This creatively titled post is dedicated to my wonderful mother, who dislikes un-creatively titled posts.
I just re-read my last entry to get my head settled on how I should write this one and I was impressed by two things. 1) It's been a heck of a long time since I wrote a blog entry. Apologies. 2) My chances of writing an organized list of things that I've been up to are far less than my chances of starting to write an organized list and then being struck by my all powerful stream-of-consciousness and spewing thoughts onto this e-page. Here goes, wish me luck!
Some highlighted projects that have been in process:
1) The school choir has transformed into basic music classes. It turned out that they needed a stronger base in their understanding of music before we could make it, or at least before I could instruct it. While trying to teach choir, I was coming up against questions like "which note is higher or why is one note longer than another". More representative of the class was the question "what's a note?". I was also struggling with the fact that no three students had similar vocal ranges. So, we shifted our attention to learning about music. I have about 5 kids in my music classes who come to school on their free time to learn about simple rhythms and melodies. Within a month they were sight reading simple rhythms. Progress is slow, but I'm super proud. In order to put their new found musical knowledge in practice, my parents sent me some recorders, re-transforming my music class into a flute class. Pretty cool. Turns out that these little plastic pipes are the perfect tool to learn music with. I hope to bring the group back to singing one day, but for I'm content with the progress we're making.
2) Business Classes/ Shampoo Tycoons of El Salvador. I gave a 15 week course on the basics of business with the idea in mind that we could start a business at the end. The eight high school girls in the class apparently preferred the idea of starting an empire. In 3 weeks they sold 150 bottles of home-made shampoo. We use Aloe Vera plants and some pharmacy basics to whip-up a killer shampoo, then the girls take to the streets and push the stuff. They make me proud. I still have sessions planned for them on basic book-keeping, and presentation skills. In the next month we'll take a trip to the river to celebrate our achievements and our future take-over of the Salvadoran shampoo market. :-) I started a second shampoo group comprised of moms and dads in a near-by community. Neither group has grown enough to worry about competition. Who knows what will happen if they do.
3) Efficient Stoves. The majority of cooking that is done here is done over an open fire style stove. People start a fire (usually by burning plastic bags because it burns faster) and set a pot or pan over the fire. Efficient stoves are stoves that are designed to direct all of the heat from the burning wood towards the pot or pan. Simple. Efficient stoves use 60% less firewood and the improved combustion cuts down on smoke by %90! Respiratory disease is the second leading cause of disease here, largely because people spend all day inside of a house burning wood as inefficiently as possible. The reduction in consumption of firewood makes a serious impact on deforestation as well. I wrote a grant, went to a training seminar on, and am now promoting the use of these stoves in my site. I'll use the grant money to subsidize the cost of the stoves to each family, leaving them to pay about $24 per stove We should get about 35 of these stoves in August, which represents more than 1/3 of the households in my town switching to efficient methods. Check out the website of the people who make our stoves: www.stoveteam.org
On the downside, some projects have seemingly gone down the tubes. The re-forestation project has stalled do to a lack of people willing to plant trees on their land, and the soil conservation project was put on the back burner after a water engineer told us that "while our bad habits our affecting someone's water supply, they are not affecting ours". It was disappointing, but that news really chipped away at our momentum.
On a more catastrophic level, we discovered about $9,000 missing from the community fund a few months back. Gossip went rampant and the community was forced to face the issue of transparency in community dealings. We held multiple meeting to discuss the issue and all of them were relative failures. There were too many community members related to the people indicated in the scandal for us to move forward. The event caused a severe lack of trust to form between community leaders, but in the end they decided to sweep it under the rug and hope it doesn't happen again. The day that they decided to not investigate further was my lowest Peace Corps day yet. I don't feel like I failed them, but I feel like their collective decision was irresponsible and representative of a community who puts family ties above fairness. Bummer.
Here's a fun story:
On Wednesday I went on a most-awesome hike. One of my nearby neighbors has been wanting to show me a part of the valley that I had not visited before. Our secondary objective was to find a semi-rare fruit that's gaining legendary notoriety for it's health benefits. Ojushte. What I didn't know when I started the hike is that my guide had not visited our destination in more than 25 years. The paths that used to exist no longer do (or he forgot where they were). Worry not, we had machetes. We hiked about 1.5 hours from home into a super steep valley filled by a strange mix of cornfields and jungle. Despite the richness of the soil in the valley, very few families plant corn there because carrying the corn out is so gosh darn hard. Apparently, a strong mule, pushed from behind by a strong man, can make it up the hill. Any lesser combination is doomed.
When we had hacked our way to the famed ojushte trees, I found that these trees were had already emptied their cargo onto the forest floor and begun to decompose. I also found that the forest floor was 45 degree slope on which slip-and-slides have nothing. We made our way down the hill by grabbing near by trees, then throwing ourselves to other trees slightly farther down. To my delight, the fruit being rotten didn't slow us down in harvesting it. Only the shell had rotten, leaving the soft nutty center to be washed and dried. We spent about 2 hours picking up ojushte, not thinking about the cliff that we would climb on our return trip.
As is fitting in a jungle paradise such as this one, there were a pair of beautiful waterfalls nearby that we swam in as we argued about who harvested more seed. As you might guess, I harvested way less, but claimed to have harvested way more.
My 61 year-old guide put me to shame on our way out of the valley. He not only carried more seed than I did, he did it without repeatedly falling into pits of rotten ojushte shell. I brought some interesting smells back to the house with me.
Here are some things I'm looking forward too:
The new volunteers are getting here in about 2 weeks! One of my neighboring communities is being considered for a volunteer, and I have high hopes of getting a neighbor.
Ben and Tim, two of my college roommates, are coming down to visit in September. We're planning to go to Utila, which is a small island off the cost of Honduras to get our scuba-diving licenses. It's some of the best coral in the Caribbean, and its the cheapest program in the world! Too good to pass up.
Still a long ways off, but my parents are coming down in December for two weeks. We'll hit some cool sights before spending a few days in my site hanging out with neighbors. Super excited.
Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you! Go ahead and leave a comment, or better, you can email me.
Take Care,
Jesse
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
9 months in country.
Sorry mom. I know you were really pushing for a more creative entry title this time, but I kind of like the idea of consistent titles. At least for now.
It's been a while since I blogged last, so before I write any thoughts I'm going to brainstorm on what I've been up to for the last 3 months. I tried the same technique in the last entry, but got distracted and only wrote about my first bullet-point. I guess we'll just have to see how things go.
1) About 6 weeks ago Jeremiah and Rebekah came to visit. I've got to say, it was probably one of the best weeks we've ever spent together. We started out the week at a small town in the west. We hiked some beautiful waterfalls, ate our first rabbit, and then made our way to the beach. It was relaxing.
Jeremiah got engaged not long after I left, and he'll be married before I'm finished with my service. Outside of his wedding next June, this was our only chance to catch-up face to face. I'm glad to feel like we took advantage of the trip.
The three of us made our way to an ancient Mayan temple in the west after the beach. Unfortunately the park is closed for maintenance on Mondays... but... fortunately, the three of us possess a certain gringo charm (and a willingness to pay security guards) and we were allowed to enter as the park's only guests that day. The temple was super-duper cool.
Next we ventured to the north to the artisan capital of the country. A young artist 50 years ago developed a style of painting, and taught youth in the town to replicate his style. Today more than 70% of the towns economy is based in arts and crafts. Beka and Jer brought home a hoard of painted treasures. It was a bit rainy, but on our drive out we got a full view of the mountains we were passing through. The northern section of El Salvador is remarkably beautiful.
Our next and final destination was my site. I borrowed some beds from a neighbor and we all bunked up together in my little room. They met the my neighbors, hung out with my friends, ate all kinds of food, and found out just why I hate (with all my heart) chickens and roosters.
We went to a sugar cane mill and Jeremiah learned how to wrap sugar cane concentrate in corn husk and strips of banana tree trunk. An elderly woman died in town, and the three of us were invited to make tamales with the women in the town to provide refreshments during the wake. My community was incredibly proud of my siblings visit, and they were super impressed with how interested they were in the community life. I can't say just how good it was to see them. Six weeks later, I'm still feeling great about the trip. I tell Beka that she should come live with me for a few months. If any of you feel like reminding her of how fun it would be, you have my full support.
I went to drop them off at the airport and bussed my way to a church in San Salvador. I hung out and worked with a group of Trinity students teaching Salvadoran students and youth leaders. It was a great opportunity to see good friends, and it fun doing translation work. I still feel like my Spanish is coming along, and it's nice to feel the progress now and then. We visited a church in the south, we gave some workshops to youth leaders, and we hung out in a school that is on the church's premises. I hope I get the opportunity to help out next year as well.
After that, I finally made it back to my site for while and worked on my projects for a while. Here is an update on my projects:
Water in Las Joyas- We finished! We built a small dam around the natural spring so that the water collects and flows down to the school down the mountain. The fathers of the school children got together and re-built the base that the water tank sits on, preventing the tank from sagging and breaking over time. We hit plenty of roadblocks that delayed the project, but I'm proud of the work that was done.
Creative Business class- A close second place for my favorite project. I have 7 high school girls in my class. The other 15 students have all dropped out, leaving me with dynamic and interested students who are ready to be entrepreneurs. 4 of the 7 girls arrive from a village 2 hours north (as about as far north in El Salvador without being in Honduras) to receive the class. They also receive computer classes as a part of their program in school, but their dedication constantly impresses me. In a place where education is not to be taken for granted, I admire these young ladies that pursue it so enthusiastically.
School Choir-This is my clear favorite as far as projects go. I look forward to it every week. The first week that I held choir practice, I had people asking me "what did you do in school? I saw a slew of kids singing "la la la la la" in the street after school." We practice things like recognizing which note is higher, and singing scales. I have high hopes for the choir because the kids are so enthusiastic about it.
Re-organizing the town council- not my favorite, but I have a lot of hope for it being a positive and sustainable impact on the community. We're talking about how to deal with community money transparently, how to take care of the land around natural spring where we get our water, and how to organize ourselves in a way that allows everyone to have a voice in community affairs.
Painting light posts with youth- On Monday I'm getting together with a group of young people in my site to wash the light posts in town and then white-wash the light them. On Tuesday we'll be painting typical Salvadoran designs and pictures on the posts. I think it will be a nice visible sign to the community that shows that the youth are interested in being involved and that they have things to contribute.
Teaching English- I still teach English once a week at a small school on the way to Las Joyas. The kids are smart and they really enjoy learning new words. One hour per week isn't enough to teach very quickly, but it's fun for all involved and it prepares them for high school where they will be expected to have a basic understanding of the language.
Right now I'm in San Salvador at a small hostel. I've had meetings about a scholarship program that I help to manage for young women. We have a leadership camp coming up for the scholarship recipients at the end of April. We'll be teaching time management, talking about healthy relationship building, practicing money management, and giving self esteem workshops. The camp is designed to support the girls as they study, and to prepare them to be strong leaders when they return to their communities. I like the work a lot.
There are other smaller projects going on and in the works, but these are most of what I'm up to. I spend most of my day hanging out in the school helping with computer classes and occasionally helping teachers learn more about using computers to teach.
I like being a youth development volunteer. I like that my primary focus is on youth and on teachers. The longer I'm here the more I find myself thinking about the sustainability of my work. It's terrible to think that any progress made in these two years can easily be erased slowly by backsliding and resistant cultural habits. However, it's easier for me to believe that I can impact children in ways that will affect the way that they live their lives in the future. I feel like my energies are directed in the right direction as a youth volunteer.
I would really like to continue this reflection, but I've stayed up too late as it is. I would love to get an email from anyone that follows my blog, it's always so nice to hear from friends. my email address is jesse.a.flanagan at gmail (trying to keep internet bots from sending me emails. They are not my friends and I don't want to hear from them).
Thanks for keeping in touch! Write if you can!
Jesse
It's been a while since I blogged last, so before I write any thoughts I'm going to brainstorm on what I've been up to for the last 3 months. I tried the same technique in the last entry, but got distracted and only wrote about my first bullet-point. I guess we'll just have to see how things go.
1) About 6 weeks ago Jeremiah and Rebekah came to visit. I've got to say, it was probably one of the best weeks we've ever spent together. We started out the week at a small town in the west. We hiked some beautiful waterfalls, ate our first rabbit, and then made our way to the beach. It was relaxing.
Jeremiah got engaged not long after I left, and he'll be married before I'm finished with my service. Outside of his wedding next June, this was our only chance to catch-up face to face. I'm glad to feel like we took advantage of the trip.
The three of us made our way to an ancient Mayan temple in the west after the beach. Unfortunately the park is closed for maintenance on Mondays... but... fortunately, the three of us possess a certain gringo charm (and a willingness to pay security guards) and we were allowed to enter as the park's only guests that day. The temple was super-duper cool.
Next we ventured to the north to the artisan capital of the country. A young artist 50 years ago developed a style of painting, and taught youth in the town to replicate his style. Today more than 70% of the towns economy is based in arts and crafts. Beka and Jer brought home a hoard of painted treasures. It was a bit rainy, but on our drive out we got a full view of the mountains we were passing through. The northern section of El Salvador is remarkably beautiful.
Our next and final destination was my site. I borrowed some beds from a neighbor and we all bunked up together in my little room. They met the my neighbors, hung out with my friends, ate all kinds of food, and found out just why I hate (with all my heart) chickens and roosters.
We went to a sugar cane mill and Jeremiah learned how to wrap sugar cane concentrate in corn husk and strips of banana tree trunk. An elderly woman died in town, and the three of us were invited to make tamales with the women in the town to provide refreshments during the wake. My community was incredibly proud of my siblings visit, and they were super impressed with how interested they were in the community life. I can't say just how good it was to see them. Six weeks later, I'm still feeling great about the trip. I tell Beka that she should come live with me for a few months. If any of you feel like reminding her of how fun it would be, you have my full support.
I went to drop them off at the airport and bussed my way to a church in San Salvador. I hung out and worked with a group of Trinity students teaching Salvadoran students and youth leaders. It was a great opportunity to see good friends, and it fun doing translation work. I still feel like my Spanish is coming along, and it's nice to feel the progress now and then. We visited a church in the south, we gave some workshops to youth leaders, and we hung out in a school that is on the church's premises. I hope I get the opportunity to help out next year as well.
After that, I finally made it back to my site for while and worked on my projects for a while. Here is an update on my projects:
Water in Las Joyas- We finished! We built a small dam around the natural spring so that the water collects and flows down to the school down the mountain. The fathers of the school children got together and re-built the base that the water tank sits on, preventing the tank from sagging and breaking over time. We hit plenty of roadblocks that delayed the project, but I'm proud of the work that was done.
Creative Business class- A close second place for my favorite project. I have 7 high school girls in my class. The other 15 students have all dropped out, leaving me with dynamic and interested students who are ready to be entrepreneurs. 4 of the 7 girls arrive from a village 2 hours north (as about as far north in El Salvador without being in Honduras) to receive the class. They also receive computer classes as a part of their program in school, but their dedication constantly impresses me. In a place where education is not to be taken for granted, I admire these young ladies that pursue it so enthusiastically.
School Choir-This is my clear favorite as far as projects go. I look forward to it every week. The first week that I held choir practice, I had people asking me "what did you do in school? I saw a slew of kids singing "la la la la la" in the street after school." We practice things like recognizing which note is higher, and singing scales. I have high hopes for the choir because the kids are so enthusiastic about it.
Re-organizing the town council- not my favorite, but I have a lot of hope for it being a positive and sustainable impact on the community. We're talking about how to deal with community money transparently, how to take care of the land around natural spring where we get our water, and how to organize ourselves in a way that allows everyone to have a voice in community affairs.
Painting light posts with youth- On Monday I'm getting together with a group of young people in my site to wash the light posts in town and then white-wash the light them. On Tuesday we'll be painting typical Salvadoran designs and pictures on the posts. I think it will be a nice visible sign to the community that shows that the youth are interested in being involved and that they have things to contribute.
Teaching English- I still teach English once a week at a small school on the way to Las Joyas. The kids are smart and they really enjoy learning new words. One hour per week isn't enough to teach very quickly, but it's fun for all involved and it prepares them for high school where they will be expected to have a basic understanding of the language.
Right now I'm in San Salvador at a small hostel. I've had meetings about a scholarship program that I help to manage for young women. We have a leadership camp coming up for the scholarship recipients at the end of April. We'll be teaching time management, talking about healthy relationship building, practicing money management, and giving self esteem workshops. The camp is designed to support the girls as they study, and to prepare them to be strong leaders when they return to their communities. I like the work a lot.
There are other smaller projects going on and in the works, but these are most of what I'm up to. I spend most of my day hanging out in the school helping with computer classes and occasionally helping teachers learn more about using computers to teach.
I like being a youth development volunteer. I like that my primary focus is on youth and on teachers. The longer I'm here the more I find myself thinking about the sustainability of my work. It's terrible to think that any progress made in these two years can easily be erased slowly by backsliding and resistant cultural habits. However, it's easier for me to believe that I can impact children in ways that will affect the way that they live their lives in the future. I feel like my energies are directed in the right direction as a youth volunteer.
I would really like to continue this reflection, but I've stayed up too late as it is. I would love to get an email from anyone that follows my blog, it's always so nice to hear from friends. my email address is jesse.a.flanagan at gmail (trying to keep internet bots from sending me emails. They are not my friends and I don't want to hear from them).
Thanks for keeping in touch! Write if you can!
Jesse
Friday, January 28, 2011
5 months in site!
Hey all,
I've been reminded weekly by friends and family that my last blog post was on October 23. That's more than a little while ago, and you'd be right to assume that a thing or two has happened since then. I'm about 4.5 months into my site, and 6.5 into my service. Time flies!
As predicted by most of the volunteers who I've talked to in the last half-year, I'm still stuck in limbo between feeling like a total newby, and feeling like I've been around enough, and am at home here enough, and know my neighbors well enough, that I can be productive here. I have a feeling that I'll continue to live inside that tension for the next 20 months. I think I'm okay with that.
I'll try and make a rough list of some of the things that I've been up to. That seems like a fair way to begin my first post in 3 months. Please don't expect chronological order, my brain doesn't work like that.
-A few weeks ago I met up with a group of doctors in Usulutan to translate for their medical brigade. I was pleased to see that my Spanish has improved significantly since I got here. Translating was phenomenal. The first day I worked with a group of optometrists. I felt like I was cheating, stealing all of the precious moments by being the only one that could understand the occasional heartfelt outpourings of thanks that the patients would give. The very first patient I translated for was an old woman who immediately began to cry when we put a pair of glasses on her face. I wondered to myself if her tears of joy would interfere with the consult. I decided it didn't matter. She referred to me affectionately as "little daddy" throughout the entire consult. Instantly gratifying work.
The next day I translated for a medical doctor. In a period of 5 or 6 hours, he and I saw more than 60 patients. Fast-paced work and a lot more variety than the eye doctors. One young woman waited more than 5 hours to pass a consult with us and confessed that she is worried that she's contracted finger cancer. Interesting. Her pointer finger and her index finger had dark marks on them, when she showed them to us making a sort of a peace sign so that we could see all the way around her finger. The doctor pressed her fingers together and revealed that the two marks connected to make a very straight line, and instructed me to explain that this woman simply had dirty fingers, possibly stained by touching a rusty wire. I was more than tempted to think it was funny. I did in fact laugh afterward. However, at the end of the day, that woman was worried enough to sit in an incredibly hot waiting room for hours, anxious about her condition. In no time at all, the doctor, using his powers of education, lifted her concerns and made her feel at considerable ease. I think that's worth something.
Of course, there were some people that took advantage of the situation by clearly making up ailments in order to collect prescriptions and free medicine. That was frustrating. It raised the question of "how do help people that take advantage of the helper?" Should we deny them when we think we're being tricked? Does that put honest but unconvincing people at risk of being overlooked? Are "give aways" a sustainable method for charity? Even though free things are needed, sometimes the point of being necessary, are they helpful to long term development? Can people that feel entitled to help be truly helped by it? Of course, I didn't answer any of these questions. I feel good about the help I gave the doctors, and I'm proud of the work that the doctors did in El Salvador. Beyond that, who knows?
You thought you were going to get a list of things right? Right.
I've started turning wheels for a creative business class that I'll be teaching once a week to 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students. The school director and the teachers are supportive, the students (some) seem enthusiastic. Our first class is on in 3 days. Hopefully you won't wait 3 months to get an update on the class.
Since school is starting, so are some more projects. My school has also given me permission to start a choir! How cool is that! To start, I'll have kids from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade once a week to sing with. Should be fun.
As we speak I'm at an HIV/AIDS prevention training with one of my favorite 9th graders. I'm writing this in the break before dinner. The two of us came out from our town on Wednesday to learn interesting and interactive ways to teach HIV/AIDS prevention in our town. I'm excited to get back to the school and replicate the trainings that we've gotten here. I'm more excited to see this 9th grader grow as an upcoming community leader.
Due to complications in the grant application process, the water project in my second community has been delayed significantly. I'm re-applying this week, and will hopefully hear soon from the NGO about project funding. Exciting isn't it?
I'm now part of a large PC committee called the Women and Youth Development committee (WYD). We meet in the capital once per month to manage a scholarship fund which is raised by volunteers on the committee, and manage a scholarship program that gives young women with difficult financial situations the opportunity to go to high school and college. Tuition is free for high school, but paying a $1 daily to get to school is often enough to convince a family to discontinue a child's education prematurely. A $200 per year scholarship is enough for a years worth of transportation, which enables the all-star students in PCV communities to continue their education. It's pretty cool work, but traveling all the way to the capital every month, frankly, it sucks.
I wrote a grant proposal on the behalf of the committee last month for $500 to plan a leadership camp for our scholarship winners. It was approved last month making it my first successful proposal ever! The camp should be sometime in early April. Also exciting.
JEREMIAH AND BEKA ARE COMING TO VISIT SOON!!! If that's not cool beans, I don't know what is.
Christmas in site was wonderful. I was constantly treated like a long lost son who could be convinced to stay if he were force-fed tamales. I ate so many tamales. I visited tons of houses, eating more than could possibly have been healthy at each one. It was cool.
Dinner is ready. Thanks for keeping up on what I'm doing! Shoot me an email so I can know what you're up to as well!
-Jesse
I've been reminded weekly by friends and family that my last blog post was on October 23. That's more than a little while ago, and you'd be right to assume that a thing or two has happened since then. I'm about 4.5 months into my site, and 6.5 into my service. Time flies!
As predicted by most of the volunteers who I've talked to in the last half-year, I'm still stuck in limbo between feeling like a total newby, and feeling like I've been around enough, and am at home here enough, and know my neighbors well enough, that I can be productive here. I have a feeling that I'll continue to live inside that tension for the next 20 months. I think I'm okay with that.
I'll try and make a rough list of some of the things that I've been up to. That seems like a fair way to begin my first post in 3 months. Please don't expect chronological order, my brain doesn't work like that.
-A few weeks ago I met up with a group of doctors in Usulutan to translate for their medical brigade. I was pleased to see that my Spanish has improved significantly since I got here. Translating was phenomenal. The first day I worked with a group of optometrists. I felt like I was cheating, stealing all of the precious moments by being the only one that could understand the occasional heartfelt outpourings of thanks that the patients would give. The very first patient I translated for was an old woman who immediately began to cry when we put a pair of glasses on her face. I wondered to myself if her tears of joy would interfere with the consult. I decided it didn't matter. She referred to me affectionately as "little daddy" throughout the entire consult. Instantly gratifying work.
The next day I translated for a medical doctor. In a period of 5 or 6 hours, he and I saw more than 60 patients. Fast-paced work and a lot more variety than the eye doctors. One young woman waited more than 5 hours to pass a consult with us and confessed that she is worried that she's contracted finger cancer. Interesting. Her pointer finger and her index finger had dark marks on them, when she showed them to us making a sort of a peace sign so that we could see all the way around her finger. The doctor pressed her fingers together and revealed that the two marks connected to make a very straight line, and instructed me to explain that this woman simply had dirty fingers, possibly stained by touching a rusty wire. I was more than tempted to think it was funny. I did in fact laugh afterward. However, at the end of the day, that woman was worried enough to sit in an incredibly hot waiting room for hours, anxious about her condition. In no time at all, the doctor, using his powers of education, lifted her concerns and made her feel at considerable ease. I think that's worth something.
Of course, there were some people that took advantage of the situation by clearly making up ailments in order to collect prescriptions and free medicine. That was frustrating. It raised the question of "how do help people that take advantage of the helper?" Should we deny them when we think we're being tricked? Does that put honest but unconvincing people at risk of being overlooked? Are "give aways" a sustainable method for charity? Even though free things are needed, sometimes the point of being necessary, are they helpful to long term development? Can people that feel entitled to help be truly helped by it? Of course, I didn't answer any of these questions. I feel good about the help I gave the doctors, and I'm proud of the work that the doctors did in El Salvador. Beyond that, who knows?
You thought you were going to get a list of things right? Right.
I've started turning wheels for a creative business class that I'll be teaching once a week to 7th, 8th, and 9th grade students. The school director and the teachers are supportive, the students (some) seem enthusiastic. Our first class is on in 3 days. Hopefully you won't wait 3 months to get an update on the class.
Since school is starting, so are some more projects. My school has also given me permission to start a choir! How cool is that! To start, I'll have kids from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade once a week to sing with. Should be fun.
As we speak I'm at an HIV/AIDS prevention training with one of my favorite 9th graders. I'm writing this in the break before dinner. The two of us came out from our town on Wednesday to learn interesting and interactive ways to teach HIV/AIDS prevention in our town. I'm excited to get back to the school and replicate the trainings that we've gotten here. I'm more excited to see this 9th grader grow as an upcoming community leader.
Due to complications in the grant application process, the water project in my second community has been delayed significantly. I'm re-applying this week, and will hopefully hear soon from the NGO about project funding. Exciting isn't it?
I'm now part of a large PC committee called the Women and Youth Development committee (WYD). We meet in the capital once per month to manage a scholarship fund which is raised by volunteers on the committee, and manage a scholarship program that gives young women with difficult financial situations the opportunity to go to high school and college. Tuition is free for high school, but paying a $1 daily to get to school is often enough to convince a family to discontinue a child's education prematurely. A $200 per year scholarship is enough for a years worth of transportation, which enables the all-star students in PCV communities to continue their education. It's pretty cool work, but traveling all the way to the capital every month, frankly, it sucks.
I wrote a grant proposal on the behalf of the committee last month for $500 to plan a leadership camp for our scholarship winners. It was approved last month making it my first successful proposal ever! The camp should be sometime in early April. Also exciting.
JEREMIAH AND BEKA ARE COMING TO VISIT SOON!!! If that's not cool beans, I don't know what is.
Christmas in site was wonderful. I was constantly treated like a long lost son who could be convinced to stay if he were force-fed tamales. I ate so many tamales. I visited tons of houses, eating more than could possibly have been healthy at each one. It was cool.
Dinner is ready. Thanks for keeping up on what I'm doing! Shoot me an email so I can know what you're up to as well!
-Jesse
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