| Topic | Author | Replies | Last Post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Need flight on Thurs. Aug. 3rd into BRC from Reno or L.A. |
 Shorty
|
1 | September 2, 2009 |
| dying man needs airplane ride to playa |
Ani-Lakshmi
|
0 | August 27, 2009 |
| Ranger wife needs lift to Reno |
carlyn
|
0 | August 21, 2009 |
| Room for 3 passengers? Portland to ze Playa... |
Heather
|
1 | August 6, 2009 |
| One Year Later |
DragonFly!
|
2 | July 26, 2009 |
Before and After
The "house" on the right is where Jesus, Edith and their daughter Andrea lived prior to our work. It's just a few poles stuck in the dirt (sand) with plastic sheeting wrapped around the corners. A few estera sheets (woven bamboo) cover portions of the windward (west) wall. The roof is the same plastic sheeting with old rice sacks placed over some of the larger holes. It has a dirt floor, no windows, no plumbing. It's hotter than a sauna in the summer. They cook over an ancient two-burner propane stove I would throw out of my BM field kitchen. They washed clothes and dishes in the nearby stream and used a communal pit toilet between the river and the cow pastures. They bathed in the stream, like everyone else. Drinking water was hauled in buckets from a neighbor who had a connection to the city-supplied system - but only in the early morning when there was pressure.
The house on the left is what BWB built with the generous donations from the BM Aviation community. It has a concrete slab floor approx 6 meters squared. The home has two small bedrooms, and a combination living room / dining room. It has a nice entryway with a locking door and glass windows. The retaining walls are made of concrete and river rocks, as is the staircase leading down to the doorway. It's pretty nice. A hallway leads to the rear patio where the outdoor sanitation module stands. The Shitter, as we called it, has a gravity-fed shower, a flush toilet and a sink. It is the first flush toilet in the history of this village, and shower as well. The 700-liter tank sits atop the unit and is incorporated into the structure. It is made entirely of reinforced concrete so it's the safest place to be in an earthquake!! The septic tank is 20 meters down from the house/shitter and is 4 meters deep so it should last a very long time.
They are also now hooked up into the city water system, and have electricity as well. Only a small handful of the people in their village have either. So now they have a clean shower, a sanitary toilet and a sink for washing clothes and dishes. The toilet is a big deal because so many of the children in Pisco are growing up in a place where shitting in the rubble piles is normal. "Improved" sanitation means pooping in a plastic bag and throwing it in the street. Education, especially around sanitation issues, is a paramount concern and an uphill battle, to say the least.
At the housewarming ceremony I read aloud the names of the people who donated so generously to make all this a reality. If you could see how much healthier and more robust little Andrea is now you'd know how much of a little miracle you all created. They don't eat any better than they did, because they're still poor. But now everything in her life is cleaner - from her food to her feet and her frilly dresses. And the results have been noticeable and dramatic, even in just a few short months.
The house on the left is what BWB built with the generous donations from the BM Aviation community. It has a concrete slab floor approx 6 meters squared. The home has two small bedrooms, and a combination living room / dining room. It has a nice entryway with a locking door and glass windows. The retaining walls are made of concrete and river rocks, as is the staircase leading down to the doorway. It's pretty nice. A hallway leads to the rear patio where the outdoor sanitation module stands. The Shitter, as we called it, has a gravity-fed shower, a flush toilet and a sink. It is the first flush toilet in the history of this village, and shower as well. The 700-liter tank sits atop the unit and is incorporated into the structure. It is made entirely of reinforced concrete so it's the safest place to be in an earthquake!! The septic tank is 20 meters down from the house/shitter and is 4 meters deep so it should last a very long time.
They are also now hooked up into the city water system, and have electricity as well. Only a small handful of the people in their village have either. So now they have a clean shower, a sanitary toilet and a sink for washing clothes and dishes. The toilet is a big deal because so many of the children in Pisco are growing up in a place where shitting in the rubble piles is normal. "Improved" sanitation means pooping in a plastic bag and throwing it in the street. Education, especially around sanitation issues, is a paramount concern and an uphill battle, to say the least.
At the housewarming ceremony I read aloud the names of the people who donated so generously to make all this a reality. If you could see how much healthier and more robust little Andrea is now you'd know how much of a little miracle you all created. They don't eat any better than they did, because they're still poor. But now everything in her life is cleaner - from her food to her feet and her frilly dresses. And the results have been noticeable and dramatic, even in just a few short months.
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