Visiting Las Pilas

Another adventure today, visiting one of the three satellite schools attached to Raphael Herrera. I started the day visiting Jose's family then headed off on my moto to new territory. Well I had been here by taxi to drop Amada off in the dark one night. But I am now getting good at finding my way along the little dirt roads, with houses, children waving and saying 'hola', bonfires, pigs etc.  I arrived at the plaza, a large grass area and phoned Amada, and managed to lose an earring in the process of removing my crash hat. Fortunately I spotted it just before I moved off.

Las Piles is a small community and the school  has a few mixed age classes from 3 to 12. Today was the first day of term and children were being registered and I arrived when some were eating. 

They always have a meal to start which is government funded but prepared by the parents. If something goes wrong with the arrangement, they don't eat which was the case with one class. There was a large delivery of rice in one classroom.

The highlight of the day was an impending delivery by the government of backpacks containing some stationery, which is provided once a year for these outlying communities.

Meanwhile Amada took me to her home where her mother lives with a neice whose parents have gone to a Costa Rica to work.  This too is common practice. We had coconut water and I met both her mother and sister.  We also called at Uriel's  house but he was at the beach.

When we returned to the school the delivery came.

And the teachers took them  to distribute. School work proper starts tomorrow. The classrooms here were quite bare and the library was hard to believe.  When I asked about books they smiled politely as if I had made a strange joke.

I then left to continue to Jose's family having met more kind people full of gratitude, but having identified much more need.

I visited Jordy's house en route where I was offered coffee, then continued to Jose's house for lunch where again, mine was served first and the fish was served for me so I didn't have trouble with the bones. I spent the afternoon with the family sat outside with the family and Jose. There was a lot of discussion about the need for help and clearly everyone wants a piece if the action. Flexibility and sensitivity are needed when dealing with communities with so much need and jealousy could easily arise. It may be best if I separate out my support for Jose and his family and that for the school. Plenty to think about.