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After moring prayer, prepared by Heather and Phil, we ate breakfast together and then traveled to the edge of Santa Ana to a community called La Realidad. This community enables the poor in Santa Ana to live in affordabel housing. A single room for each family and common shared facilities for bathing and cooking. The community is actually part of a larger development that includes a park. (Something like a condo with shared facilities!) We were able to spend a little time in the park talking to the families and children about their experience of poverty. The owner of the area is none too happy with the church and mission groups for educating the poor about their rights - it is now harder to take advantage.
After this visit we were able to go up higher onto the hillside with Henry and Umberto. They took us to visit a family that lost everything in a fire last week. The fire, set by a spark from an indoor stove, destroyed almost all of their straw and mud house. With nowhere else to go the family still lived there with almost no clothing and just a few sheets of black plastic to shelter them from the heavy rain each evening. Mother, father, and three children were already showing signs of sickness and malnutrition from their ordeal.
Everyone was deeply moved by the tragedy and after lunch a group returned with clothing, food, and extra supplies we could gather from our own posessions. We all took up a collection to help CFCA build a new home to shelter the family. The building will take about a week to complete.
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