Kristy Vandenberg and Jane Ragsdale described their mission trip earlier this year to the village of Guayabales in Guatemala. Jane now runs the Heart of the Hills camp near Hunt, but in her early years after college, she was a news reporter in Guatemala, so she has an affinity for the people and their culture. The First Presbyterian Church in Kerrville has been sponsoring the trip for a number of years. Kristy Vandenberg Jane Ragsdale With a several volunteers from our area, the goal was to build a Habitat type house for local school teachers to stay in while they taught at the village. Here is the building pad they started with. Foundation tranches were dug by hand. The conditions were spartan, with no running water or sewer systems and no electricity. These are the existing restrooms. The volunteers and local villagers built the structure out a few imported materials including concrete block for the walls and a metal panel roof, but hand mixed the concrete for the foundation, which was dug by hand. A rain water catchment system was built, and a septic system was installed to serve the new bathroom. Solar panels were installed to power the water purification system. Future goals include building a community oven and grille, and eventually a vocational high school. |
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