Dear Friends, Here are two short updates on the situation- one from me and one from Chris Rose. The village is now receiving a lot of supplies. We have switched from journalists taking our rooms that were cancelled by tourists to relief workers. The roads are being cleared and the bridges repaired. Today a small group will actually arrive for a photo journalism class for poor kids. Quite a few people are saying they want to come but do some volunteer work on their vacation. Although I have stated that rebuilding homes is our priority, yesterday we bought guipiles and cortes (women's blouses and skirts) for two sisters. They are the eighteen- and nineteen-year-old nieces of Diego Damian, one of the cooks here at the Posada. Their father died in an accident three years ago. Their mother, four sisters and a brother were all suffocated in the mudslide. The girls were trapped in mud up to their chests for four hours. One suffered a head wound that became infected and required surgery. They both suffered fractured arms from beams and rocks that fell on them. The mud in their eyes blinded them for several hours. For that reason, they do not know who rescued them. As they were pulled from the cold mud, their clothes were torn from their bodies. They are in a very fragile mental state. A local psychologist has been visiting them at the private home here they are staying. Village dress is an important element of cultural identity for Mayan women. We also gave them some chicken, fruit and vegetables as they were tired of rice and beans. I also bought 90 gallons of chlorine bleach to disinfect kitchens at the shelters and help prevent epidemics. I suppose, what I am getting at here, is that I will try to spend most of the donations on homebuilding, but will use my own judgement as other needs arise. A Canadian group has set up a large water purification system in the town plaza and is giving away purified water. They will only be doing so for five days, unfortunately. Susie secured free housing for their group next door in the Ralda Family's vacation home. David Hello Everyone, I arrived back home last night after three days on the road bringing in the aid to Santiago. It was truly an adventure. One driver quit on us the first night, the roads were all blocked, we couldn't get to the lakeshore to use boats But our team, myself, our regular Transitions driver, 2 Transitions security guys, and 2 policeman from Antigua made it through with all the aid. All along the way volunteer fire depts, colonels and generals in the Guatemalan military, and other friends of Transitions helped us at every step. I am very proud of Guatemala and more and more in love with this place. The people in Santiago were so happy for all the food and clothing and necessities. Unloaded from the truck, the amount of stuff we got through was an amazing sight. It went to support about 20 out of the 47 shelters being run by churches in the area. An additional 30 boxes of medical supplies went to the clinics operating in town. We delivered $1000 in Quetzals to David and Susie at the Posada to finance the aid work that they have been doing since the disaster. And more dollars are coming in through the internet. We also surveyed the devastation left by the slide. It was horribly sad to see the hospitalito so many worked to build covered in mud as well as the school the Peace Corps had been working on for years. And this was at the edge. The mud was still treacherous and we didn't have the stomach to venture where 100s lie buried. I took pictures of our travels, aid distribution and the slide area. I will send them along soon. Right now I've got a bad cold and I'm heading back to bed. We are collecting more goods and will head back soon. Thank you for all the support you sent!! Please let others know. There is much work left to be done, in supporting the homeless, and soon, rebuilding. Chris Rose COO Transitions Foundation of Guatemala http://www.transitionsfoundation.com/Transitions_English/contact_info.html