The
building of a house for a family is always a great blessing. Let me try to describe for you the difference
it makes…
Maria and
her three teenagers lived in a one-room shack with a mud floor three months
ago. Bits of wood were cobbled together
with pieces of plastic sheeting and some rusty metal roofing to give them
shelter. They had lived in this
ramshackle abode for years, sleeping together on two mattresses on the floor,
cooking and living in that one same room.
Water ran across the floor in the rainy season.
The shack
had no toilet, shower or wash basin. The
family used plastic bags to collect their faeces and put it out in the
rubbish. Sickness was common. Maria herself suffered a road traffic
accident some years before, which meant an extensive operation on her spine. For this reason she is unable to do physical
work, and without an education, is unable to do more sedentary work. Her husband abandoned them several years ago
and has not been heard from since.
The price
of food in Ecuador is currently equivalent to that in the UK. Clothes, detergents, and toiletries are more
expensive in Ecuador. For families like
Maria´s, who receive £35 from the government in benefits
per month, and can maybe earn £5 a day washing clothes for other
families if they are lucky, it is a struggle to simply put food on the table
each day. Saving up to build a toilet,
let alone a house is an impossible dream.
When we
told Maria we were going to build her a new house, she had the old one
dismantled within an hour! She was so
excited. Tears filled her eyes as she
witnessed work begin. Every day her sons
helped to mix the cement and lay the blocks, while she cooked lunch for the
builders. She had one cockerel she was
fattening up for a thank-you meal once the house was ready. The rest of the time the meals were rice,
lentils and cooking bananas.
The new
house, with its´ block walls, cement floor, kitchen bench and sink, toilet and
shower with running water, and two bedrooms, might look somewhat plain to you
or I, but to Maria it is a palace.
Someone stole the cockerel the morning it was due to go in the pot – so
Maria found chickens from someone else to cook us a thank you meal. The builder gave her his sofa bed, so she can
sleep apart from her sons, and also some old curtains for the windows. Maria may not have any furniture, but at
least she now has a safe, waterproof, clean, hygienic home.
I would
like to thank those special people who run marathons, do concerts and simply
donate their savings so that families in Ecuador can have a house of their
own. What a life-changing gift to give
to others!
We are
currently working on the 9th and 10th houses to be built
by Project Ecuador… perhaps you will give thanks with me for this fantastic
blessing.
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