Locals Raise Money for Guatemalan Bridge Project

Story by Terry Carter

On Saturday afternoon, February 11th, The Honeydogs, The Brass Kings, Trailer Trash and Chris Koza will play at Famous Dave's in Uptown, Minneapolis for a fundraiser that’s intended to benefit a very specific project – the building of a footbridge in Guatemala.

The town of Nueva Providencia suffered serious damage from Tropical Storm Agatha in the spring of 2010. An important bridge washed out and the people have no other way to get to schools, clinics or markets except to cross the riverbed. For part of the year when the water is high, the town is cut off.

In cooperation with a group from the Milwaukee chapter of Engineers Without Borders, the Catholic mission in the nearby town of San Lucas Toliman is working to build a new bridge. The type of bridge that will be built is pictured on this page.

The San Lucas mission is led by Greg Schaffer, a Catholic Priest from New Ulm. He’s been in Guatemala since 1964. Among his allies here in Minnesota is Bill Peterson is the Minister for Youth, Outreach and Social Justice at St. John's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. Bill Peterson talked with KFAI's Terry Carter, who asked him to talk about the town of Nueva Providencia and its people.