All my concerns over losing electricity and wearing damp clothes seemed trivial after I visited the humble home of Don Rogelio. Yesterday the rains destroyed an entire part of his home as it fell to the ground. Thankfully, his family is safe but they need to move to a new place before these rains bring down the remainder of his house. Losing homes in the rainy season is a common situation for many Guatemalans living in poor areas. Don Rogelio’s situation is unique in that he is blind and cannot work to earn money. I’m trying to think of way to say this nicely but basically he has four daughters and Otto told me he really needs a son right now to be working and helping provide for their livelihood. Having daughters also means that they’ll marry and move in with the spouse’s family, leaving Rogelio alone. Fortunately, a German woman who attended my Spanish school in the past met Rogelio and has paid for his daughters to go to school and offered to help in emergencies. Otto, Sheny and I went to their house today to see the damage so we could report to Germany.
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| The left side of the house all collapsed. |
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| The stove |
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| Don Rogelio talking with Sheny and I about trying to move to a new place. |
As we approached the house we could smell the charcoal and feel the humidity increase. The house appeared to be soaked in water and about to collapse any day. The only color in this scene was the sight of beautiful wild flowers in the midst of Don Rogelio’s rumble and worry.
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| Curtains/Walls and Flowers. |
I got back to our securely built house and decided that I can live with wearing dirty laundry and spiders in the shower.
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