 |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
September
24, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 15Oakland,
CA
Guatemalan
village gets clean water
with help from Fremont parish
These young women each carry a five-gallon
jug of water weighing 40 lbs. Many villagers must carry their water for
several blocks. KAY TIERNEY PHOTO
Msgr. Manuel
Simas, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Fremont, traveled to Guatemala last
month with four parishioners to visit their sister parish, Santa Maria
del Camino. The occasion was the dedication of a new water purification
system which St. Joseph’s helped finance.
The parish gave $3,500 for plumbing and structural improvements to the
church where the water system is housed. The Geisse Foundation provided
$20,000 so Denver-based Healing Waters could install the system.
Healing Waters will test the water monthly to insure that it remains pure.
The July 28 dedication, which drew hundreds of residents, underscored
the need for affordable, clean water in the impoverished community, a
parish of 4,500 people in the Villa Lobos 1 settlement of 28,000 residents.
Until recently Franciscan Father Ignatius DeGroot, former pastor of Oakland’s
St. Elizabeth Parish, was the community’s pastor.
Villa Lobos was founded in 1986 in an area with little water, no drainage
system, and no electricity. The community is more developed now, but on
one side of the church is a squatter community that branches off into
a dense village of small homes along narrow footpaths, said Kay Tierney,
who traveled to Guatemala as part of the Fremont parish delegation.
“Many of the homes are no larger than 18 x 38 feet,” she said.
“Most are constructed of scraps of tin and wood and have no sewage
collection.”
Most residents cannot afford to buy a five-gallon jug of purified water
that costs nearly $2 (U.S.) so they resort to drinking tap water which
contains many impurities that cause illness, she said.
The new water system provides safe water and costs about 55 cents for
five-gallons.. When a resident arrives at the church to buy water, they
must bring a regulation jug that is put through a special cleaning process
before it is filled, then sealed to maintain the water’s purity.
Household buckets and other bottles are not allowed because there is no
way to insure their cleanliness, Tierney said.
.St. Joseph Parish is now raising money to purchase 1000 jugs for Santa
Maria parishioners who cannot afford to buy a jug. Tierney is also asking
fellow parishioners to donate a penny per gallon of water they use each
month to a fund that will purchase wheeled carts to make it easier for
the elderly and single mothers to carry their water home.
The sister-parish relationship began about four years ago. Fremont parishioners
have sent money as well as medical and school
supplies to Santa Maria and hosted four parish council members on a get-acquainted
visit there. Some parishioners have also traveled to Guatemala.
Tierney said Santa Maria parish leaders have taken on many community projects,
including sheltering residents after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, feeding
the homeless, distributing medicine, organizing neighborhood cleanups,
holding sewing and handicraft workshops and offering workout classes for
the elderly.
A villager hauls filled water jugs home.
An elderly Guatemalan woman shows her delight at
winning a five-gallon jug during dedication ceremonies for a new water
purification system.
Parishioners of Santa Maria del Camino express their
thanks to St. Joseph Parish in Fremont for funds to help complete the
new water system. Bill Norwalk and the Fremont parish’s Andamos
Unidos committee spearheaded the project.
Msgr. Manuel Simas, pastor of St. Joseph Parish,
helps distribute water jugs, July 29. Prior to the give-away, the Guatemalan
parish health clinic held classes on water-borne diseases.
Villagers wait in line for clean water. In the first
week after the new purification system began, 10,570 gallons were distributed.
This man, who lives in a squatter village near the
church of Santa Maria del Camino, walks to get water for his family.
KAY TIERNEY PHOTOS
