by Frederick McGough
Frederick with his beautiful family
As the Director of Finance for ENLACE, I have been blessed to be part of an organization with the mission of “transforming communities”. I also feel extremely fortunate to occasionally get out of the office and participate in various projects, one being Project Milagro. I have never kept a personal journal, but if I had, I would have written something like this about my involvement over the past year:
Saturday, July 19, 2008 – Water Board Meeting in the semi-rural community of Las Delicias
As I lean back in the white plastic chair, my mind wonders. I gaze through the open door of the cement block community building and realize that my “North American sight” is still judgmental even after five years of living here. I can’t help but notice the flies hovering over discarded potato chip bags and forgotten plastic bottles. The unwanted scavenger dogs and odd-looking cows loiter about the semi-paved road which are lined with dirt floor shacks that many local residents call home. From my seat I can see the blue and white wall of the overcrowded and understaffed school. The ever-present 90 degree heat and drenching humidity is occasionally interrupted by a slight breeze. The breeze does nothing to stop the sweat from rolling down the back of my neck and forehead. My mind slips to my prior life, where you would have undoubtedly found me “relaxing” away in the bleachers at Wrigley Field or playing golf on any given summer weekend. I am brought back to the present by Pastor Miguel’s question, “So, does anyone have any other comments on this issue”. My focus returns to the nine other members of the Advisory Committee of the newly formed local water board, ADSA. The Advisory Committee has been established to assist ADSA manage their water system. After two hours and counting, we are still discussing the same, seemly inconsequential issue, and I realize that I won’t be making my children’s swimming meet. In that moment, I asked myself, “What I’m I doing here?”
Monday, March 2, 2009 – First Day of Excavation, Las Delicias
Frederick at excavation site on March 2The dry season dust hits my face as I exit the Land Cruiser. The mid-morning sun is baking the already scorched terrain, reminding me why I’ve covered my exposed skin with sunblock and carry a liter water with me. I accompany four other ENLACE members to observe and document the first day of the first piping stage of the water project. Our excitement has been growing over the last five weeks since an agreement was signed between ENLACE, the community, and the national water company, ANDA. If all goes well, in six months bacteria-free, inexpensive well water will be made more accessible to residents of three communities, who have been buying expensive and unhealthy water from water trucks for decades.
As we walk through a patch of banana trees to the work area, I find myself thinking of the countless job-site meetings I attended as a construction project manager in Chicago. Yet, nothing I had ever experienced could compare to this morning.
Over 100 community members had been digging since dawn with homemade picks and shovels. The trench was nearly a kilometer long and a meter deep, covering three elevations of farm land. Other community members provided the workers with water, snacks, and moral support, as the community leaders skillfully managed the project. I can honestly say I had a brief sensation of “awe and wonder”.
Frederick’s journey doesn’t end here. The second part of his story will be published next week.