2009 Mission Trip to Belize
Mission(s) Accomplished
A Story of our 2009 Mission Trip to Belize in Central America
By Jim and Joan Schwai
As we got out of the 12-passenger van in front of the church that we helped the villagers of San Lucas build in 2005, two children ran up to us and yelled out “Mr. Jim, Mr. Jim, our father wants to see you.”
I had worked with their father to build the church in San Lucas, located in a remote Mayan village in Belize, Central America. It was just 4 years ago that he held the ladder while I positioned a wooden form where cement would be poured to secure the 10 layers of concrete block. The roof of wood struts and sheet metal would be attached to complete the hurricane-proof church. As we worked, Pablo Jr. told me of his family and where his land for growing crops was located. The alcalde, or mayor of the village, gave Pablo Jr. his plot of land located about an hour’s walk from their village. To carry his harvested crops he had bought a horse for $25 from monies he earned from growing and selling extra black beans. Black beans along with corn and rice form the main family staples. He and his family live in a village of 138 persons. The village has no running water or electricity. One day during that construction Pablo Jr. came up to me and said he stepped on a nail. The Mayan farmers typically wear rubber boots for walking in the wet jungle and avoiding snakebites. We had minimal medical supplies, but we managed to force some blood from the wound, cleanse it with alcohol, apply bandages, and wrap his foot in gauze. After several days of redressing, his wound from the nail was healing.
On the first day of our two week mission trip this year we came to the village of San Lucas to plan with Mr. Julio, the principal and teacher of the lower grades, how we could assist him, the other teacher, and Matt, a Peace Corps volunteer, in the three room grade school. We were not able to meet with Mr. Julio because his wife had given birth to their third son the day before and he had taken his wife and newborn to the hospital in Punta Gorda about an hour and a half by bus on extremely rough gravel roads for a checkup. I walked the 150 hundred yards down the gravel road to Pablo Jr.’s home and I stood at the entrance. The homes are made of wood boards cut from local trees using a chain saw, roofs from palm tree branches, and lumpy dirt floors. Cooking is done in the home over a controlled open fire and the family members sleep in hammocks. When I entered Pablo Jr.'s home, I was surprised to see him in his hammock. He was in pain. A week ago he was cutting a small branch off a tree when his machete sliced thru the tree limb and hit him in the knee. He had it stitched but was in such pain that he had been in his hammock unable to walk since then. The knee was now swollen, red and oozing. I called the nurse and student nurse that were with us to assess the situation. It looked like an infection had begun creeping up his leg. All I could wonder was how could a one-legged farmer provide for his family in this brutal jungle. Or worse yet, how could his wife and children survive without a father. I promised Pablo Jr. we would go to the clinic, explain the situation, and come back tomorrow.
On our way back to the retreat center, our “home” run by the Pallontine sisters for our two weeks in Belize, we stopped at Hillside Medical Clinic for advice. They would be at Big Falls village tomorrow, about an hour and a half drive from Pablo's village. The next day we received crutches from the clinic, dropped 15 of our group at the new church construction site in Midway, and then proceeded to San Lucas. His leg was more swollen, discolored, and still oozing fluid. We suggested that we take him by van to Big Falls. He discussed this with his father, Pablo Sr., and a friend from a neighboring village in his native Mayan language, Ketchi. We agreed to first go to the clinic that helped him originally and if they could not help, to go to Big Falls. His wife gave him his “medical card” (a few months ago the government started a National Health Care program). With the help of the crutches, we got him in the van and proceeded to the clinic in Santa Theresa, about 30 minutes and three villages away. Upon arrival he was treated by a Cuban doctor and a Belizean nurse, and then given bandages, ointments, and cleansers for the wound, plus antibiotics for the infection from a pharmacist. A healthcare worker explained in English and Ketchi how often to dress the wound and take the medication. We were impressed with the service provided. Upon arriving back in San Lucas, Pablo Jr. collapsed in his hammock. He was exhausted. The nurses from our group, Andrea and Karen, reviewed the timing of medication and how to redress his cut with him and his wife, who both agreed to follow the procedures. We said we would return in two days to check on him when we assisted the teachers and had the craft projects day.
This was our sixth mission trip to Belize in as many years. At the suggestion of Father Dick Perl, a Jesuit priest and the pastor for Saint Peter Claver, we have helped villagers in the construction of their churches that were destroyed by the hurricane in 2002. During the last several years our mission workers have also assisted the teachers in their classrooms, tutored in math and reading, worked in the medical clinic, instructed senior citizens in exercises, built a solar system to power laptops and a printer, and had craft project days in the grade schools.
The churches are constructed of cement block, hand poured concrete floors, wood trusses and metal roofs. It takes 9 to 12 months to build a 35 by 45 foot church. The dedication is normally on Christmas Eve and the adjoining villages are invited to the first Mass followed by a meal of cohune cabbage, a spicy dish eaten with tortillas.
Where we work there are about twenty remote villages with between 125 to 600 residents. Each village has a grade school and the children are bused to one of three high schools if they pass an entrance exam. The rate of passing the test is increasing but many families cannot afford the tuition and books because the average family earns less than $250 dollars a year and tuition and books costs $200 per year. As a result, a high percentage of teenagers start farming at an early age or move to the small cities with few employment opportunities and lots of temptations.
Construction on the sixth church in Midway was progressing very nicely. Many villagers worked with us and we swapped lunch one day. We gave them our peanut butter sandwiches and they gave us caldo soup, a spicy broth with chunks of chicken, eaten with tortillas. At the end of the week six of us went back to San Lucas to help teach math and science, read to the children, tutor in grammar, and do the craft projects. One project used colored paper which the children had never seen before. They also made “tie dye” shirts and painted sun catchers. We checked on Pablo Jr. daily and he was improving.
On Saturday we went fishing, did some gift shopping, and climbed to a cave above Blue Creek. On Sunday we traveled to the village of San Lucas where Father Mo said Mass. The Mayas sang many songs, used a lot of incense, and Mr. Julio translated Father Mo's sermon into Ketchi because that is the spoken language for most of the villagers. After Mass the villagers prepared a delicious meal of cohune cabbage and we supplied three sheet cakes that were devoured by the children in minutes.
As we said our goodbyes and started to climb into the van, we turned around and saw Pablo Jr. standing next to us. He had walked the 150 yards from his home to say goodbye!
If you would like more information on our church's mission or how to help, please contact Jim or Joan Schwai at jschwai@yahoo.com.
