RI President William B. Boyd's Website
June 22-30, 2007 in Gualan, Guatemala
RI President William B. Boyd's Website |
June 22-30, 2007 in Gualan, Guatemala |
|
What is this project?
The Habitat Guatemala (HG) project is a cooperative effort between Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, the Rotary Club (RC) of
Ft. Collins and the RC of Gualan, Guatemala. Habitat for Humanity is very well established in Guatemala and has a long history
of success (almost 25,000 homes built in Guatemala since 1979). In this project, the Rotary Clubs of Ft Collins and Gualan are
sponsoring construction of one single family home in the Gualan region of Guatemala.
Beyond providing a home for a family in need, this project will provide an opportunity for a limited number of interested Rotarians, Interactors and Rotaractors to participate, hands-on, in a service project and interact with our colleagues in Guatemala. To this end, the RC of Gualan is establishing an Interact club in Gualan so this project will provide an excellent opportunity for Interactors from Ft Collins to work with and establish interactions with their counterparts in Guatemala.
In addition, we're planning to spend some time during our visit to observe the progress made in the Dengue projects that have been initiated with the RC of Gualan.
Where?
The home will be constructed in the Gualan region of Guatemala. Gualan is a municipality of approximately 45,000 people in
the province of Zacapa (see attached map). Although only 170 km (100 miles) east of Guatemala city, it can take approximately
3 hours to drive to Gualan from the airport in Guatemala city.
When?
The construction of the home will take approximately three weeks from start to finish but we are coordinating travel to be able
to help finish the home and participate in the closing ceremony (i.e., the last 5-7 days of the construction). We also hope to
take one or two days to make day-trips to nearby Mayan ruins (Quirigua) and other tourist attractions.
We have chosen the last week of June 2007 for this project as this timing coincides with summer vacation for our Interactors, does not conflict with the RI conference in Salt Lake City and also coincides with a week of vacation for the youth in the Gualan Interact group.
Our tentative calendar of events is as follows:
Who?
Based on discussions with our contacts at Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, we need to limit the number of participants to no more
than 12. We would like to have up to 8 Rotarians and up to 4 members of the Ft Collins Interact and/or Rotaract clubs.
How much will this cost?
The RC of Ft Collins is paying for the direct cost for construction of the home ($2,822). This will provide a 400-500 square
foot home (4 rooms plus bathroom) with infrastructure for water and electricity. The family that will take possession of the
home must own the lot and repay a loan to Habitat for Humanity.
Travel and lodging expenses must be covered by each Rotarian. The estimated costs for the trip, on a per person basis, are
as follows:
| Airfare | Continental or United; Denver to Guatemala City via Houston | $715 |
| Local Transportation | The RC of Gualan will provide in-country transportation. We will reimburse them for those costs. | $25 |
| Lodging | There are several nice and clean hotels in Zacapa with excellent security and swimming pools. Rates vary somewhat but, based on double occupancy, the rate per day is estimated at $25/person. Estimated lodging cost for 9 days including tax. | $225 |
| Meals | Estimated at $15/person/day | $135 |
| $1100 |
We are investigating the potential for a group discount &/or use of donated frequent flyer mileage points to offset some of the airfare costs and the RC of Gualan is investigating lodging and meal costs at their end. Our club is also providing $1500 to help offset some of the costs for participating Interactors or Rotaractors and we expect these groups to conduct their own fundraising to cover the balance of expenses.
What's the weather like in June in Gualan?
The months of May to October are the rainy season in this part of Guatemala. Expect temperatures in the low to mid 30°C
(i.e., 85-90°F) during the day with thunderstorms in the afternoon.
What do I do next?
We will be sending our financial contribution to Habitat Guatemala during the month of February to ensure the targeted dates
for construction can be held. Our goal is to finalize the number of participants no later than the end of March so that we
can reserve travel on the appropriate flights and reserve hotel rooms, etc.
If you are interested in participating, please contact Claude Piché ASAP at 970-232-4132 (cell) or by email (claude.piche@gmail.com). We will organize a meeting of all interested persons for more in-depth discussion and planning.