The Forgotten Children of the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

I think this is the first complete day off, so I have relaxed on the verandah doing my online 'working with refugees' course, got my paperwork all up to date and chatted to Patrick, the Irish guy from Canada who has been coming for years.  Today I got my washing back so now I can change my trousers and bra- I did pack light and things here don't dry as quick as you might think. Then I headed off for a walk to Santa Cruz. I stopped for coffee at a pleasant hotel called Xalli and passed a half an hour whilst a rain shower passed over,  with views of the lake. I walked down to the beach and met a family doing their washing in the lake. One of the children asked me to photograph her in the water which i did. I gave her a bit of change and waved goodbye.  On my return journey I saw her again outside her house. She took a liking to the purse hanging on my rucksack so I gave her a couple of my Kids and Kayaks cards from inside. She seemed pleased with such an...

Today we set off on the early ferry again and met Marlon the taxi driver  who took us around Rivas getting quotes for ICT equipment, finding an art shop and various refreshment stops for a total of $40 for the day. At the end the car was full including boxes on Amada and Jose's laps. After our first stop we met Amada and had a discussion over refreshments. Then onto a store.  Here after much deliberation we made our purchases of a computer set up, an audio system, and a data projector,  total cost just over $2000, but we discovered the exchange rate is excellent at present. The shop assistant was extremely helpful and between everyone the packages were prepared for transport, which of course means ferry.  Next we found the libraries, where I was pleased to find large sheets of heavyweight paper, pencils and size 3 brushes, for the secondary painting classes. Plus we got some paper for the school and for Jose's flyers. Only the school equipment is coming...

I went by scooter and arrived before Amada. Someone came along with keys but suggested we entered through the half wired gate! Today we started at 9am with eight students and ended with 24 and a big pile of paintings. Some arrived having done paintings at home for me. The children have taken on a lot of new skills this week both with painting and English. They help prepare the tables and clear up without objection but today they were a bit lively. However, there is building work going on and so their noise just rises above it and the combination rather increases the decibels. At the end of the session Amada took a group photo and then began the list for embroidery classes next week. There were a lot of willing learners and it looks like I'm starting with 27. More than I really wanted but we'll see how it goes. After lunch the children arrived for the celebration and put on their uniforms. We had a great cultural show with dancing and poetry by the children and...

Yesterday morning I took in all the remaining clothing for distribution. It was another day of painting at the school with about 25 children. They arrive whenever but are never rushing to leave! They are delightful children and willing to help, although yesterday that became a mammoth exercise! It was a bit dark due to a heavy morning downpour so we had to decamp to a new room with electricity. So an army of helpers picked everything up including furniture and moved it. Meanwhile I quickly redrew the illustrations and words on the whiteboard! Then all continued... Amada and I then caught the bus to Santa Teresa, it's about 3km walk to the beach past the little houses and fields with animals and banana palms. We received a warm welcome from Jose and I was introduced to more family members including Ernesto the father of Jose's brother in law, who owns the land. Also I met the local families. Jose was organising some tourists who had come for a kayak tour. I...