Saturday Morning--the Good News and the Bad
The wild flow of information and the urgency to get news out and about is slowing as more and more people in San Juan Cosala and the Raquet Club are able to use phones, computers and to leave their area--and as more folks are able to get into the area.Yale Weatherby Update--One Couple Makes a Difference
This morning we had an update from Yale Weatherby--we wrote a blog about the work he and his wife, neighbors and friends were doing from out in Roca Azul. He has sent photos of the volunteers at the Jocotepec shelter who are continuing to provice information as to the current needs and accessible delivery points.
Yale includes photos of the cooking team at Mary's on the north side of the Jocotepec plaza. He points out that every time they've made a drop off of supplies the same cooking team members have been there--and he's made a number of drops since Wednesday noon. We noticed from the photos how tired the cooks look, but they are still smiling and still cooking.Yale reports the lesson he's learned: " When pressure is on, more Mexicans speak English than one realizes...." Mary made our mission easy.!!
With his wife, he completed their mission yesterday with the delivery of baby bottles, additional nipples, bottle brushes, diapers (small, med. large, grande)
All of the photos in this blog are courtesy of Yale Weatherby.
All of the photos in this blog are courtesy of Yale Weatherby.
The Downside
As I've done all week, I bought two Guadalajara papers this morning from which I hoped to glean "official" information to share with all of you. There were no new photos or updates on the status of the cleanup, the number of people remaining in shelters or any other information in the papers today. The only mention of this disaster was in an Informador article that related that the state of Jalisco has not contributed any funding to any of the disasters that have happened this summer here in the state, not have they contributed to any of the seacoast cities damaged by the hurricanes and tropical storms.
The article pointed out that while the governor estimated that 15 million pesos would be needed to clean up and restore the village of San Juan (not including the Raquet) he did not offer any suggestions as to where this money would be found.
To date while there are still rumors and reports of deaths in the area the official reports still steadfastly insist that there are no dead and no one is missing. We've experienced this situation before--the lack of reporting of deaths or missing persons.
The Highway
The road to and through San Juan is open. This brings a mixed blessing on this holiday weekend. Folks there can get out now, trucks and cars can easily deliver needed goods, but I would guess that there will be a flood of sightseerers from Guadalajara in town today, tomorrow and Monday.
I visited with two Roca Azul residents who were able to get through to come to Ajijic to work both yesterday and today. Neither of them could describe the scenes they saw, just as they drove along the highway. They said the destruction and debris is beyond their experience or ability to describe. (And this today--the fourth day.
Heavy Equipment Leaving
This morning as I had breakfast at Salvadors in Ajijic, we watched in dismay as several pieces of heavy equipment--bulldozers, front end loaders, and the associated dump trucks headed east out of town. We understand that most of this equipment, pay for the operators and the gasoline to operate them were all donations from private businesses and that can't continue for ever--however, we realize with each departing piece of equipment, the recovery time for our neighbors is drawn out another day or week or month.
The Upside
Just like those unreported companies who have sent their equipment and operators into the area, there are dozens of unsung heroes in the midst of this devastation.
There are so many, it's hard to start singling them out. There are fundraisers, there are folks who dropped everything and let their business remain closed for the day on Wednesday as they dashed to SJC to do whatever they could (The owners of Cafe Q).
There are business owners who are giving until it must hurt and still they give more. We know that Michael Eager of La Nueva Posada sent enormous caldrons of rice, beans, pork stew and 40 pounds of tortillas out to SJC on Wednesday evening to feed the military, civil defense and other workers. Other restaurants, stores and organizations have done the same, over and over.
There are the kind folks who organized the laundry brigade to take care of the clothing and bedding from the orphange and Sam Ditch who has offered to carry things into areas difficult to access on horseback.
Then there are the hundreds of folks here at Lake Chapala, in Guadalajara and in the US and far reaches beyond who are donating food, clothing, blankets, paper products and cold hard cash for this effort.
We know from the photos we've seen that it's going to take more than this weekend or this month or the rest of this year to bring order and comfort to this affected area.
Labels: San Juan Cosala Volunteers
Judy King is publisher of Mexico Insights' Living at Lake Chapala, a monthly online magazine for people interested in Mexico's Lake Chapala region, in the state of Jalisco.
Judy, a 16-year resident of Ajijic on Lake Chapala's north shore, conducts weekly newcomer's seminars, shares her expertise about Mexico in her monthly online magazine, and in the "Mexico Lindo" column for the Lake Chapala Review.
Judy also is a speaker for local organizations and visiting tour groups about the Lakeside area and Mexican customs and holidays.
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