The Forgotten Children of the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes

 The sanitary project at Rafaela Herrera is progressing well, so materials have now been purchased for one of the satellite schools Sintiope, just a couple of miles down the road.  Further work will take place at Las Pilas and Tilgue as funds become available.  Some small repairs have been undertaken at these schools both during last year's visit with the help of my Canadian friend Patrick and during the year, by local people.  Due to Covid costs of materials are rising, so we are trying to get ahead of the game as far as possible. Progress is being made with the excavation with the aid of the local community.

 The sanitary project was halted by the hurricane and rains, which washed earth back into the holes that had been laboriously dug. After that various people working on the project contracted Covid and were unable to work for several weeks due to the debilitating effects. They only had their home remedies to fall back on.   During the first week of January work recommenced with Pedro Antonio, Marvin an Mateo once more diffing holes fo the new latrines. The almost complete latrines at Rafaela Herrera.  Some of the teachers have said they would like to move in!  I think they deserve an opening ceremony!  They are next to the toilet block we repaired last year where there are some handwashing facilities, which need a few running repairs too. A minor but necessary repair has also been made on a gate at Tilgue School.

 Despite the challenges of the year, the schools still set out to celebrate with the children on a festive theme.  All the schools had celebrations with some presentations, parades, piñatas, prizes and refreshments on the last day of term. We were also able to purchase further supplies for the families affected by the hurricane to enable them to enjoy their Christmas in a simple manner.

 On 3rd November I received the news that a hurricane was on its way and that already there were strong winds and rain.  Next the power lines were lost.  On 4th November parts of the Caribbean coast were evacuated as a national disaster struck.  I hoped that Ometepe being more centrally located and in the lake would be protected.  But no. Later that day came the news that crops had been flattened, the roads were like rivers and poorer homes had been badly damaged.  Everyone was in a state of shock.  Marvin's comment was that he preferred the plants to be killed than the people!  But it is their livelihood and their food. The poorest people live in makeshift homes of wood, plastic, sometimes a bit of tin on the roof, and many of these had blown apart or had water run straight through them. I want to offer sincere thanks to those who responded to my Facebook appeal and within 24 hours had provided funds for immediate help.  Marvin set about gat...

 When I was in Ometepe earlier in the year we identified the water and sanitary facilities as in need of overhaul and improvement in several of the schools. Because of current challenges, we have been unable to obtain a grant or raise the full cost.  However having paid for school uniforms and set aside the cost of the university courses as promised. it seemed best to use funds to make a start on the project.  We have therefore now sent $1200 to begin improving the facilities at the Rafaela Herrera primary school.  The materials ae being collected and work on digging new latrines has begun.  Some repairs to the tank and plumbing were undertaken in February and more of this work can now be addressed. Bill from builders' merchant Digging the latrines, all done manually!  Some paid labour is being used plus voluntary work from parents. Materials being collected ready! More photos will be posted when the work is completed, and we will then update the budget for...