If you’ve been reading most of my posts (and I certainly hope you have!), you’ve heard me mention more than once about the architecture of Guatemala. Well maybe architecture is too big a word here, maybe building style and building materials would be more like it.

You’ve heard concrete blocks and corrugated tin a whole bunch of times already. You’ve also heard me describe these structures as “run down”, “basic”, “substandard”, and even “abandoned”. All obviously from my uniquely American point of view. You even learned that some of these “abandoned” buildings were actually public school buildings.

I come from a family of builders, and I am one, too. And I like challenges. Guatemala then was just my kind of place!

I found myself spewing one idea after another of how to improve this, rebuild that, use passive solar for hot water, and on and on. I wanted to stop every mile or so and show these wonderful people better ways to do, well practically everything. American ingenuity to the rescue!

Toward the end of my week there, I was informed enough to ask myself the reality check question: where exactly, John, would you get the materials to do any of these projects? Not exactly a Home Depot right down the street. And even if there was, how would I pay for materials and supplies? Most Guatemalans are more concerned with where the next meal is coming from, then the condition of their roof.

They have so little to work with. Resources are there, it’s just that most don’t have access to them. It’s hard to better one’s condition in life, improve the lot of your family when you have nothing to work with. I recall Stephanie Pena telling of her trip to Africa, where she saw concrete block shanties that sometimes took 20 years to complete. Yes, you read it right. And that suddenly becomes understandable if you have to wait and look and scrounge or maybe steal, one block at a time. And once you have that next block, where will you get the mortar to hold it into place??

And these are simple concrete block shelters we’re talking about, with no indoor plumbing or electricity. What would it be like trying to improve your family’s health care, education, transportation, personal hygiene, employment, or insurance (ha!)?

You see, this is the very reason that people of developing nations (talk about a politically correct, yet highly inaccurate phrase!) need much more beyond handouts and short term mission trips. Stop gaps at best, though very important ones. But just the beginning.

People like the rural population of Guatemala probably won’t ever be like Americans, and I’m not sure I would wish that on them. They don’t need wealth and retirement programs, they just need basic things like education, good health and hygiene, food to eat, a sense of self worth – and maybe a concrete block or two …