Skip to main content

Fire! In a Village With No Roads in, Only Wooden Plank Bridges

We spent the morning walking through La Solution--a village literally built over a marsh in Panama where we are doing what we can to help a sick orphan boy and his little brother. After taping the video in my last post, we went back into Bocas town (just a few blocks away) and had lunch at our favorite hang out.

When we finished and walked back out into the street, we saw a huge billowing cloud of very black smoke rising out of La Solution. Along with what felt like nearly everyone in town, we ran to see what was happening and how we could help.


Four houses burned. I don't think anyone was hurt, but I don't have all the facts yet. Lee helped the guys bring the hose from the only place you can park down through the wooden planks and to the burning houses. People were scrambling to get their belongings out of their homes since all the houses are built of wood (and cardboard) and are literally attached to each other by simple bridges.

I didn't get too close to the fire, but am hoping to go see the damage tomorrow.......





Life can change so easily in an instant.

Trying to pay attention, 
laura


Please check out our FULL WEBSITE at www.PovertyProjectInternational.com
If you want to chat, you can email us at povertyprojectinternational@gmail.com
Or if you want to help us out and DONATE, you can go to PAYPAL and send your donation to  povertyprojectinternational@gmail.com All donations are tax deductible.

Live is an adventure, Live it!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Secrets of Happiness and How to Happify Your Life with Happy Food

Maria with a guanabana ripe off the tree. Panama  Tell me please: What are SECRETS OF HAPPINESS? According to the Happy Planet Index , Costa Rica is the #1 Happiest Place on Earth!  I love this quote from the study:  People  living in Costa Rica have higher well being than the residents of many rich nations including the  USA and the UK, and live longer than people in the USA. Panama has repeatedly been the NUMBER ONE SPOT to retire overseas according to  International Living.  Check out this quote:  Internatio nal Living’s   Annual Global Retirement Index is hitting the presses. And in the top spot: Panama. I should say: Panama  again . Because this tiny powerhouse has topped this index more times than any other country. And this year, International Living is going over the top promoting Mexico as the up and coming best place to retire saying: The U.S.’s southern neighbor consistently makes...

Why I Am Here: The Beauty in the Poor Places

I don't write about myself very often, but this time I just want to share a little bit. I want to tell you why I am here. I have been in Central America for five years now. I came on vacation and never went home. Something happened to me that is hard to explain. I walked streets I wasn't sure were safe. I went places I wasn't sure I would come back from. I got really far out of my comfort zone. And in the most unlikely places, I found life. Now I understand why Jesus ate with the prostitutes and drunkards. Why he went to the lost and the broken. They are actually cool people! You cannot imagine how amazing it was to hear their stories, to feel their pain and share their joy, to meet their families and get to know their names. I wish I could explain to you the beauty I see. I wish I could take the feeling that swells inside me and put it in your heart. I am without words, and so I try to convey in pictures the depth I see in their eyes the joy in the e...

Surprising Discoveries About Why Poor People Are Happy

My time spent living with the poor and the indigenous people of Mexico and Central America has turned up some interesting correlations. You understand that your life is full of stress in the Western world and I am sure you have been exposed to the idea that people who live simpler lives with less things seem to be happier. But do you know WHY? Is it just a mental thing? Is it because they don't know what they are missing? I believe it is much more than that. I lived in an impoverished community in Panama. Many of the home were square wooden boxes that were partially open to the outside. There was no plumbing, no running water or electricity. There were no beds nor any furniture. Families slept on the ground and cooked over an open fire outside. They had no refrigeration (and neither did I for nine months). They collected rain water in buckets which they used for drinking, cooking and bathing. They often went without shoes. They ate very little meat and instead a lot of th...