Life goes on, but things have changed

Time for an update. Not about the construction progress this time, but about life in the aftermath of three big earthquakes in two weeks.

It’s weird. Life goes on, but things have changed.

Two things, to be exact.

First, that you don’t know what will happen next. Second, that you do know that thousands of people are homeless and scared.

Loss and damage

Let’s start with the second. It is heartbreaking to see all the loss, damages and suffering around us. Although it is not direcly around us, because fortunately Oaxaca has not suffered major damages, but of course the news reaches us from every corner of the country and every day there are new reports of tiny villages, hidden away in the mountains, where help has not gotten to yet and that are coping with collapsed bridges and damaged roads, that makes access particularly difficult, destroyed houses,  no electricity, water and food and that are in need of shelter (there is a big need for canvases, because many people are sleeping outside and it is raining  a lot these days), medication, personal hygiene items, clothes, meals, everything. It makes you think it is going to take years to get all these people a new house, open schools and run profitable business again. And it makes you try to imagine how it would be, to live under a canvas, having lost everything you owned, not being able to build a new house, because you have never had money and you never will. Imagine…! It’s terrible.

Hope

Luckily, in the aftermath of disaster there is also hope. It is heartwarming to see all the civil initiatives popping up all over the country. You won’t believe how many people are organizing themselves and their businesses and organizations to reach out to those who need it. The solidarity is amazing. People are organizing themselves in WhatsApp groups to coordinate what kind of help is needed and where. Huge trucks are taking supplies that are collected at thousands of ‘centros de acopio’(support centers) where people take whatever is needed and they can miss. In the centers where they unload their cargo, volunteers are unloading, repacking in smaller bags that can be handed out to families, and loading again in trucks that go to the affected areas. It’s unbelievable to see how thousands of volunteers (people like you and me!) in Mexico City have been working day and night for days in a row, looking for survivors under debris after that terrible earthquake hit the city on the 19th. As a matter of fact, at this moment, a week later, they are still looking for survivors. And there is still hope.  

Hundreds of boxes with supplies for the Sierra Mixe, in the Southern part of Oaxaca State

We are also trying to help wherever we can, just like everybody else. We are donating money, attending benefit events. We are part of WhatsApp groups to see where we can jump in, and we help repacking supplies when we hear a truck is coming in and hands are needed. It is satisfying, heartwarming and sad-making at the same time. These are confusing times.

Lindsey and Erica sorting out medicines

Terrifying

Then back to the first. It is terrifying to be in an earthquake. Everything trembles and shakes around you and you don’t know what will be the next phase: it it going to calm down or will it get worse and is the building going to collapse? Three big earthquakes in less than two weeks is very unusual. But since it’s very unusual you don’t know what else to expect. So with every tiny aftershock (and there have been more than 4,000 so far) your heart jumps again because it could turn into another big earthquake. It makes you nervous and anxious, day and night. When your bed is trembling at night you jump up, waiting for the earthquake alarm, getting ready to rush out the door. It’s exhausting.

Grateful

But in the end we are fine, and we are grateful that we are. We are grateful we are in the position to help and to maybe make life a little bit better for those who are suffering, that we can enjoy a glass of wine in our well constructed houses, sleeping in a comfortable bed, with electricity, water, food and internet at our disposal, and a beautiful project under construction that will create opportunities for more people in the near future. People that are just like us, but just never have had the same opportunities that we had.  So despite everything that is going on right now, we keep focusing on getting that hotel built (and mind you, we’re making sure it will be earthquake proof, meeting the official requirements), getting great occupancy rates and investing our profits in education for those who need it most.

We’d love to see you once we’re open. Let’s build a strong and lasting Con Corazón Community together!

Love,

Erica, Lindsey and Saskia