Our club has been a member of the IPA Rotary Copan group for several years. Lynda Routh represents our club on the IPA Board and is a consistent contributor to the organization. The following is a report from a recent IPA trip to Copan ending with the story of a tragedy a couple of weeks ago.
Recently, twelve members of the IPA Rotary organization traveled to Copan, Inspite of some daunting issues with weather there was much to enjoy about this trip. They were plagued by continual rain which made access to 8 villages impossible. Over 15-20 inches of rain was forecasted during their visit. Five of the group were unable to visit their sponsored schools due to bad weather.
Tourism has died out again in the area. Many of the tourism come from Guatemala but that has dried up due to political unrest and protesters blocking roads and highways throughout the country. In the early part, weather was mostly cloudy and cool with temperatures in the 70's. The town of Copan Ruinas had no water for the groups last two days there.
Again, the group enjoyed the interaction with the locals and social time together. The government is looking into the damage to roads and their is hope of funding a permanent solution for these issues.
Last week a pickup truck transporting coffee pickers from our village of El Chilar to their work on a coffee plantation lost its brakes and rolled across a field.One of our secondary students, Xiomara Perez (13), died at the scene.One of our 5th grade students, Dilcia Ramirez (12), was seriously injured. After evaluation at Clínica Peniel in Copan, she was rushed to the public hospital in Santa Rosa. She died a few hours after arrival.
At least, that's what was reported. Later, they tell me she is still alive, but had to be transported to one of the big hospitals in San Pedro. Her injuries are too severe to be treated in Santa Rosa.Several adults in the pickup also had serious injuries, but they do not appear to be life-threatening.We are hoping for the best, and we'll keep you posted.
Our Student Health Fund covers injuries, so at least the family doesn't have to worry about money. We have made arrangements to expedite payments to the family when they need them.