Picture of the bridge Los Esclavos, the main road that connects Guatemala with the Atlantic oceanand the port of Santo Tomás.
The city has returned to normal, but the country is still in a shambles. 16 bridges have collapsed and the roads connecting Guatemala to Mexico and El Salvador, including the Panamerican Highway, are heavily damaged. The Rotary program Bridges to Prosperity is already on the ground.
Aid is coming in. The European Union pledged several million Euros, and so did the USA.
Rotary organized distribution of food and clothing which are flown to the disaster areas in private planes. Many citizens are helping all they can. My wife and daughter Nicole are working with Rotary and other initiatives. My son finally made it back home after 4 days.
The disaster puts the vulnerability of Guatemala into focus:
Insufficient and poorly built infrastructure collapses, like the new stretch of the Pan American Highway.
Rampant deforestation by a population in daily need of firewood for cooking deprives the slopes of tree roots and provoke landslides. Waterways and drains are clogged with garbage which is thoughtlessly discarded everywhere.
A sprawling capital of 3 million people without an adequate sewage system. This was evidenced by the enormous crater that opened up and swallowed a three story house (see picture in last chapter). The same happened in 2007.
A friend sent me pictures taken close to his coffee farm. The red stuff is real burning lava, setting the countryside on fire.
HeI have managed to get a reservation for tomorrow, 24 hours from now.
My program for the Chicago area is set up and I am in contact with other Rotary clubs along the way.
Here is my updated schedule for the first week. I am working on the rest to make up for some of the time lost. There may be some changes, depending on the response of the Rotary Clubs en route.
| CITY | DATE | ||
| Flight to Washington - Manassas | Jun-05 | sat | |
| Washington | Jun-06 | sun | |
| Manassas-Pittsburgh | Jun-07 | mon | |
| Pittsburgh - Cleveland, OH | Jun-08 | tue | |
| Cleveland | Jun-09 | wed | |
| Cleveland - Toledo-Fremont | Jun-10 | thur | |
| Fremont-Chicago | Jun-11 | fri | |
| Chicago | Jun-12 | sat | |
| Chicago | Jun-13 | sun | |
| Chicago | Jun-14 | mon | |
| Chicago-La Crosse | Jun-15 | tue | |
| La Crosse - Sioux Falls | Jun-16 | wed | |
| Sioux falls - Rapid city | Jun-17 | thur | |
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.
Some people make a world of difference in an effort like this.
The group of Chicago Rotarians who started it all (see Chapter 1 of this blog) has been organizing and rescheduling activities for weeks.
My special thanks to Alycia Brock, Dan Wolf, Larry Kanar and Phillip Klein for their enthusiasm and generosity in helping me on my way. You are a great team!
Here is what they sent out to their friends:
For those of you who were members of the first team in this year’s Guatemala trip, hopefully you had the pleasure of meeting Jean Vayssier. To his fellow Guatemalan Rotarians, he is also known as The Riding Dutchman because of his passion for his BMW motorcycle.
Jean and his daughter Nicole joined us at Ak’ Tenamit this year to help us build the library and learn more about their mission and successes. Jean was so moved by all of our hard work, dedication, and the sacrifices we made to be there that he decided to create a fundraiser for Ak’ Tenamit. He will be riding his motorcycle across the US beginning June 1, and along the way he will be visiting different Rotary clubs to spread the word about AT. His total trip will be around 3,500 miles. You can purchase miles for $10 per mile to support the cause. It is his goal to raise at least $35,000 for AT.
He has agreed to pay for all of his meals and hotel stays, but any meal he doesn’t have to pay for or any night he doesn’t have to pay for a hotel, he has agreed to donate that money to AT as well.
He will be in the Chicago area the first weekend in June, and we are organizing a ride to help him in his efforts. He has also created an entertaining blog to help raise awareness. You can follow his blog at: http://transamericatenamit.
HOW CAN YOU HELP??
1. Buy Miles: go to www.guatfund.org
2. Donate (or otherwise obtain) a raffle prize for the local ride we are organizing
3. Sponsor the Food or Beverages for our local event
4. Provide a place to stay for Jean during his Chicago visit (June 4-7)
5. Attend our event Saturday June 5th and help cook/sell raffle tickets/have fun
PLEASE CONTACT ALYCIA OR DAN IF YOU CAN HOST JEAN FOR A NIGHT, DONATE RAFFLE PRIZES, OR SPONSOR FOOD AND/OR BEVERAGE!!
SPREAD THE WORD!!
Our local event:
Saturday June 5th, we are organizing a ride from Zylstra Harley Davidson in St. Charles. After the ride we will have a bbq and raffle, and just generally have a great time. Zylstra Harley Davidson has graciously allowed us to use their parking lot for our event as well as provided an enormous amount of organizational support for our event. Even if you don’t ride a motorcycle, come to the after party and have fun with us! Help spread the word by making an announcement at your regular club meetings! More details to follow about times, etc.
Thanks for all your help!
__________________________
Zylstra Harley Davidson
131 South Randall Road
St. Charles, IL 60174
Phone: (630) 584-8000
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