One problem we faced was getting the local men to volunteer. Interestingly, this was never a problem in China. I tried to get to the bottom of this.
The Foundations of Agua Muisne and Yanapuma were determined
to partner in building a water treatment system in the town of Estero de Plátano. This determination was a mistake. The
decision to build should have been conditional on the townspeople’s
understanding and commitment to the project. On Day 2 of construction, I
noticed these were both lacking in the community. But it was already too late: materials
had been purchased and work had begun. Nik and Allie were long term North
American volunteers established in the community, and together we hastily created
a presentation and held a village-wide meeting to remedy the problem. I cannot
say we were successful. We may have called to attention the importance of clean
water and garnered a few volunteers, but if we could have halted the project right
then, we would have. The money was there, the ball was rolling, and we could
only forge ahead and deal with the fallout later, sure to come.
