Time is flying here. Work is hard but great! I have some awesome pictures to put up but sadly they are all from fun things that I have done and not really any from the projects. But I promise I will put some more projects ones up soon.
Just a little info on how projects are progressing and new projects initiated:
Balsamo: We are still working in the 4 casaríos. I am the project lead for this, meaning I am kind of in charge of it. So we work in a rural communities and right now we are starting to help them build square-foot gardens. The people in these communities have trouble getting fruits and vegetables, especially during the dry season and these little family gardens will provide them with many needed nutrients throughout the entire year. We have been interviewing families to see what they eat, their major health concerns, and what grows in their soil. This past week we had our first garden demonstration. The people were really excited to start their own gardens!
We travel in style to get to San Lucas (where the casaríos are) as you can see from the picture of us in the back of the truck. It was cold and rainy that day. Well not just rainy, it poured! Another picture from Balsamo is with a little girl Macy. Here family lives in one of the communities and from our very first step on their soil she has been our friend: )
FUDEM: We have continued to give visual acuity tests as a preliminary for getting glasses or being referred to go get surgery. It is an amazing organization that we are working with. They reach so many people and everyone in the country knows who they are. We are very privileged to be able to help them out. I was able to go on a glasses campaign where they take the people glasses that they have received prescriptions for. It was amazing to see the joy in peoples faces as they got glasses for the first time and could now see.
English Classes: I attended English classes for the first time to help out and it was so much fun. The people there are so grateful that we are teaching them and they are trilled to learn.
Habitat: The houses are going up and we are working hard to help them reach their goal.
Hospital: We are doing a signage project in Hospital Bloom, the children's hospital. The signs are all wrong and haven't been updated since 83. We also are starting to volunteer there. I played with children in the oncology department.
CIPI: CIPI is an orphanage where we go and teach dance, art, and empowerment classes to young boys and teenage girls. I helped with the dance classes and absolutely loved it. We taught these girls, many of whom have been taken out of really bad situations, modern dance and many loved it. You could see that it made them feel beautiful and I loved that for them. The boys are full of energy but I love it. They are so much fun to play with.
We are also working with Microcredit, English Conversation Classes, and more. It has been great and I am learning a lot about who I am, what I want to do, and how to better help others.
As far as fun adventures, the last three Saturdays consisted of Ruta de Los Flores, El Pital, and El Imposible.
Ruta de Los Flores is a drive from one town to the next where they have artesanias and cute colonial style towns. It was really fun but at the time we were being hit by a hurricane so there was a lot of rain.
El Pital is the highest point in El Salvador and looks out over a valley. The greenery and clouds are beautiful. The clouds here move really fast, it is extraordinary.
El Imposible is the most awesome, exhilarating, and beautiful hike I have ever been on. From the high points you could see all the way out to the ocean. We hiked through the forest, there were huge trees and bamboo and all kinds of plants, even wild orchids. We also hiked down a river going on natural slides, jumping off cliffs, and repelling down waterfalls. It was amazing. I wish I had a whole length video of everything I did, it was like I was on planet earth.
I will add some pictures at the bottom. Hopefully you can figure out what everything is. I hope everyone is having a great summer!
Oh and here everyone says Ba all the time, it means okay but it is said a ton. I have been trying to incorporate in into my vocab and on Saturday I said it for the first time with out thinking about it. Goal accomplished!
