Right before the group of engineers and water technicians from Knoxville arrived earlier this week, we took a weekend trip to Semuc Champey. Semuc Champey is composed of several levels of natural pools created by rainwater runoff in the midst of a gorgeous rainforest. Below is a view of Semuc from the overlook which we hiked up to.
We had lots of fun with the Colvett boys exploring all of the pools, underwater caves, and mini waterfalls that served as slides from one leveled pool to the next. (Kris might have been having a little TOO much fun!)
We enjoyed this time to relax and get refreshed before a busy week of work ahead in Sesalche I.
This past Sunday, we headed with a team of 6 from the KnoxProCorp organization to the other side of the Valley for a week of making repairs and adding to the water system of Sesalche I (this is the community where we are also still in the process of building the large concrete tank). I think this picture below demonstrates why these water projects are so meaningful to us and the teams that join us. This family lives right next to the school, which served as our home for the week. One of our main goals for every water project is to get water to the community school, and we were able to put in a new outdoor pila and spigot that could serve both the school and this family of seven. As you can see, these boys were all-smiles all week long. This picture is testimony that not only did we build a water system this week; we also worked on building friendships.
This was our bi-cultural team for the week, consisting of the Sesalche I water committee (and many other community members who helped throughout the week but are not pictured here) and us, the "gringos."
These were the wives and children of the water committe, who loved to yell out our names ("LeeLee"- DeeDee, "Kewin"- Kevin, and "Crobal"- Cristobal/Kris) and who prepared one meal for us each day during the week.
From the time we set foot in the community, gluing and cutting pipe soon became second nature for both us and our visitors...
We couldn't have done this project without the help of the community, including Alberto (below). This guy has an unlimited amount of energy, and he knows how to get things done!
One of our favorite parts of these projects is making conversation with the community families as we pass by and tie in spigots for their houses.
Needless to say, we were thankful for a good night's rest at Hotel Don Francisco last night after a week on the floor in the Sesalche I school building.
We enjoyed eating the food of the Mayans each day. They are such gracious hosts!
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