The puzzle of Arenal

Arenal is a village which sits on the western border of Belize, straddling Guatemala and Belize. The border runs down the center of the village soccer field. Chuck and I had visited Arenal in 2007 ( the Belize side). We tested the water and it was contaminated. But we did not feel that we had any clear operating partner and little community involvement. This year, we received a request from a young social worker, Ingrid, who was very concerned about the situation with water on the Guatemala side. Other contacts in Belize warned us about the safety of the Arenal area, saying that it was an area of drug activity, that people had died there, and it was unsafe. They strongly warned against involvement in Arenal. Dan found among his notes that Arenal had been listed in his conversations with the rural development minister for Belize. With these things in mind we arranged to meet Ingrid and in her company to visit Arenal.
Arenal is six miles of rocks and potholes outside of Benque, the westernmost town on the Belize’s Western Highway. Ingrid arranged with the Belize police for us to cross the unpatrolled border from Belize into the Guatemala side of Arenal. We found the Guatemala village of Arenal to be gracious and warm people with a village council, including the mayor of the village and a women’s council, ready and eager to meet us. They expressed serious concerns about the health of the village. They take their water from the river, which we and they know is contaminated. They want help, they are eager to participate, and they understand the need for sustaining a water system. But from the Living Waters point of view they really do not have a source of water because there is no source in the village that could be tapped to put a water purification system on. There is water on the Belize side of the village, but political cooperation is difficult to come by. The water board of Arenal Belize charges a very stiff price to share their water with the Guatemala side. In addition, Arenal is across the Mopan River from Guatemala proper and is connected only by a swinging footbridge. Border issues probably prevent construction on Guatemala by bringing materials through Belize, and transportation through Guatemala would also be prohibitive.
Prayer support is definitely needed to give us clarity about our role in this village.

Dale