Good Evening Friends and family from Guatemala,
As I write this blog, the rain is still drizzling after a heavy rainfall. Overall the situation, following Storm Agatha, has improved. Emergency repairs to roads and highways have been achieved and also temporary bridges are in place and landslides cleared. Many people are still in shelters but food and medicine are being distributed. Unfortunately water systems continue to be a major obstacle for the majority of communities where the Mission Of the Diocese of Helena is located. We are beginning to do an evaluation of this situation, as lack of water affects greatly the health situation for the people we serve. Our parish Clinic, LA MAXEÑA, is very busy, especially our laboratory and medical consult.
Today we closed shop in the Clinic, for the afternoon, to celebrate World day of Environment. The actual day was June 5th, which was the height of the crisis of AGATHA! With our usual Music and Prayer, we opened our Pastoral Health Meeting. A banner hangs across the front of our Parish kitchen and Meeting Room. It´s message reads: "For a Peaceful Life sharing with NATURE". The theme of this year´s International Day of the Environment is: MANY SPECIES, ONE PLANET, ONE FUTURE! It is an URGENT PLEA to conserve the diversity of the LIFE on our PLANET! Millons of persons and millons of species share the same planet and only together can we enjoy a more safe and prosperous future. Together, we as the personell of the CLINICA MAXEÑA, carefully considered the actions we must take to preserve all the species living on our earth. We discussed the forests and disappearance of trees, our over use of carbon, our inadequate garbage disposals, plastic bags, unnecessary use of electricity, unsafe water supply, and much more. A video made real the effects of plastic bags and the garbage dumps on roadsides, in communities and near rivers.
Our ONIL STOVE PROJECT was discussed in detail and a committment was made to promote and make reality this project. We are very grateful for friends who have contributed one hundred dollars to provide an ONIL STOVE for a poor family. Thousands of families want this possibility, and one by one, we hope to make this REALITY!! This stove is envionmental friendly; little fire wood is necessary. It helps prevent illness, burns, eye and respiratory disease and of course it is very economical for the POOR! THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION!!
You can donate on line to the CLINICA MAXEÑA AND TO THE STOVE PROJECT AT:
www.diocesehelena.org
BLESSINGS AND THANKS TO ALL!
Love SHEILA
