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October 2011 Featured Story
Hoosiers plan to lend hand in Guatemala
Photo by NRECA International Programs
A young man in Haiti stands by a transformer that waits to be installed. By electrifying his classroom, the electric cooperatives’ international program will give him more opportunities in the future. Indiana’s electric cooperatives will be sending two sets of line crews to Guatemala later next year.
Photo by NRECA International Programs
When Indiana’s electric cooperatives agreed to help build power lines to villages in Guatemala next year, Indiana Statewide CEO Bruce Graham looked to rural America’s electric pioneers 75 years ago. To honor them, he saw helping others was one way to “pay it forward.”
Tracie Trent, Indiana Statewide’s communications coordinator, who is spearheading the project, saw it also, in a small but personally meaningful way, as a pay back.
She and her husband, John, adopted their son, Sam, from Guatemala over Easter of 2004. Since beginning her career with Indiana’s electric cooperatives in 2007, she’s been interested in the work NRECA was doing in Guatemala and other developing countries.
When it was announced that 2012 would celebrate cooperatives worldwide, Trent saw the perfect opportunity for Hoosier cooperatives to make their first foray into a foreign land, putting linemen on the ground.
 “During our two trips to Guatemala when we were adopting our son, we saw firsthand the poverty that exists there,” said Trent. “Many families don’t have access to basic comforts we take for granted — like running water and electricity. This project gives me the chance to assist the Guatemalan mother who gave us the greatest gift of all and to demonstrate one of the seven cooperative principles — commitment to community.”
Trent added, “This time, our linemen will be serving the worldwide community and helping to improve the lives of hundreds of families in a part of the world that truly needs a helping hand.”
Sometime next autumn, the first line crews will make Indiana electric cooperative history when they travel for the first time as part of an NRECA International Foundation project. During the trip, linemen will assist municipal electric systems there in building new power lines to remote villages and people who have never received electricity.
Trent said the young men of this region suffered many casualties during a civil war in the mid-1990s. “So the population is predominantly widows and children who’ve had to fend for themselves a little bit.”
These rural residents of Guatemala live in abject poverty and suffer from a lack of education. “Electricity is the key,” said Trent. “Look how our rural communities have grown and prospered since the lights came on 75 years ago.”
Two crews — with six to eight lineworkers per crew — will each spend two weeks working alongside Guatemalan municipal employees, training them about electrical safety, as well.
The mountainous, volcanic region will offer Indiana co-op personnel unique geographic challenges they don’t normally face. Daily tasks which are completed quickly and easily back home won’t be as simple in a part of the world where the poles are still dug by hand.
In fact, Ingrid Hunsicker, who heads up NRECA’s International Programs, told REMC/REC managers in a pre-planning webconference last month that there will be no power tools and all poles will have to be climbed by hand — and foot; there will be no bucket trucks.
“It’s going to be out in the boonies,” she said. “It will be quite rugged.”
Despite the lack of modern equipment or tools, cooperative crews are eagerly volunteering for this opportunity to make a difference.
“I’ve been alongside these guys through a lot of disasters over the years,” said Gayvin Strantz, manager of job training and safety at Indiana Statewide. “This is going to be a brand new adventure for all of us. We can’t wait to hit the ground in Guatemala to get started, and we’re looking forward to getting to know the people we are helping.”
Over the next year, Indiana’s cooperatives will be seeking donations of electric equipment and hardware to send with the crews, as well as financial support. Airfare, food and lodging for the crews will be handled by the NRECA International Foundation. While in Guatemala, the crews will also be working alongside NRECA employees who will handle logistics and language.
Crew selections will be announced in mid-October and the two teams will be recognized at Indiana Statewide’s annual meeting Nov. 15.
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