The long, hot and muggy walk over muddy roads to the Ecuadorian village of La Magdalena took us through cocoa farms, past banana trees and green vistas.
CAMBEA, the organization I worked with to get people support, had explained to me the challenges of getting the building materials to the remote location.
Now, I had a deeper appreciation of just what they meant.
The donations from Nebraska helped build seven houses out of bamboo.
“Bamboo is a great material to use for construction,” explained our driver Mario Ojeda. “It’s locally grown, sustainable and it has flexibility for future earthquakes.”
Many of the houses and buildings that collapsed during the earthquake were made of cement and concrete blocks. They crumbled during the shaking. The bamboo structure will be more likely to sway instead of falling down.
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When we arrived in the village of La Magdalena, it didn’t look like the picture I had in my mind.
The village was a cluster of houses spread amongst the trees along the bank of a river. It was mainly farmhouses, in close vicinity of each other, connected by paths. There was a school and a small clearing to play soccer; this same arrangement is found everywhere in Ecuador.
“They are all subsistent farmers, feeding their families from what they can grow. Their income mainly comes from growing cocoa,” said Ojeda.
We walked down a path through the trees toward a bamboo house on stilts. The house was elevated because the river tended to flood in the rainy season. It was the home of Luis and Maria and their three children. As our group arrived on the farm, one of the family members climbed an orange tree to give us some food. Offering food is a welcome custom normal for rural communities.
A bundle of green bananas still attached to a large stem lay on the ground. Two machetes sat perched on a stump and nearby was a pair of black rubber boots, the typical working tools for farmers in South America.
Luis took one of the machetes to peel the oranges.
“We lived in a Red Cross tent for four months, hoping we would find a way to build a new house. We had no money, only hope,” said Luis. “We can’t thank you enough for the support you brought to our community.”
He continued, “When the building materials arrived from CAEMBA, with help from members of the community, we were able to build our home in two days.”
The house is a simple one-room structure made from bamboo with four wooden steps that bring you into the home. The roof was made from a plastic tarp, a temporary and quick piece of construction that will need to be replaced.
It’s also a reminder: More help is still needed.
After the initial earthquake, a series of aftershocks have continued to this day. This has created a sense of fear to spend time in any of the buildings damaged by the quake. One woman shared how their family slept with pigs because it was the only building they trusted.
The work of CAMBEA and the generous hearts of some people from Nebraska, combined with a little hope, have helped change some of this fear.
“We feel safe in our new house,” said Maria. “As a mother, that is one of the most important things you want for your family, to feel safe.”