Mike and I were fortunate enough to participate in the 10th installation in the remote village of Tortuga.
It was a great experience. The people were amazing, welcoming and grateful. We believe the majority of the village turned out the morning of our arrival, it was a very special event.
The crew consisted of Richard Villa, Chief Technician, Oswaldo Morales, Technician Especial, Mike Rhea, Driver, Mike and I, Daniel Pinto Pena, the Health Worker and a translator to translate Spanish to K'iche' (sorry but I did not get his name) which is the language of the village.
This is an overview map of Guatemala. We began the journey at Mar Marine on the Rio Dulce and traveled to the village of Tortuga.
We drove approximately one hour from Mar Marine then walked the remainder of the way.
The hike from the road to the village took about 30 minutes.
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| Mike and the K'iche' translator. |
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| Richard and Oswaldo. |
Men from the village carried the solar panel, battery and supplies.
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| The village road. |
We arrive at the school where the solar panel will be installed.
The two men are the teachers of the school. We presented them with a soccer ball, paper, pencils and a bag of treats for rewards.
They liked the soccer ball. It is wonderful to see a group of people in a community working together and being happy.
The guitar that the boys have is made out of cardboard. They enjoyed playing it and singing! Such fun.
Some beautiful young ladies, very shy.
When Richard, Oswaldo and the villagers began the installation of the solar panel and batteries our friend Julio volunteered to give us a tour of his village.
It was great to see the villagers reaction when we showed them their pictures that we had taken. Some laughed and some covered their faces very shyly.
This is Julio with his mother, he was very proud of her and his family!
Some very beautiful mother and babies!
We had a fun time with this family, they were very welcoming and helping us to learn a bit of K'iche'
Back at the school the installation is complete and we take an opportunity to pose with the children and family.
View the video below!
Cheers from Kim and Mike on Ka'imi
