ALTON – Terri Cranmer has a mission with the Mustard Seed Peace Project – she wants to better the quality of life for people in Guatemala.
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Cranmer has been working for the past four years with the Mustard Seed Peace Project, students from Southern Illinois in Edwardsville (SIUE) and Engineers Without Borders in the small rural community of Virginia, Guatemala in an effort to bring clean water to the inhabitants of that town. Two other communities, Las Mojarras and San Alfonso, were added to the mission as well. All the work and good will does take funding, and Cranmer said she has an amazing fund-raising team.
“My fund-raising people have just kind of gone with everything,” she said. “They just charge and are making it happen.”
The most recent fund-raising idea – a rummage sale – came in 2017, and Cranmer said she was unsure of its potential. It was proposed by Mustard Seed Peace Project Board member Charlene Wall, who Cranmer said was tenacious about continuing to push the idea.
That rummage sale will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the warehouse located on the premises of the former Elijah P's restaurant. On Friday, April 6, a $5 entry allows a preview night starting at 3 p.m. Saturday, entry is free with a bake sale as well, from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. People are invited to fill a bag full of goodies for $5 Sunday from 8-11 a.m,
Cranmer said several collectibles and children toys are part of the haul one can get at the rummage sale alongside articles of clothing. She said those items have been in storage with Old Route 66 Storage, which donated storage space during the donation collection period. The Facebook event page for the sale stated no TVs or computers will be accepted or available.
Money raised by this event will help the Mustard Seed Peace Project assist with the quality of life issues with the people dwelling in the Ixcan region of Guatemala. Cranmer said she has been working with the people of Virginia to provide clean water through a well, and is going to work on improving the economic standings of women in the village in the very near future.
“We have Engineers Without Borders and SIUE students doing surveying work and measurements for the well,” Cranmer said. “We also have a women's economic development project there. The women there would like to raise milking cows. They want to buy 14 cows and use them to provide milk for their families and sell it for additional sustenance.”
Virginia, Guatemala is located 10 hours from any major city, Cranmer said, and is a neighboring community to San Alfonso. She said people in the region live on as little as $1-$1.50 a day.
“It's hard to explain how they live,” she said. “You just have to be there and see it. I've developed a great relationship with them. They are practically becoming family to us now.”
The Mustard Seed Peace Project is working on building an above-the-ground water tank in San Alfonso. Cranmer said they are new to the community of Las Mojarras and are just beginning to work with those people. She said the distance between Las Mojarras and the other two communities is about an hour by car, despite only being around 15 miles away, due to bad road conditions.
More information on the event can be found on the Facebook event page for the rummage sale.
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