From Ted van der Zalm Facebook post February 6, 2022. From one extreme to another! A two-day delay trying to leave Toronto Pearson during a minus thirteen-degree weekend snowstorm and within a few short hours time, to be greeted by the intense, magnifying, heat-stroke threating sun of the dry season in the mountains of Santa Maria Xalapan, Jalapa.
From the riches of the Niagara Region, where our blessings are quickly forgotten when inconvenienced by lifesaving Covid measures, to the life of extreme poverty where entire families, exposed to the elements, sleep under the cover of the dense vegetation of a coffee plantation where they work for just enough wages to carry life to the next day. Other than wearing a home-made mask, having no anti-Covid measures made available by a world that will line up for a half hour in the drive-thru, car motors mindlessly idling during an environmental crisis, for a cup of the java produced as a result of the suffering life of the campesino farmer.
Jumping from one extreme to another can play havoc on the mind if one allows it to. Along with a physical stamina, there is a mental resiliency needed to “not give up” when the irony of life consistently slaps you in the face, hounding you to new levels of moral awareness.
Amid these challenging times, Wells of Hope has started the engines to another chapter of reaching out in response to the cries of our less fortunate sisters and brothers. The call for water continues to be paramount. Having completed numerous repairs on the drilling equipment during the down time of the rainy season, the machinery and drilling supplies were moved to the community of Lagunia. It was several days before all the drilling needs were sourced and the equipment in place. The well drilling has begun!
Along with providing water to those who thirst, the generous donations of our Wells of Hope supporters will allow us to begin a new sewing program in the Clem Center at Campo Esperanza. There will be washrooms built at the densely populated school of Carrizal, thanks to Rotary Niagara on the lake sponsorship. Our program for fabricating school desks locally, recycling plastics for the seats and desktops, will continue to move forward and much more!
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to be the hands and feet of the Love that your contributions have enabled!