March 5, 1986. Portland Observer, Page 5
__________ Poor Pueblo Recovers From Quakes
b y B ob Lothian
El Rixlco, Mexico — For the im-
poverishcxl Indian pueblo of El Rodeo,
located about 80 miles south o f
Guadalaiara. M exico's devastating
Sept I 9th and 2(Xh earthquakes made
an alreads desperate situation worse
El Rodeo has no pure drinking water,
no water or sewer system, there is no
doctor tor the village o f 2.(XX). no park,
no school bus, and only one bus each
week to the nearest town. 12 miles
away Village residents often walk to
town, w h iih lakes two hours over a
dusty. log trus k choked mountain road
The average income for El Rodeo
residents front woodcutting, the main
source ot work, is about S225/ycar A l
coholism, unemployment and illiteracy
plague the village
According to l ather Jesus Bcmar
ditto Reyes, secretary ol the El Rodeo
reconstruction committee, the quakes
destroved 10 adobe mud brick houses
and seriously damaged 94 others, ntak
ing them uninhabitable Many ol the
5<X) quake victims in the village were
taken in by family and triends, he said,
but some continue to live in plastic shel
ters even though nighttime tempera
lures dip below freezing
Luckily, no one was killed or sen
ously injured in El Rodeo, but coping
w ith the quake damage is just one itane
hardship tor people who live on the
edge o f survival
Village residents are optimistic,
however Their reconstruction commit
tee has come up with a three stage plan
that not only addresses the problem ot
rebuilding the 104 houses, but outlines
later improvement* — extending water
pipes to each house, building a c h il
dren's park, purchasing a school bus
and starling a sewing co-op — that
could help transform the town
Bernardino, son o f a poor w ixxku t
ter who grew up in El Rixlco. said little
government aid has trickled down to the
normally neglected small pueblos like
El Rodeo, o f which there are thousands
in Mexico What aid is available can
only be obtained from a government
bureaus racy requiring documents often
unavailable to Indians, according Io
Bernardino
Die reconstrustion committee has
turned to outside help So lar the pueblo
has received $22,(XX) Canadian dollars
from Quebec. Canada, and another
$2.(XX) from the Oregon Council for
Hispanic kdvancctnenl. Itcinardino
said
The aid money furnished the down
pay ment on a truck tor hauling building
materials, and purchased cement to
start work on a water collection system
ansi reservoir the reservoir w ill make
it easier to mix cement lor building new
houses, he said
A team ot experts from Guadalaiara
came up with a figure ot $lhd.(MX)
needed to construct 104 houses, w uh an
additional $2b.(MX) needed to complete
the water system. Bernardino reported
The aid is trickling in slowly, he said,
and by the end ot January work on only
a few houses had commenced
In Portland. Jose Angel Gutierrez,
executive director ol the Oregon Coun
c il tor Hispanic Advancement, said the
council plans to send another $5.000 to
E.l Rodeo soon Ihe group has opened
an El Rodeo relief tund account at the
I S National Bank ot Oregon's Main
Office, 121 S w Mh \ss- , in is,,t
land, he said
1 he aid w ill be greatly appreciated in
El Rodeo Bernardino said he hopes the
aid w ill initiate future warm relations
between the small pueblo and Oregon
Enthusiasm gleamed Iroin his eyes as
he described plans to transform El
Rodeo
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Don’t Put Away the Hankies Yet
W inter's on the way out and you
thought you were sale from catching
another cold But wail
there's still
one more peak period tor those cold
viruses to attack the arrival ot spring
Peak periods o f cold infection* coin
cide with seasonal changes, peaking in
tall and spring This means that as
w inter fades in Oregon, at least another
250.(XX)people w ill have sniffles, sore
throats, stuffy noses, coughs and
sneezes during a typical two-week
periixl
Mother's advice about simple hand
washing appears to be the most effec
tive ill preventing colds, according to
the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases. Cold viruses — o f
which there are more than 200 — sur-
vive for long periods on hands, tele
phones. doorknobs, clothing, etc.
People infect themselves by touching
these items and then touc hing their eyes
or nose Medical experts advise fre
quent handwashing to break the cycle
and keeping hands away from the eyes
and nose
While studies have proved that get
ting wet feet does not cause colds, get
ting plenty o f rest, eating a well-
balanced diet and avoiding stress do
help keep immunity levels high and aid
in cold prevention.
For those who end up battling colds
despite these precautions, health care
specialists recommend additional rest,
plenty o f fluids, good nutrition, ap
propriate over-the-counter medicine
and various "h o m e " remedies to ease
the symptoms A Mt Sinai Medical
Center study found that drinking hot
liquids was better than cold liquids in
casing nasal congestion It appears that
Mother was right again when advocat
ing hot tea. hot broth and hot lemonade
to relieve the cold suferer.
Gn the heels o f this study, one
• Rene of Part»
Store Hours
10 00 a m til 6:00 p m.
Monday thru Saturday
Amencan drug company has begun
marketing a powdered cold medicine
that contains standard anti cold re
tnedies with lemon flavoring to he
mixed with hot water and sipped
I he National Institute notes that an
tibiotics do not k ill viruses and arc use
less against a common cold Until
further anti-viral research develops a
simple cure for the cold, following
Mother s counsel on handwashing and
drinking hot liquids may still be the best
advice
Location:
1106N.E. Broadway
(•cro’Mi from Saf«W4iy
Lk>v$l Center»
Portland Oregon
Tel. 282 1664
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“ Health Matters”
Looks at Elderly
Adults user age 60 are the fastest
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medical information senes presented as
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