El Salvador - 2006

These are pictures taken during a trip to El Salvador from November 28, 2006 to December 2, 2006 by Moe Warrington and Gene Mathes. The purpose of this trip was to visit the sites of the wells drilled by "Living Water El Salvador" and get acquainted with the country and it's people. Some of the pictures used were taken by Greg Hostetler on his trip in June of 2006. These pictures were used to fill in the gaps of the November trip. Additional pictures of the Orange Acres well and the surrounding community will soon be added.

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This shows where El Salvador is located in Central America.

Moe Warrington and I left for El Salvador on the morning of November 28, 2006. Moe Warrington on the left and me, Gene Mathes, on the right.

This is the view of Cuba from the airplane. We flew from Tampa to Miami and from Miami to El Salvador.

Some of the view coming into El Salvador.

The main crops here are corn, sugar cane and sorghum.

Arriving at the San Salvador airport.

The first well we went to had just been completed and the pipe capped.

The neighbors came out to see the excitement.

The kids all enjoyed getting their pictures taken.

They were fun. I even got to play ball with them.

Everyone got into the picture.

The kid enjoyed seeing the pictures of them and their friends.

After dark we all relaxed at the neighbor's house.

We enjoyed a supper of pupuses. A local favorite for us also.

Stewart, an American worker,  had a guitar that he let me use and he played the drum. We had fun making music.

The sleeping wouldn't have been too bad if there had been restrooms of some kind.

It looked a lot better the next morning.

The nine of started the day out with devotions in both English and Spanish.

We went back to the same house for breakfast.

This shows how the well is finished off.

The base is set in concrete.

The remainder of the pump is installed after the cement dries.

Here is what a completed pump looks like.

All of the equipment was then moved to another site to start drilling.

The drill is rotated as high pressure, high volume air is put through the shaft.

This air brings the dirt to the surface.

Every twenty feet a new section has to be placed on the drill shaft.

When the air is again started the dirt is thrown into the air.

Here the mud is thrown up after hitting water.

Stewart didn't seem to mind the mud.

Even some of the neighbors helped contain the water runoff.

Now when the drill started up again the air blew water everywhere.

They prepared PVC pipe to be used as the casing all the way to the bottom.

The gravel that was poured around the casing got clogged and created a problem. It was soon cleared.

There were lots of observers including the pigs that had the run of the house.

This is the dug well used before the well arrived.

Here is the mold infested bucket that they drank from.

A common scene on the country roads is the oxcart. A truck can't go much faster than that.

This simple step-over gate is used to contain the animals.

This is how most of the cooking is done.

Here are some wells installed by Living Water El Salvador.

They are all installed in a community with many close houses.

Most of the wells have a plaque mounted close by designating who donated it.

The pumps are so easy to use, even the children can pump them.

Here is Moe with one of the earlier pumps he helped install.

This is the second well that moe helped install.

Many of the wells we saw were appealing to the kids.

This was a three year old child working hard filling her bottle all alone.

She did a great job and had no trouble.

She then carried it to her mother a short distance down the road.

Another of Moe's earlier wells.

This at last is the well donated by Orange Acres.

This is the plaque for the Orange Acres well.

These pictures show some of the homes in the area of the wells.

You cab see that the yards are dirt with junk and trash everywhere.

The houses are made of very basic materials. Some of the better homes have some brick or cement block included.

Most homes are covered with whatever is available.

Some are mostly open. The only bad weather to contend with is rain.

The main part of the house, of course, is the roof.

Some just have plastic sheets for the sides.

There is always lots of cloth lines.

Some houses even utilize cardboard boxes.

Most all the work is done outside including the cooking and eating.

The inside is used mainly for sleeping and protection from the rains.

The women always carry the loads on their heads. This is so their hands are free to handle the children. Men never carry loads on their heads. It is considered a feminine thing

The laundry is about always done in the local river or stream. Yes, they beat their clothes with rocks.

These outdoor sinks are used to wash the dishes.

We ran across this combination bridge and dam. You drive a car across it very carefully.

Cows on the roads are very common.

Yes, they do have malls in the city. We came here and ate at a Pizza Hut.

Most small stores in town have their own armed guards for protection.

The carry sawed off shot guns with a pistol grip.

Here is a close-up of the guard and his gun.

Most stores in town are similar to this little shop.

The town is busy but not very modern.

An awful lot of people ride the local busses.

We stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken for supper.	Out front is a statue of the colonel to get your picture taken with. Moe and Greg got their picture in June.

This restaurant was super busy.	Here we are eating with friends of Moe's. The food was just like here.

There are little roadside stands like this that serve great pupuses.	We had breakfast with Paul Darilak and his family after staying all night in a real motel. It was quite a treat.

This motel had a beautiful pool but it was way too cold to use.	Friday we went to the Living Water El Salvador warehouse and saw all these pumps ready for use.

This is a yard full of 'Bio Sand Filters' supplied to families to purify water for drinking. The are manufactured at this warehouse.	This is the sand and gravel used for making the concrete bases as well as use for the filtering.

These bases are concrete boxes about one foot square and about three feet tall.	The boxes have a PVC pipe cast into them for providing the filtered water.

Paul Derilak gave us a lesson in the construction and use of sand filters. Shown here is Paul with his friends and family.	This drawing shows the construction of the sand filter. The diffuser plate , which is full of holes, keeps the water from stirring up the contents when it is added.

Here you can see the diffuser plate being put in place. These sand filters will last many years and require only that the jelly like substance occasionally be removed from the top of the water.	We went to a home where we could actually see one of the filters in use. They cost about $30 to $50 to make and install.

This is a kitchen in the same home. It has a stove but didn't look as if it was in use.	This is the entrance to the Shalom Children's Home in San Salvador. This is a non-denominational supported home for abused and abandoned children in the area.

Don & Rose Benner started the home and continue to keep it in operation. The children are not adopted but remain here until graduation from high school.	Decorating the Christmas tree with the children is volunteer from the states Robin Graves. Robin is the one that gave me the tour of the facility.

Here is the cafeteria where we ate and where all of the children eat.	The children appear to be happy, clean and well fed. The children all attend college in the area paid for by donations.

There are a number of playgrounds in the area for different age children.	We saw many of the children at work helping maintain the cleanliness of the facilities.

I got to spend some time with the smaller children. They were a lot of fun. As they grow older they are all taught to speak English.	Just like all of us kids the boys love building things with Leggos.

I asked about clothing the children. I was told that so much clothes are donated that they have to give some of it away.	A wonderful bunch of loving kids. We had a great time together.

I could have spent the whole day just sitting and playing with them.	This is a section of the school they attend. It is also open to other children in the area.

This is the inside of their church which is also open to the comunity.	Moe and I (I am the one in the hat) spent one full day and night at the home.

This is the sign that is at the entrance to Shalom Children's home. HIS stands for "Harvesting In Spanish". More information is available at their web site www.harvesting.org

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