Gettin' busy

We are gettin busy with our projects and involvement. We have started going to the City of Joy 1-2 days a week to play with the kids there and act as mentors. The first day was incredibly fun. We showed up unannounced with a ball and the kids were ecstatic. They had no idea who we were or why we were there but they had visitors, and I think that was exciting enough...then when we asked if they wanted to play, that made there day. It felt great to be greeted with such enthusiasm. One of the kids in particular, 4 year old Javier, really took to Theo and I and was constantly using us for a jungle gym and a free ride. We returned again last week and played some cards (and they cheat like Barry Bonds cheated baseball) , made paper airplanes (complete with drawings of engines for increased speed), and once again were psuedo jungle gyms. We hope to set up some reading days, arts and crafts, and anything else fun and cheap we can think of. In addition, we are helping to build an outdoor patio with a thatched roof next to the library. I am very excited to learn how to thatch a roof (I think it was good that Theo and I were there today because had we not been there the roof would have been off by about 35cm from one end to the other).
Our other major project is clean water. We have actually made great strides in getting this to become a reality, however there is still one major obstacle left. We met with two seperate local organizations to ask for help, assistance, and advice. We hit it big with one of them. They had a community that they had worked with in the past and was in need of a new water system. We took a day to go to the community (22 families scattered on a mountain side) and walk up to see their water source and system. In addition to having access to a community, the organization offered us transportation whenever we needed it as well as offering to design the system when we raised the money. And here lies the final hurdle...$$$$ We are trying to raise $30,000 in an economy where aluminun pop tabs are no longer donated to the Ronald McDonald House because they are too valuable. We have already received three rejection letters from potential donating organizations. If ANYONE reading this has any ideas of organizations or people who would like to donate that would be awesome.

(photo of the water source at Barrial)

Our other endeavors include teaching English Mon, Tues, and Thurs nights as well as Wed mornings, being assistant English Teachers once or twice a week at a local High School (but we don't have to lesson plan!), and trying to initiate our own volunteer program here (we hope to organize weekend activities at the City of Joy giving local high school students an opportunity to volunteer and help the City of Joy...ideally this can continue when we are gone)