My life a little south of Paradise (literally...the closest pueblo is called "Paraiso"

I haven't been here a month and I am so happy in my new site. Everyone is so motivated to work with me and the youth are ready to learn. Usually they are the hardest to motivate. I have already given 2 charlas to my women's group, 3 to my youth groups and 1 to my Chicas group.

I have been thinking about secondary projects as I walk around the community and this is what I have come up with...

 - Food Security
there are about 100 families in this community that sometimes go a few days without being able to cook or provide food for their family. I have been talking with a good friend of mine in the community about building them a garden where they will have a constant source of vegetable and viveres..hopefully. We will give them an orientation on proper gardening maintenance and how to re-use what you harvest.

- Literacy
 so many kids, and adults, don't know how to read. Many of them want to participate in community activities but quit early on when they realize the activities may involve reading or writing. A lot of 14-15 year olds I know are not only pregnant, but don't have any literacy skills. So, the house that I will be moving into has a huge section that used to be a colmado. I will be converting this into a "sala de tarea" which is a learning center where the kids can come and I can help with homework, teach them reading skills, be creative, etc. The goal here is not only literacy but to also begin to work on that part of the brain , analytical and creative, that is never touched in the education system here. I will be working on inventing some games and activities with recylced materials but...IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO MY LEARNING CENTER, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED BY NOT ONLY ME, BUT MY COMMUNITY MEMBERS. A LOT OF CHILDREN WHO MAY NOT HAVE A FUTURE MIGHT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WITH CREATIVE ACTIVITIES!  

        THEY CAN BE:
BOOKS
COLORING MATERIALS
CLAY
LEARNING MATERIALS OF ANY KIND
YARN
COLORING BOOKS

                                      IF INTERESTED SEND ME AN E-MAIL

- Latrines...?
I am very interested in doing a latrine project. How, when and where is a whole other question. I am trying to prioritize projects considering my time here. I love this community so much that I would love to do it all...but, only time will tell!

Here are some pictures of how I have been spending my time

the girls love to color pictures - they give them to me to hang up on my wall :)

A day at the beach with some of my Chicas!

Yes, that is me having my Morning coffee

We cooked lunch and made this cave our "base"

In the spirit of trying to spark creativity, I told them to find a way to make a fort with what they could find on the beach