Our work for the last day
Some of us worked, but the kids loved chasing the chickens, leading the pig on a leash, playing with the dogs, especially the little dog they named Oreo, riding horses
Linda and Renee greeting the group
.
watermelon time
watermelon time .
Our entertainment
Troy and Nicole singing Star Spangled Banner
piñata time
battery operated boom box
their school children singing their national anthem
the juggler; dance time
goodbyes; gathering in the latrine
Wringing out shirts after the pick up ride in the rain
Our entertainment
Troy and Nicole singing Star Spangled Banner
piñata time
battery operated boom box
their school children singing their national anthem
the juggler; dance time
goodbyes; gathering in the latrine
Wringing out shirts after the pick up ride in the rain.
This was our last work day at Palo de Agua. We made tomato and avocado sandwiches for our lunch at the work site. Once there we decided not to leave early for another side trip -- we wanted to do as much on the latrine as possible, and finish painting the blue half of the school. (The half white and half blue paint is a popular color scheme for schools here.)
When we finished, the old school looked beautiful with it´s fresh coat of paint. The latrine was at least 5-6 feet high. The new school had all the walls up -- ready for roof and finishing sometime after we´re gone. Daniel, the leader, will continue to go out to the site to work with the community to finish it.
.
We had a ¨tail gate¨ lunch, then took our portable tables to the center of the school yard and cut up 5 watermelon to share with the community. I counted about 75 people that gathered from the community. Their community leader, Renee, thanked us for coming. Linda, our leader, told them how much we appreciated being with them also. Our group provided the entertainment -- the Virginia Reel and a folk dance. We´d never make it with ¨Dancing with the Stars¨ but we had fun, especially trying to avoid the rocks on our ¨dance floor.¨ We women looked real cute in our skirts over our work pants and tennis shoes! The men had hats and hankerchiefs. What costumes! We sang a couple of hymns in Spanish (Santo, Santo, Santo and Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore.) I´m not sure they understood what we sang, but they asked for the words on our song sheets, so we left them behind. Nicole has a beautiful voice and sang a solo. (Our youth have been doing a lot of singing while here, actually, thanks to Nicole´s influence.) The finale for our entertainment was Nicole and Troy singing the Star Spangled Banner in a rendition they created. It was beautiful, and a few of our group noticed a lump in their throats during some of the singing. Then their school children sang their national anthem for us. Their choir sang a couple of hymns for us -- their 2-3 women could sing as loud as the 13 of us!
This was our last work day at Palo de Agua. We made tomato and avocado sandwiches for our lunch at the work site. Once there we decided not to leave early for another side trip -- we wanted to do as much on the latrine as possible, and finish painting the blue half of the school. (The half white and half blue paint is a popular color scheme for schools here.)
When we finished, the old school looked beautiful with it´s fresh coat of paint. The latrine was at least 5-6 feet high. The new school had all the walls up -- ready for roof and finishing sometime after we´re gone. Daniel, the leader, will continue to go out to the site to work with the community to finish it.
.
We had a ¨tail gate¨ lunch, then took our portable tables to the center of the school yard and cut up 5 watermelon to share with the community. I counted about 75 people that gathered from the community. Their community leader, Renee, thanked us for coming. Linda, our leader, told them how much we appreciated being with them also. Our group provided the entertainment -- the Virginia Reel and a folk dance. We´d never make it with ¨Dancing with the Stars¨ but we had fun, especially trying to avoid the rocks on our ¨dance floor.¨ We women looked real cute in our skirts over our work pants and tennis shoes! The men had hats and hankerchiefs. What costumes! We sang a couple of hymns in Spanish (Santo, Santo, Santo and Lord, You Have Come to the Lakeshore.) I´m not sure they understood what we sang, but they asked for the words on our song sheets, so we left them behind. Nicole has a beautiful voice and sang a solo. (Our youth have been doing a lot of singing while here, actually, thanks to Nicole´s influence.) The finale for our entertainment was Nicole and Troy singing the Star Spangled Banner in a rendition they created. It was beautiful, and a few of our group noticed a lump in their throats during some of the singing. Then their school children sang their national anthem for us. Their choir sang a couple of hymns for us -- their 2-3 women could sing as loud as the 13 of us!
Then the fun really began. Several of our group had gotten a large piñata to take out, and had filled it with candy. The music was turned on -- their boom box is powered with an old car battery. They had the smallest children try to hit the pinata first. Each one of the children did a little dance while striking the piñata -- really cute. After all the candy was distributed, we passed out lollipops and cookies. Enough sugar for one day to get them extra hyper! We seemed to have enough energy left to do some dancing to their music before we left. Nicole and Kaitlyn finally got their horse ride!
Lots of hugs and goodbyes. It was raining when we left, so our pick-up riders had their shower before getting back. We had another flat tire on the way back, with many helpers to fix it -- Bob doing the most work. Then Patrick took us around some of the area in Dario that had been rebuilt after Hurricane Mitch. We saw homes that Habitat for Humanity and SoL helped rebuild.
.We´ll have dinner and goodbyes with the SoL staff tonight.
What a fabulous ending! I could feel the "love" from your blog. I know how special and poignant the last day can be. Your photos certainly portray the fun and liveliness of the group and the community. How wonderful that it hasn't been too hot. How great that the kids have been such an integeral part of the project. I would give anything to hear Nicole and Troy sing the National Anthem. I wonder if they would do it in church sometime in August (when I am back!!) You have done a marvelous job of keeping up this blog, Gayle. As you have said to me in the past, it is worth publishing. You could easily write up a one-two page summary and send it off to one of your publications. You have a great style, too.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you have enjoyed the experience. I know you had some reservations before going. I guess the real test is: would you return again?? It woukld take some doing to "beat" Bob, but then it isn't a contest!
Take care, and safe travels home:)
Love,
Robin