Editor: The Times:
Who would have thought that doing the Cake Walk at the Family Fun Night in Raft River Elementary School would enable a Mayan family in a remote mountain village of Guatemala to have clean, handy water - 4,000 liters of it collected in a big cement tank outside the door of their home?
Who would have thought that doing the Ring Toss or throwing darts would provide one month’s supply of health-giving medicines to over 4,000 Mayan villagers?
Vibrant colors and beautiful patterns are a key part of the Mayan culture. I regard the Family Fund Night as a creative, vibrant mosaic of colors and patterns that produced teamwork, fun, and a positive blending of different ages and social groups of our Clearwater culture. Students of RRES, teenagers from the high school and Girl Guide leaders pooled their time, efforts and resources. Parents brought their children to have good, healthy fun.
And the truth is that this apparent routine community event, one of many other community events, could well save a life thousands of kilometers away from Clearwater and most certainly promote health and wellness to untold numbers of people.
On behalf of these Mayan Pokomchi people and the Pokomchi staff who run Hope of the Pokomchi in Guatemala, I thank you all for your time, money, and hearts to help others.
Linda Brierly
Clearwater, B.C.