I wrote a HUGE blog post the other day and lost it all when the Internet connection quit. What a pisser. Anyway, I´ll try to create what was a great expose on my life and work during the month of March.
Here´s what´s happening with work…
Bridge: The NGO we were working with is not supporting bridge projects this year. Jerks. So the bridge is on hold, although I will most likely start soliciting funds from other sources soon.
English: I used to teach English every Wednesday to 4-6th graders but after 2 months of non-participation and the kids staring at me like I had aliens sprouting out of my ears, I decided to quit. The teachers weren´t staying in the room to help so it was clear they weren´t going to continue teaching English when I leave and I can think of a million other projects I would rather work on while I am here.
Escuela de Campo: Still participating in this weekly agricultural training in home gardening for profit every Saturday morning with Fundacion Segundo Montes.
Health Committee: The volunteer I replaced worked in health so the majority of my work right now is health related. I attend meetings at a health clinic in San Luis every month, hand out chlorine to put in drinking water and abate to kill mosquito eggs in the pilas, organize health consults, inspect houses, organize trash campaigns, etc. There is a health committee in my community but right now they are defunct. I´m trying to get them up and running because there is a slew of work to do aside from what I am already doing including vaccinating dogs for rabies, fumigating houses, giving charlas on women´s health, etc. But the point of Peace Corps is to empower people to do for themselves, not to do for them. Sustainability!!! So, for the past months I have been trying to organize the community health committee with little success. I think its time for an overhaul in membership. Hopefully I will have more luck in April.
Human Rights: I have the opportunity to host some members of the NGO CARACEN in my community and present a camp on human rights and immigration issues (legal and illegal) between the US and El Salvador. During the camp, the community will elect 3 to 4 high-school students to participate in a youth human rights congress in San Salvador, all expenses paid. The president of this congress (possibly one of our kids) will then present the proceedings of the congress on the National News and Radio stations. What a fantastic opportunity! They are coming the first week in May which is also the week of our community festival so I am hoping to get a big turn out.
School Library: I JUST (like, 5 minutes ago) received information on two separate opportunities. One is to receive refurbished computers for the school at the price of $110 per computer. The other is to get 1000 books written in Spanish for the low price of $300. The US embassy here in El Salvador also provides support in librarian training, library furnishings, and books. I also met a guy the other day who makes super comfortable chairs out of used car tires. I´m thinking school library… But how to raise the funds?!?! And how to get the support of the teachers especially now that I ditched them on the English?!?!
Starry Night Camp: Here is one possibility for fund raising. One of my good PC friends has connections with an observatory here in El Salvador. There is a good possibility they are going to visit my site with their telescopes to give a guided tour of the night sky. I´m thinking about creating a night camp for families with a small entrance fee and various activities like space related crafts made out of trash, an alien storytime, etc. We could also have a raffle with space related stuff and possibly ¨Space Food¨ to sell and raise more money. Just an idea, but a good one, don´t you think?
Environmental Charlas: Instead of English, I offered to give a charla on environmental issues once a month to the school. This month´s topic was trash since we do not have solid waste management in my community. With K-3 I read a story about a little boy who falls ill after eating food that was contaminated by a cockroach who spent his time in the trash around the house and then walked over the little boy´s food. We discussed the story, the different types of trash, and then we picked up the trash around the school. 4-6 graders received more hard hitting facts. They sorted various materials into a timeline of how long it takes for them to break down and with the help of a cigarette and gatorade bottle, I showed them what the smoke from burning trash looks like when it enters your lungs. We discussed possible ways of managing the trash and then did a trash pick-up in the street. I thought it was all pretty fascinating but once again, the kids looked bored out of their minds. I don´t understand what´s going on so I´m going to spend some time observing the teachers to see how they interact with the kids. I´m also going to do the next charla series with a group of PC volunteers. We are going to make worm boxes. Everyone loves worms, right?
Vivero: My community received the support of Microcuenca Rio Torola to create a vivero, or tree nursery. We received 2,000 bags and a set of tools. We had a community meeting and decided to put the vivero under the banana trees of one farmer who lives in the center of the community and who everyone likes. An excellent idea to prevent community politics from disturbing the work. I went around the community and interviewed different people to discern what trees are native to our zone. And then things stalled. I wasn´t quite sure how to proceed. Fortunately, my counterpart contacted the environmental department of our municipality to send out a professional to help with the organization. He brought organic compost with him and Monday we are going to collect the river mud to help fill the bags. I´m also in the process of collecting seeds, at times, with the help of the farmers and the kids. It´s quite fun actually. So, this agrotechnic is acting like a match under our butts but he´s not really helping with organization and details. There are 45 houses in the community and currently there are only 4 families working on the vivero. Once the seeds are planted, there is alot of work to do. Daily watering, pest management, composting, transplanting, watering, watering, watering. Did I mention there is watering to do? Also, we have no plan as to what types of trees we are going to plant or where they are going to go. There are no requisites for receiving trees. I fear these four families are going to do all the work and be bitter when the rest of the community takes all the trees. Anyway, I need to call the agrotechnic pronto to figure out his game plan and perhaps iron out some of these details.
Unidad Ambiental Municipal: This same agrotechnic invited me to a meeting yesterday with the Unidad Ambiental Municipal, the mayor´s environmental department. They want every community to develop Environmental Health Committees to work in the improvement of soil, air, and water quality. These committees would organize trash and recycling campaigns, work in reforestation and soil improvement, crop diversification, house gardens, etc. Perfect!!! There is a meeting next week to write environmental ordinances for the entire municipality and a work plan. In April, we will present the plan and ordinances to the mayor. Very exciting! So right now, I am doing alot of foot work. Getting people pumped up about the vivero and trying to create an Environmental Committee with people who actually want to work and have the time as well. I feel pretty good about it so far which is a good sign 🙂
Good Lord! What else???
Futbol: As much as I tried to avoid futbol, I was tricked into liking it. Ever since I arrived in site in December, I´ve been trying to organize the defunct women´s futbol team with little success. One day two weeks ago, one of the old team members told me she had invited another women´s team to play against us. I immediately freaked out considering we had never even had a practice. She said, no worries, you are just going to sit on the bench and observe the goalie to see if you are interested in playing in the future. Ok, sounds good! Well… game day rolls around and as soon as I show up to the field I am handed a uniform (number 5) and told to play midfield. AHHH!!!! After 90 minutes of blindly running up and down the field with 21 other girls (they wouldn´t let me wear my glasses for fear of an eye injury), WE WON!!!! 1-0. And perhaps more importantly, I am now just a tiny bit closer with the girls in my community and I can´t wait to play again.
Fieldhand: I still milk cows occasionally and after being told women have no place in the field, I grabbed a cuma and showed them what´s what by harvesting sugar cane. Let me tell you, it´s HARD WORK!!! The sugar cane is heavy and the leaves have spines. Also, sugar cane fields are not like coffee fincas. There is no shade. But I had a great time and word has gotten round that I can work. Excellent!
And now, news from the Personal Life…
Pup: I received a puppy. His name is REX, he´s 2.5 months old, 12 lbs., the color of a German Shepard with the texture of a Golden. And I fear he´s going to be an absolute terror but I love him! He´s a good time!
Interpersonal Relations: I have definitely made friends in my community but I still feel left out of the loop. I don´t think people are purposely not telling me things to be malicious. It´s more like they don´t know that I want to be included in as much as possible. For example, the schoolkids are playing baseball right now against other schools, all day long. It´s like field day before the Easter holidays. I had no idea but I defiantly want to participate.
Mental Health: My mental state is like a rollercoaster. Some days I´m flying high and others I just want to hide in my house. Especially when I am compared with the volunteer I replaced in a negative light. I am forever hearing that she worked harder, studied Spanish more, and traveled more. But, they remember her when she left, when she was at a high in her Peace Corps experience. Still, it doesn´t make things easier. But, for right now, I am feeling superb! I just got a package from my mom (LOVE YOU MOM!!!) and some PC friends are coming to visit my site next week. Also, I´ve noticed that when I don´t visit certain families for a week or two, I genuinely miss them and they miss me too. It´s a great feeling.
With that, I´m signing out. Bye!
La Chele's life after Peace Corps 