The Forgotten Children of the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

Today was a relaxing day with the sewing group who are hard at it to complete at least two Uracas before I leave. Now the only thing I'm a bit worried about is that Sylvia is so dedicated to this that she may have forgotten my washing!  Tomorrow is my last pair of knickers,  and I'll put my shorts on as it's an informal day. But I saw the toys on the line and I'm sure my washing has been dried. She insists on ironing things. We had a break to go to visit Rafaela Herrera and see how the path was getting on. All is going well, with some help from the community. We also checked out yesterday's pipework.  We noted that the tables  Peace and Hope brought were in one of the newly painted classrooms, which actually looked pretty tidy, such an improvement. We have a group of 10 Polish people in the hostel. They are so loud and quite rude, there's no hope of sleeping whilst they're all gathered in the social area. Last night I slept fo...

Sunday was a day off and involved an afternoon excursion with the family.  We took the road from Altagracia to do a complete circuit of the Volcanoe Concepcion. I had reviewed my information and realised that I needed more information and photos if I was to seek a grant for the sanitary issues.  We had already earmarked Monday to go to the builders' merchants where we were to buy more items especially for El Corozal. This included a kit to mend a toilet and some hoses to connect them up. I think this will be the last trip as we have nearly spent the funds.  We had watering materials for Rafaela Herrera and some padlocks for Sintiope and Las Pilas. I got my wish this time as the shop delivered all of our goods to the roadside free, then we waited for the bus. Everything was duly loaded while the bus stopped,  noone minds a bit.  When we arrived at the school a bevy of helpers appeared which was just as well as it had start...

Today I visited El Corozal.  This involved a long bumpy ride along a mostly unmade road riding pillion.  I can now feel where every bone in my body is situated! Hora nica now seems to have shifted to an hour early rather than an hour late, as Francisco came to pick me up at 8am instead of 9am! Fortunately I was ready. I made a quick video call to Marvin, not a gòod idea at this time of day as I caught him having a bath! Anyway Elvis picked him up soon after and we arrived in plenty of time. There were stunning views en route of the lake and the volcanoe Maderas. Apparently the road gets flooded frequently in the winter and about 25 years ago the school was washed away by a landslide and a new one built. The families are scattered across the hillside and children and students walk several kilometres to arrive and return. Marvin and I had a walk round while preparations were afoot. Firstly we noted a toilet with no door which appeared to be disconnected. Then further to...

On Wednesday we revisited Sintiope. There was a glitch with my lift so I got a ride with Carlos from the hotel.  Turns out Allan had a flat tyre and no phone with him. Then on arrival at Sintiope Amada had made an error and most children attended in the afternoon. But we had chance to see the work that had been done and meet some teachers, unravel a few things. The food bins are in use The locks installed The partition is secure and safe The doors are mended. We identified further need in terms of curriculum books for the mixed age classes, we are following this up. We visited the classes and met the children who fell over each other to have a class photo! We added a few more light bulbs to the shopping list and a light switch, and I need to collect more toys for the younger children, chess sets, early years play materials , I know there are some in the warehouse. I will also share out things to come here directly.  We then walked home for lunch,...