It was a rainy and quiet Sunday morning when I entered the village of Crawfish Rock, on the northern shores of Roatan. Nobody disturbed the hens strolling with their chickens, who were having a pit stop in the middle of the dirt road and snacking on some food that had been dropped.
The only other activity was at “The Church of God,” at the village's northwestern end. The Sunday school was being held for the village children on a balcony of the church’s management house. In front of the church, people of all ages were walking up and down a ramp where the concrete had recently dried.
Miss Dulce is the caretaker of the church and is extremely happy about the ramp (Photo: Larry Ebanks)
Miss Dulce, originally from Politilly Bight but grew up in Crawfish Rock, is the current caretaker of the church. She was delighted.
-I am 75 years old, and my legs are not what they were.
Her smile grew even bigger as she let the walking stick hit the concrete and walked up to the church's main entrance.
You do not have to be in a wheelchair to enjoy the new ramp. Many elderly members of the community struggle with stairs.
Some weeks ago, things were in place for the Rotary Club of Roatan Utila Guanaja (RUG) to build the ramp. Mike Szuch is the Club Project Service Chair and organizes club-contributed projects. This time it was providing materials and organizing manpower. Mike is pleased with the work that has been done on this project by the Community Volunteer Core (CVC).
-It is important that we have community involvement when the club does projects, this helps build community ownership and pride in what is being done explains Mike.
The Club Service Project Chair, Mike Szuch, coordinates the club's projects. It is essential that he has dialogues with the locals in the communities that are supported
The charity organization “Five Island Sisters” supports the project with members from the USA and Canada. The women craft jewelry and make paintings and sell them at craft markets, fairs, and churches, and the income goes to charity.
-Our goal is to make the beautiful island of Roatan a better place for the children. We wanted to improve their education and provide materials that they otherwise would not have. But when the church's caretaker has limited mobility and uses a walker, we thought it would be a great help for her to have a ramp to make the church more accessible for everyone, says Heidi Blake Maly, a representative for the organization.
Five Island Sisters' charity work with crafts and arts makes a better world for a lot of people on Roatan (Photo: Five Island Sisters)
Larry Ebanks, a local village constructor, and the head of the Community Volunteer Core, built the ramp with his brother-in-law, Austin Connor, and others.
-We spent one and a half days creating this path for the disabled, Larry says proudly.
A part of the construction team. Austin Connor (left) and Larry Ebanks. It is essential that the club's projects involve the locals so they feel ownership of them. (Photo: Roger Bjoroy-Karlsen)
The church, founded by Pastor Esau R. Brooks (1933-2015), usually has 30 participants on average every Sunday, starting at 10:45 a.m. Larry tells us that now and then, people from other places participate in our services over here.
Different branches of Christianity stand firm in several communities on Roatan (Photo: Larry Ebanks)
El articulo en español: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/17816/Stories/una-rampa-hacia-un-lugar-sagrado