Monday we arrived in Sotzil with 5 gunny sacks full of 325 school back packs. I apologize for the quality of the first few photos. I had a wrong adjustment on my light meter. I included them because I would like to share some of my thoughts as we carried the sacks to the school. TRE has worked hard in this village throughout 2014 and even though the poverty and need is still obvious there has been positive change that I saw along the way.
The concrete steps we went down here, along with 9 other foot bridges, were build as part of our Rotary water project. These main paths were treacherous during the many rainy days the village experiences.
This garden is one of over 100 new garden sites in the village.
This path used to be 10 inches deep in mud but now has a rough laid rock path and channel for water drainage.
In addition to the pack backs I carried 40 pounds of pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks and children books. A special classroom is also being prepared to receive a resource program called "Rachel" that stores 64 megabits of information in a computor module that is shared through a wireless server to 10 tablets. This will be used like a library for student and teacher research. All these different forms of aid work together to help us go past just installing a project in the community. It helps us move toward the goal of sustainable community devolvement.
Delivering backpacks is a good thing to do in and of itself but we want to go a few steps further. The crowd that awaited us shows me we have the attention of the community. Both mothers and students had been waiting for over an hour and a half. I believe we can not miss the opportunity to push for social change. Here the director of the school announces a student writing contest that focuses on the environment and community service. The four different writing themes are being combined with practical community projects. Students will clean streams, plant trees and paint and post signs to encourage proper disposal of trash.
We have used the backpacks donated by Miracles in Action, the water project funded by Rotary International, and the garden seeds and fencing that has had many different sponsors to challenge the students and community to think about tomorrow. With today's needs foremost in their minds this is a challenging thing to attempt when so many of the village are not used to looking past today.
We cannot predict the outcome but we must try. There are precious futures at stake.
There are shy smiles to coax into confidance.
Backpacks- what a simple gift. Change- what a profound possibility.
Poverty. There are pictures I hope someday not to be able to take. I challenge you. Dream. Join together and dream. Let us join with our neighbors, our communities, our nations and dream. Why not? Join us at The Ripple Effect as we talk and plan with our Ixil friends and International supporters about a dream that can become reality.
Monday we arrived in Sotzil with 5 gunny sacks full of 325 school back packs. I apologize for the quality of the first few photos. I had a wrong adjustment on my light meter. I included them because I would like to share some of my thoughts as we carried the sacks to the school. TRE has worked hard in this village throughout 2014 and even though the poverty and need is still obvious there has been positive change that I saw along the way.
The concrete steps we went down here, along with 9 other foot bridges, were build as part of our Rotary water project. These main paths were treacherous during the many rainy days the village experiences.
This garden is one of over 100 new garden sites in the village.
This path used to be 10 inches deep in mud but now has a rough laid rock path and channel for water drainage.
In addition to the pack backs I carried 40 pounds of pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks and children books. A special classroom is also being prepared to receive a resource program called "Rachel" that stores 64 megabits of information in a computor module that is shared through a wireless server to 10 tablets. This will be used like a library for student and teacher research. All these different forms of aid work together to help us go past just installing a project in the community. It helps us move toward the goal of sustainable community devolvement.
Delivering backpacks is a good thing to do in and of itself but we want to go a few steps further. The crowd that awaited us shows me we have the attention of the community. Both mothers and students had been waiting for over an hour and a half. I believe we can not miss the opportunity to push for social change. Here the director of the school announces a student writing contest that focuses on the environment and community service. The four different writing themes are being combined with practical community projects. Students will clean streams, plant trees and paint and post signs to encourage proper disposal of trash.
We have used the backpacks donated by Miracles in Action, the water project funded by Rotary International, and the garden seeds and fencing that has had many different sponsors to challenge the students and community to think about tomorrow. With today's needs foremost in their minds this is a challenging thing to attempt when so many of the village are not used to looking past today.
We cannot predict the outcome but we must try. There are precious futures at stake.
There are shy smiles to coax into confidance.
Backpacks- what a simple gift. Change- what a profound possibility.
Poverty. There are pictures I hope someday not to be able to take. I challenge you. Dream. Join together and dream. Let us join with our neighbors, our communities, our nations and dream. Why not? Join us at The Ripple Effect as we talk and plan with our Ixil friends and International supporters about a dream that can become reality.
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