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Hi Folks,
I recieved an e-mail this morning, and knowing how big-hearted and generous builders are I thought perhaps I could share it with you. As some of you may know, my new wife and I are off to Belize next week for a well-deserved honeymoon, where we were meeting up with her cousin Ed who’s doing development work on his own down there. Turns out we may be doing a little re-construction work while we’re there… folks, this is for real, do your own checking around if you want and if you can help out get in touch with Ed at edshaw@btl. and ask him what you can do. Thanks!
“TO MY FAMILY AND SOME FRIENDS…
There was a disastrous fire yesterday in a Mayan village on
the edge of Belmopan, where I am presently working to put in 2
miles of drains to prevent floods, and they didn’t have enough
water to save 11 houses the fire destroyed… What irony…
The families lost everything, and are sheltered in the Red Cross
clinic… They are poor people, would not realize US$1500 a year,
and have no means to rebuild without help… After shelter, they
will still need clothing, utensils, beds, school books and shoes for
the children… you name it.
We have a gang of Spanish teen-agers around here (juvenile
delinquents, uneducated, unemployed, thieving SOB’s). I know
them well. Have sent some to school, visit others in jail. Some of
them were there when the fire broke out. One saved a baby, and
others tried to contain the fire or save household items. They are
heroes, certainly not not totally bad kids… We talked about it, and
many have volunteered labour to help rebuild houses… Could this
exercise help turn some of these kids around? I don’t know, as my
crystal ball is no better than yours… But I am going to bet on it… I
have 2 block-making machines and a cement-mixer to put into
service, and today put them at the site for the Spanish kids and the
disaster victims to start working on it… We can make 700 cement
blocks per day… I bought the first $500 of material…
Does anyone want to help? I have never asked for anything before, and will make no
further appeal. Love to all… ED”
Replies
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Atta way Ross. I'm just pumpin' this to the top again, where it belongs.
*I would like to help. Tell us more about how to reach them and what they need.(the email address given was incomplete "edshaw@btl" doesn't sound right).Thanks
*Sorry, that's [email protected] I'll go back and try to edit, but probably too late... Thanks!!!
*I'm with Jim, let's keep this one at the top.I am also interested in helping out if i can.James DuHamel
*Okay, I'll kick this back to the top... first of all, if there was some way for me to pass this along to you all without any credit going to where credit wasn't due I would... if you can help, it's between you and Ed, I'm just the messenger, for which I'm grateful to have the opportunity to be. Second, what he's doing down there in the first place involves teaching poor street kids a useful trade, woodworking and carpentry skills... tools are always in short supply. Perhaps he could use whatever you've got that's not used anymore, like that old spare hammer that is just taking up space... I'm thinking about those kids being heroes, and how something good may come out of this tragedy, with a little help maybe things can be rebuilt and some street kids that otherwise would have never gone anywhere but down could find another way of life, something that lasts.... like I say, if you can help with anything, talk to Ed... and don't even tell him I sent you! Thanks!
*I'm sorry Ross, but you're just plain wrong -- this isn't off-topic at all. Thanks.
*Thanks Andrew, Jim, Norm, and James... and everyone else. Together we can work miracles where alone we're powerless...
*I suppose this post will eventually end up buried, but for one last time I will boost it back up to the top. I know people need help all over, even right in our own backyard... so if you can't or won't help out with this one, then just commit a random act of kindness instead, drop something off at the food bank, teach a kid about your trade, volunteer some time... we're all blessed to be able to build and renovate and create like we do, most of us living quite comfortably in the process, so take time out to give thanks for what we have and give a thought for those less fortunate.... even if all we do is open our hearts and minds to that then we'll have done a lot already. G.B.!
*An update on the fire: it's been less than a week, and already all 11 houses have tin roofs (dirt floor shacks by our standards, of course, still no boards on the walls, they still have no belongings, and of course they'll never have plumbing or wiring or even windows...). In the meantime, second generation welfare families make anonymous phone calls to me complaining there are people around here who need more help than "those people" (funny how they forget that working people pay taxes every day to support them)... here in the land of free education for your children, free health care for all, free prescription drugs for welfare recipients, school breakfast programs for people who are too lazy to feed their kids 10 cents worth of oatmeal in the morning, a cheque in the mail every month that pays all expenses including enough left over for whiskey and coke, food banks, telephones and electricity and running water and roads and shopping malls taken for granted... I wonder how long the average North American would sit on their butts complaining the government wasn't doing enough for them instead of pitching in as a community and rebuilding a village? Just a thought...
*Oops, I just recalled that Ross is Canadian, so the following tirade is not so relevant ... just letting off steam built up during the current and recent Administration/Congress. The U.S. is a LOT stingier than Canada's massive social state.I disagree with the welfare queen caricature you appear to be drifting towards, a product of political rhetoric more than the statistics and poignant real-world anecdotes I am familiar with. I support anything that benefits kids and ensures their health and welfare regardless of their parents' blameworthiness. Nor are the poor, even if every last one were a leech, bleeding us dry: only 15% of the federal budget goes to means-tested entitlement, which works out to about 3¢ per dollar earned by a reasonably average American. (By contrast, the home mortgage deduction, which grossly favors the rich, costs the Treasury more in lost revenue.) The state contribution is far less. Before anyone suggests otherwise, I resent leeches more than anyone -- while arguing that we may have tossed out the baby with the bathwater. When the economy subsides, we'll see -- there's hardly an excuse for not having a job now.I agree it's AMAZING how far a dollar can go abroad. People are dying of things we forgot about 30 years ago, and creature comforts are often unknown. I highly recommend Doctors Without Borders to anyone who will listen -- they send free and apolitical medical aid all over the world, even into scary situations like Bosnia and Rwanda.They have an efficiency (donations received versus money spent of over 97% and won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.Please consider a visit: http://www.dwb.org/index.htm
*Andrew, perhaps you're right, it's not right to say all the poor are to blame for being poor, but in terms of real world anecdotes I'm afraid I've seen far too much abuse of our social safety net by people who simply have no intention of ever even looking for work. I've been there at the bottom of the barrel on welfare, fought my way out of it, and perhaps that makes me a bit of a redneck. That message on my answering machine, although almost amusing, is a symptom of what the problem is around here... "why should you help other people, help me instead...", not "what can I do to help?". Okay, I'll lay off the political rhetoric :-) Here's what I'd like some help with today: Families will start moving back into basic houses tomorrow (ie: shell of house, still lacking shelves, tables, chairs etc inside). Does anyone want to contribute to a community tool centre with hammers and saws etc, wood, nails, screws - where the men and youth could build their traditional style of beds, tables, chairs? Also they have asked for technical advice on septic tanks, and the materials to do it. There must be a good low-cost way, perhaps composting toilets and greywater? Finally, does anyone know of a program called "Sleeping Children of the World", founded by Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden and family? Thanks!