Wood Burning Stoves
The Need
Today, Indian families cook on open fires in the middle of their dirt floor homes. Toddlers are often badly burned when they are learning to walk, since they often fall into the fire.
Women are burned when their clothing catches fire, because the home itself is small and the fire is in the middle of the room. Adults suffer severe respiratory problems and die at an early age as a result of this 1,000 year old practice. The open fire is used in most of the third world including impoverished and indigenous areas of Latin and South American countries. According to the World Health Organization, one out of five children in Guatemala does not live to age 5 due primarily to respiratory problems. They further state that the leading cause of death in this age range is acute respiratory infection (from breathing the heavy smoke from cooking fires). From the day they are born, the children are carried on their mothers’ back while they cook over the open fires. While respiratory infections are not as visual as burns, the results are equally devastating and are a silent killer. Stoves will get the fire off the floor preventing clothing fires and burns from children falling, and will remove the smoke from the house. Stoves save lives! It also is a more convenient way to cook for the ladies, especially for pregnant women who report that cooking standing up is especially appreciated.
Wood Burning Stove Program
The objective behind the GLED Wood Burning Stove program is to build, deliver, install and train villagers to use steel reinforced concrete formed stoves to prevent burns and respiratory problems due to open fires. GLED home church leaders and evangelists will distribute and make these stoves available at an affordable cost to every family in Chiapas. This will provide a living for those who are ministering to their people.
GLED plans to initiate distribution of stoves by 2010.
