In mid-June, 14 lineworkers from Minnesota and Iowa traveled approximately 2,800 miles to transform a rural village in Guatemala, improving lives for generations to come. The trip was part of NRECA International, which has been sending volunteers to illuminate villages and homes in impoverished countries around the world since 1962.

ECI REC was pleased to send Line Foreman Brian Reidy to the village of Las Peñas for two weeks to help with this life-changing work. Situated in eastern Guatemala, the village sits at an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet and is made up of about 35 homes scattered on the crests and flat areas of the mountainside. Nearby is the larger community of Jalapa.

Crews helped build more than three miles of power lines and wired homes for electric service.

The lineworkers who volunteered are used to working hard in challenging conditions, but this trip pushed them to new limits. The ride to the village each day was grueling. The team spent more than an hour bouncing over rocks, splashing through puddles, straddling washouts, spinning through ruts, and sliding on a wet red clay road that hadn’t even existed four weeks earlier. The rain—often coming in sheets or as a lingering gray mist—kept the road slick and travel slow. On a few days, the team had to walk the last mile into the village.

“The drive to the village was rough, and the overall terrain was pretty challenging. However, the guys were great and the locals were very helpful,” said Brian. “For 14 guys from all different co-ops to work together smoothly through it all, it was pretty amazing to be honest.”

All the work had to be done by hand without bucket trucks and other large equipment that’s available in the States. However, local residents were eager to help. Crews were amazed at how they completed work that would be done by equipment back home, such as running line down one side of the mountain and back up the other.

In fact, the consensus among the lineworkers was they could not have accomplished what they did without the locals. “We all talked about how amazing they were; they could cross the terrain like they were walking on flat ground,” said Brian.

The local municipality will now manage the lines and serve the village. The introduction of electricity will bring meaningful change to the community. In rural villages, boys often attend school while girls are kept at home to do housework and prepare food. With electricity easing this burden, girls can join the boys at school. And electricity brings numerous other benefits, including better health, fewer open fires in kitchens, food refrigeration, economic growth, and more.

“Electricity is going to bring them a better education and a better life,” said Willy, one of the team’s translators.

Along with building the line, the crews also wired houses with a couple of outlets and lightbulbs. Some younger boys were excited just to have light, so they wouldn’t have to use candles. A man in his fifties said he couldn’t wait to get a refrigerator.

On the last day, the crews met the Las Peñas residents outside the village for a small ceremony and to say their goodbyes. The leader of the village spoke on behalf of the community, expressing their gratitude to the team. “Thank you to everyone who helped,” he said. “You bring happiness for the hope that we can do more now with electricity.”

One Guatemalan woman summed it up nicely: “I am grateful that you came here to visit. It is a grand day that you installed electricity here.”

List of Volunteers

• Jason Donnelly, Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative, IA
• Brian Reidy, East-Central Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative, IA
• Andy Koopmann, Eastern Iowa Light & Power Cooperative, IA
• Bailey Bausch, Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative, IA
• Tanner Dreier, Midland Power Cooperative, IA
• Mike Berkenpas, North West Rural Electric Cooperative, IA
• Hunter Venz, Prairie Energy Cooperative, IA
• Ben Hoyt, Lake Country Power, MN
• Steve Bronner, MiEnergy Cooperative, MN
• Wiley Harris, Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, MN
• Ryan Loomans, Nobles Cooperative Electric, MN
• Eric Dessner, People’s Energy Cooperative, MN
• Steve Dvergsten, Sioux Valley Energy, MN
• Grant Kulzer, Stearns Electric Association, MN

About NRECA International

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s international program has been active since 1962. The program has been working in Guatemala since 2011, and volunteer workers have brought electricity to more than 7,000 people in rural communities. The teams who went on behalf of Iowa and Minnesota’s electric cooperatives couldn’t have done the work without the generosity of the many donors, vendors, cooperatives, and individuals who wanted to support this initiative.

The Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, along with the Minnesota Rural Electric Association, helped organize the trip. You can see more photos and videos from the trip if you join the dedicated Facebook group 2024 Powering a Brighter Future in Guatemala.

Courtesy photos