St. Viator senior helps families in Guatemala

St. Viator senior Alicia Leja of Mount Prospect returned last month from a trip with her mother, Laurie, to help transform the way families live in Guatemala.

They traveled with officials from HELPS International, a nonprofit organization based in Dallas which provides programs of practical, social and spiritual value to people in developing countries.

To make the 10-day trip, Alicia collected change from parishioners at St. Emily Catholic Church in coffee cups at the back of Mount Prospect church, raising $1,300.

Once they arrived in Guatemala, she was part of a team that worked to install clay stoves inside and outside homes — 120 in all — as well as installing 60 water filters for safe drinking water.

Alicia put her Spanish to good use, serving as a translator for the team. But her favorite part of the trip was getting to know the local residents, especially the children.

“You couldn’t help but notice how thankful the people were for our work,” Alicia said. “They kept telling me I was a blessing, even giving me their own precious bottled water, trusting me to create a new water filtration for their home.”

A HELPS medical team had discovered that the centuries-old cooking method used by indigenous Mayan women was causing a multitude of life-threatening problems.

They cooked on an open fire pit on the dirt floor of their homes, which had no ventilation. Families inhaled dangerous fumes that led to acute respiratory infections and fire hazards, particularly for children.

The stoves that Alicia and her team installed are durable and sit off the floor. They contain the fire in an insulated, clay-fired firebox, which minimizes the risk of burns to small children. A galvanized steel chimney carries smoke and deadly carbon monoxide fumes from the home.

Alicia said she found it very motivating to see the positive attitude of people who had very little in the way of material things. “I realized how lucky I was to have everything and more,” she said.