. We left after a few hours, but the celebration was only beginning — the party reportedly lasted until 4 AM!

I was humbled in thinking how much this project meant to the whole community. In the US schools are opened with relatively little fan-fare, with most people complaining about the cost. In Chosavic the community was thrilled, in mass, with the new building. They were also thrilled that the new structure also came with running water (still not safe to drink, but at least there was water!). Kind of put my “first world” problems and complaints into perspective.

The next day we accompanied the Marquette University EWB chapter (who arrived the prior day and were staying in the same place as our group) to their current project, which involves constructing a water collection and distribution system for a hillside community. Water collection and distribution projects are the most challenging of them all, because of numerous land ownership/rights, logistics, uncertainty in obtaining a suitable water source, the linearity of the project (many distribution lines and access points), the hydraulics involved (need to make sure there is adequate pressure but not excessive pressure), the need for continuous maintenance (which requires a comprehensive plan by the community to designate specific persons to learn and perform said maintenance), and a method in which the community can collect fees from the users for upkeep. Not to mention a reliable power source to power the entire system. Quite an undertaking, but arguably the most impactful of all the types of projects EWB does.

The approach for such an undertaking (remember that this is done at the request of the community/local government) is to let the local beneficiaries (i.e., the community being serviced) design where they think the water mains should be placed (they are, after all, the ones who know about land ownership and they will be the ones largely called on to dig 2-foot-deep trenches for the pipes). With the proposed lines already surveyed, we broke into groups to walk each of these alignments with a local guide and a translator, reviewing the alignment for any problems (such as slope instability, accessibility, constructability) that may be evident.

The walk was treacherous, for the line my group was following was not along any pre-established roadway or walking path and the pitch of the hill was considerable (at times 1 horizontal to 1 vertical, with an elevation difference along the water line in excess of 2,000 feet). Large boulders were abundant, making me second-guess the ability to excavate an appropriate trench. However my voice was calmed by reassurances by others (and by locals) that the mains could be constructed, with few proposed modifications.

This is another EWB water distribution project, also under the purview of MSOE, that is approximately halfway completed. This water distribution system will provide water to approximately 100 homes along a hillside (very similar to El Tesoro above, but smaller in size and over considerably less-tenuous terrain). The tank (above) is constructed at the top of the hill — the well (which successfully was drilled and encountered sufficient quantities of water) is approximately 1 kilometer inland. Trenches will now be excavated for the entire network — again a lot of digging 2-foot-deep and 1-foot wide trenches and installing a PVC (sometimes steel) pipe in said trench with occasional pressure relief boxes. A local television crew heard that our group was going to pay a visit and showed up and did an extensive interview of the local leaders and our faculty advisor.

Since voyages to all these sites originated from Joyabaj (and seemingly each were in different directions) we visited (and often traversed) several previous EWB bridge projects.

We walked across a few pedestrian bridges across the Motagua River, which is often a major impediment to travel for many locals (especially during the wet season). This river, the longest in Guatemala, is coincident with the fault line described in Part 1, and is the one most prone to excessive flooding and separation of families from vital services for perhaps prolonged periods of time.

We were fortunate that the river waters were not deep or fast. The trucks could forage across while we took the adjacent pedestrian bridges (the nearest vehicular bridge was over an hour drive away, so we were very fortunate!).

One last note on these pedestrian bridges — we all experienced the concept of a true ‘swinging’ bridge — it was impossible to keep balance with multiple people crossing at the same time — a lot of swaying and some resonance frequencies were incurred! Definitely not for the faint of heart…

The last full day in the country was spent traveling from Joyabaj to the historic city of Antigua. Antigua is a historic (1542) and exceptionally touristy city (definitely a “destination wedding” type of place).

But as a geologically inclined person, I was much more interested in the nearby volcanoes.

There are many volcanos in Guatemala, predominately just inland of the convergence of the Coycos and Carribean tectonic plates (see Part 1). Although I lack the photographic talent to document, I was able to see red lava from the Pacaya volcano the previous night.

I did not have the bandwidth to enjoy the city (the monied tourist flavor of the town was such a clash of cultures from what I had just experienced… I just couldn’t…), but we did enjoy some wonderful food and I ambled through the markets to acquire the necessary souvenirs for my family 😃. From here it was back to Guatemala City for the flight home.

Continued in Part 3 of 3

— blue marble 🔵

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