Tim Wright, a lineman with Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative’s Augusta County office, said he had the ‘experience of a lifetime’ after working in a village in Central America.
After Wright put his name into a lottery, he said having the chance to help villagers in Guatemala was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“I’d probably never get the chance to do it again it was a chance to help out others who are less fortunate than us and give back to the community,” Wright said.”
Wright joined another SVEC lineman, Luke Swanson, and around 20 others from Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia in Santa Isabel. The trip was organized through National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association International (NRECA) and the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC). The crew spent 19 days alongside an electric company local to the area, to bring power to a village of 500 people.
“We built a total of about 3 miles of primary and 2 miles of secondary. We were building the main line of course and then once we got that finished we were in the village wiring up houses, getting them some lightbulbs, some outlets just a little bit of it all,” Wright said.
Throughout the trip, Wright said he built a bond with the villagers, especially the young children. He said it’s been great to reflect on the work the crew did and the memories they made.
“The villagers I mean they were happy, they didn’t have nothing ya know pretty poor over there but happy-go-lucky people. And I mean it just makes you appreciate what you have here the tools, the resources at the co-op cause like I said they don’t have none of that,” Wright said.
Wright said he is thankful for everyone that made the trip possible and looks forward to the potential of more opportunities to work in different environments and communities in the future.
Source : WHSV
