For the people living
on the south flanks of the Fuego Volcano, Escuintla, the capital of the state
with the same name, is the nearest big city.
So after the eruption on June 3rd, logically a lot of aid came from
this direction and many of the wounded and displaced ended up in hospitals and
shelters in Escuintla. Others ended up in the smaller town, right at the foot
of the volcano of San Juan Alotenango, the municipality with the worst affected
villages and hamlets. The two towns are no longer connected by Ruta Nacional 14
since it was (and still is) covered by lava and other debris. Reconstruction
might take a while and will cost an estimated 230 millions of Quetzales
(roughly 30 million US$).
Just to get an idea, the Guatemala
government made the amount of 192 million Quetzales available for disaster
relief.
A group of national
and international experts argue that the road shouldn’t be repaired at all
because it will most definitely be destroyed again. A slight to moderate rain
can cause 15 million cubic meters of volcanic material to slide down. With
heavy rain, the expectation is up to 60 millions of volcanic debris.
Normally the trip to
Escuintla takes about 45 minutes, but the only alternative route took us a full
2.5 hours. When we got out of the car a humid wave of heat welcomed us, a
reminder that we made a steep descend from the mountainous area of Antigua. Here, at the outskirts of Escuintla, surrounded
by sugar cane fields, we easily found the modern Catholic church building that
now functions as a shelter for a few hundred people that lost everything during
the eruption.
Although most shelters
have been taken over by the Guatemalan government and are now run by the local municipality,
with soldiers keeping people in and others out, this shelter remains firmly run
by the church, no soldiers allowed. It seemed to be smoothly run. The access
wasn’t as restricted the shelters in Alotenango. Although the gate was guarded,
volunteers could go in and residents go out. World Central Kitchen has set up a
cooking area where people can get their breakfast, lunch and dinner. A huge
tent provides shade with a few dozens of tables and chairs where people can eat
or just hang out. The main building of the spacious church now houses hundreds
of people with their few belongings orderly stored on their mattresses or field
beds.
We were directed to
the children’s area, divided in a space for young children (about 100) and one
for adolescents ( about 50) where they are being entertained by psychologists
of World Vision and other volunteers. One psychologist is in charge of coordinating
all activities and the toys, books and art supplies. Despite our “appointment”,
we were not expected, but were told we could do our activities anyway. For
future references we were given a sheet with contact info and a set of very
reasonable rules (1 hour activities maximum; keep the kids in the designated
areas; make an appointment; keep the area clean and tidy; and only healthy snacks
allowed, no candy or cake).
I set up a painting
area (a mini-mural and free painting on big sheets) while Jessica Hoult
prepared the art activity of the day (a “Chain of Love”) at the tables. José
Carlos Barahona, who was so kind to drive us, set up a story telling corner.
Despite everything
being so organized, I had a lot more trouble keeping control over the kids and
supplies than in Alotenango. There was one specific boy, maybe 3-4 years old,
cute as can be, but he needed a LOT of attention and was driving me quite mad.
So I was glad when he finally left for the other activity (Jessica told me
later that everything went quite well until this small boy joined her group, driving
her quite mad. Hah, it wasn’t just me!) Anyway, the painting was fun, even when
the kids decided to start mixing colours. Not on the paper, but in the jars. So
now I have about 20 jars of diarrhea coloured paint. The mini-mural turned out
quite nice and the psychologist asked if she could keep it to put it up
somewhere. (Yes, of course, that was the whole point.)
Jessica and José
Carlos did fine, although Jessica did report that a girl came running up to the
table, snatched a pack of markers and disappeared in the crowd. Well, that
happens. Some crayons also disappeared into thin air, just collateral damage. So
all in all, it was a good experience although on the way back we evaluated the
situation and haven’t yet decided on how to continue. Those kids obviously had
plenty of activities going on and for us to drive 4-5 hours a week for a one
hour activity just doesn’t seem to be worth it. Or necessary, for that matter. So
we’re looking into other shelters that might have more need for some
distraction.
It’s still very
difficult to evaluate the situation. The government is planning on building 250
temporary units in the next few weeks for about a 1000 families, on a government
owned piece of property in Escuintla. It can take years before those families
will actually have a chance to move into a new home, built either by the
government or NGOs. I think that once the people are installed in the “temporary
permanent” shelters, there might be more to be done for us, especially if the
attention and aid will wind down with time. From previous experience (after
hurricane Mitch) I know the value of art activities for kids and teenagers to
express their anxieties, besides having some plain fun. I’m also thinking of
activities that can create a sense of community (painting the temporary homes
in individual designs?) or for example a carpentry workshop where people can
learn and make their own furniture, according to their own need and taste.
So for now, I’ll be
going to Alotenango once a week and probably to Escuintla too. What the future
will bring, we’ll see, but as long as I can contribute with my art, I’m
determined to do so.
Thanks so much,
everybody who has pitched in so far. If you want to contribute, now or in the
future, please let me know! (PayPal: carinsteen @
yahoo.com/ Dutc bank account: NL95 ABNA 0254031374)
