Lighting a path for progress

Wiring mission empowers nearly 1,200 farmers and their families

Eight Oklahoma cooperative volunteers landed at the Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport tired, sore and homesick after a 14-day mission in Guatemala. Their hearts were joyful to be at their “Okla-home,” filled with gratitude and wonder following an unforgettable journey. Even with the exhaustion and lack of modern conveniences in the remote farmlands of rural Guatemala, each volunteer said they would go back again in a heartbeat. The team recently wired nearly 200 structures in north central Guatemala, alongside volunteers from Colorado and Arkansas. The project empowers approximately 1,200 farmers and their families to safely receive electricity for the first time.

“Serving on this mission has been incredibly humbling. It is our privilege to give the gift of light to those who never had it,” Jarrod Hooper, Cotton Electric Cooperative safety director and project team leader, says. “Their lives will never be the same, and the same can be said about the volunteers. We will always remember the villagers’ kindness and resilience. We are all changed.”

Mission specifics

The project – a partnership between the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) philanthropic arm, NRECA International, and Heifer International – consisted of conducting internal wiring of approximately 200 homes in 38 villages in the region of Alta Verapaz. The organizations worked together to ensure families within a 200-meter radius of low voltage distribution service from the local utility, Energuate, could be connected to electricity. Volunteers installed breaker boxes, light sockets, outlets and switches as well as meters on concrete poles outside of the homes.

The region of Alta Verapaz, which is slightly smaller than the state of Indiana, has a total population of 760,000 inhabitants. The region is agriculturally productive with main crops including corn, beans, rice, coffee, tea, cocoa, peppers, cardamon and palm oil. Textile production is one of the most important economic activities in the region, and the native garments, called “trajes tipicos,” are among the most colorful in the country.

The completed mission will enable local farmers to increase incomes and economic opportunity, improving quality of life. In addition, agricultural communities will have the opportunity to thrive with enhanced business production.

Challenges and opportunities

The team of 20 volunteers lodged in a central location and drove as far as two hours to wire homes. The team was divided into small groups of four volunteers. The drive to the villages as well as walks from home to home were treacherous with rough terrain through hills and valleys, and at times muddy conditions due to frequent rainfall.

Communicating with the villagers was a challenge due to language barriers. Most of the residents did not speak Spanish, instead, they spoke Mayan dialects. Translators were crucial to conveying information from dialects to Spanish and then from Spanish to English. Despite the language barrier, however, volunteers made many new friends and found ways to connect with villagers, especially with the local children.

Josh Stocum, a lineworker from Indian Electric Cooperative, made a special connection with local kids. One of the homes he worked at had a single mom with six kids, which hit him the hardest. “A four-year-old boy stole my heart,” Stocum says. “He was so happy to see us. He talked to me the whole time we were there. I couldn’t understand a word, but his happiness and innocent smile spoke to me more than words ever could.”

Full lives, few resources

The villagers’ resourcefulness, appreciation and willingness to help made an impression on the volunteers.

“Family and community is everything in Guatemala. The people live with minimal resources, yet the ingenuity and practicality they show is awe-inspiring,” Stocum says. “The villagers gave us a helping hand the second we arrived; not only the residents of the specific home we were working at, but multiple families from all over the village would arrive to lend a hand.”

While volunteers noticed stark differences in the local lifestyle to that of home in the United States, they also noticed similarities. For Heath Morgan, energy efficiency coordinator with Cotton Electric Cooperative, that moment came from observing villagers go to church on Sunday morning.

“When we arrived at the village on Sunday, we noticed people dressed up nice walking to the center of town to attend church,” Morgan says. “The ladies wore beautiful dresses and men were in boots, jeans and nice shirts. As we arrived at our assignments, we could hear music and the villagers singing at church about a half mile away. That was special.”

The mission is the sixth international electrification project sponsored by Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives. It takes electric cooperatives back to their roots.

“Life without electricity is hard. Co-ops brought electricity to rural America when no one else would because it wasn’t profitable,” Chris Meyers, general manager of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, says. “Our rural farmers joined together and started their own electric company – the cooperative – owned and governed by themselves. Serving others where no one else will is in our DNA.”

Oklahoma volunteers serving on the project were: Team Leader Jarrod Hooper (Cotton Electric Cooperative, Walters-Okla.), Jerry Cundiff (Central Rural Electric Cooperative, Stillwater-Okla.), Stephanie Jones (Cimarron Electric Cooperative, Kingfisher-Okla.), Josh Stocum (Indian Electric Cooperative, Cleveland-Okla.), Thomas Gleason (Kay Electric Cooperative, Blackwell-Okla.), Heath Morgan (Cotton Electric Cooperative, Walters-Okla.), Billy Patterson (CKenergy Electric Cooperative, Binger-Okla.), Larry Crowell (Cotton Electric Cooperative, Walters-Okla.).

Thank you! Gracias!

Publisher’s Note: Volunteers from Oklahoma, Colorado and Arkansas distributed 200 totes to local homes with educational and hygiene products. A big THANK YOU to all who gave. Your generosity and kindness are heart-warming. Thank you, OKL readers, for your kind hearts. Your gift made a tremendous impact. May you be blessed beyond measure!