Construction - helping a family in need

One need that Well Child International also helps fill is basic construction projects for single mothers and families in need.

During our trip to Puerto Peñasco, I worked alongside our Canadian member Percy David in a couple projects to help increase the quality of life for a local family.

Guyo, 75, and his wife Vicenta, 72, have lived in Nuevo Peñasco for about 10 years.

While walking home one evening from work recently, Guyo was struck by a car. He had broken multiple ribs and his leg, leaving him with ambulatory problems and limiting his ability to maintain certain parts of their house.

The elder couple also raises their granddaughter, Mia Flores, 5, and were currently rearing a litter of new puppies when we arrived.

The first problem that we attempted to solve was the leaking tin roof that sat over their bathroom. The older sheet metal was removed, exposing an underlayer of particle board that was replaced as needed. New sheet metal was installed, making sure that the new roofing material would hold in some of the powerful windstorms common in the city. The process took about two days to complete from first evaluation to completion.

Since we had extra time left on the trip, we decided to make more improvements. The family cook all their meals outside, common in Peñasco, and often spend time around the cinder block stove. Above this stove was a cobbled together pavilion of wooden 2x4s, rope and rusted sheet metal roofing to keep the sun off them.

The process of rebuilding the pavilion also took about two days. The original needed to be torn down, new posts were erected and cemented, the pavilion was framed and finally received new tin roofing on the second day. While the project was small, Guyo and Vincenta were very gracious for the improvements, helping make their lives just a bit more comfortable.