Monday, July 23, 2007

Teaching Opportunities

Every day we have many diverse teaching opportunities. Each is unique and brings its own unique challenges and approaches. Fortunately, we´re a unique bunch of people. In Suchitoto a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to see schoolkids we had taught about the wise use of remittances teach their community through dramas, murals and to some extent, dance.

Hollan and Blanca taught community leaders in Cuidad Delgado about health and sanitation. Those leaders will in turn teach their communities about preventing dengue, parasites, and promoting general well-being.

Laurel (left) and Maclaine teach English to schoolkids in Habitat Confien. These kids are really committed. They come to a two hour class after (or before) their normal school day is done.

Gregan (above), Cody and Fred taught the ¨Best Game¨to promoters as ASEI. The object of the game is to learn good business principles that they will pass on to the some odd 6000 small businesses that they mentor.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Trust us, we´re professionals

It has been a very full week for us here in El Sal. Between two birthdays, an Indepence Day celebration, the culmination of our work in Suchitoto and our other myriad projects we are always on the go. Volunteers have weathered civil unrest, working in hospital wings where patients sometimes need help with bodily functions, changing many dirty diapers (sometimes of physically- and mentally-handicapped kids who are not at all small), making brochures which cover everything from parasites to sex ed, and various minor infections (sometimes the sinus sometimes the knees you never know). And they´ve done it magnificently. The following pictures do not all come from the past week but they´re pictures you might not have seen so check them out.
Children at CIPI look on as their nursery is fumigated. Not very uncommon. Mike strums some tunes for the special needs preschoolers while Tricia holds down the fort. The kids really love all kinds of stimulation and with a shortage of staff they get very little of it so this was a welcome treat. Rachel´s birthday at Multiplaza. The French cafe was very nice; the desserts were as the French say delicious (okay, that´s not really French).


Painting the pool at CISNA. Fortunately we got this done before it exploded.
Now the fourth of July was quite a blast. We apparently weren´t cool enough for the American Embassy to invite us to their little shindig so we made our own..with fireworks that you Utahns (you law-abiding Utahns) can´t get your hands on. Fred, bless his foolish, foolish heart, lit off one of said fireworks at ground level where it ought not to be. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt. The neighborhood security patrol joined temporarily in our American reverie. Go America´s birthday. Now we look forward to Blanca´s birthday tomorrow.