another day in the jungle

Monday, October 09, 2006

Sunday, October 01, 2006

The Women's Group of El Remate, all dressed in their green and white uniforms, made and served tamales with tostados and a delicious bean salad for the event. Below are Lilian and Adelaida serving the tamarindo juice.

Playground Activity

The kids of the village were thrilled to try out the new playground.

Cutting the Ribbon

Sr. Emilio Tager cuts the ribbon to formally open the new library/playground complex.

Inauguration of the Library

The Inauguration Ceremonies began at about 4 p.m. on Saturday, the 30th of September, with a few short speaches. Shown here, from left, Enrique, Emilio Tager, the mayor of our district of Flores, Victor Funis, the Mayor of our village, Edwardo's son (Eduardo), and Eduardo.

Our Librarian Arrives

Valerie Patrick of Vancouver, B. C. has arrived to take over the management of the library and development of programs for the next 3 months.

Our New Volunteer with Book Donation

We were joined recently by Marketa Kop (center) of the Czech Republic, who has been scouring the area far and wide, for donations of books. Here she is shown with the owners of the Libreria Cultura of Flores who have brought several books and magazines to donate to the library.

Larissa's Class

Larissa's art class is growing daily. By Friday, it had grown to 16 children and we had to move the small tables and chairs out onto the corridor

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Landscaping #4

Today, Gonzalos's landcaping crew finished spreading the fine gravel throughout the paths and public areas, and painted the dividing walls.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Landscaping #3

By last night, the bright red sawdust of mahogany that cushions the "floor" of the playground, completely changed the look of the yard.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Volunteering in the Library

My 16 year old niece, Larissa, arrived on Saturday to spend the next two months here, working as a volunteer with local kids through the new library and studying Spanish.

Playing

By Monday afternoon, the neighborhood kids were enjoying the playground around the piles of sawdust that await spreading as a base for the playground area.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Landscaping #2

Bit by bit the landscaping for the property around the playground is progressing ... this week Gonzalo's team planted grass in several areas, plus lots of jungle plants that, once rooted, will grow without much daily care.

Unearthing History

Every digging project in this area will unearth piles of 1500 year old Mayan pottery shards. These pieces were some we saved as the landscaping team were moving earth.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Relocating the Wildlife

This morning I took the time to relocate two tarantulas who had lost their homes in the ground because of the landscaping project. Tarantulas are beautiful, furry, gentle creatures ... and contrary to popular belief, do not have a poisonous bite.

Ready to Play

By nightfall, they had finished, and left the community with a fantastic new playground!!

Playground Assembly

The muchachos worked hard all day, taking only a quick break for lunch, while an ever changing group of neighborhood children watched.

Playground Arrives

Yesterday morning the crew from MonKids arrived bright and early to begin installation of the new prefabricated playground that is being donated to the children of El Remate by the Alberta Ix-canaan supporters.

A Stage for the School

Thanks to the generosity of the Ix-canaan Alberta supporters, the local elementary school now has a new stage for presentations and school events.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Landscaping #1

The landscaping of the yard between the clinic and the library started on Tuesday morning. By this morning, Salba was laying cement block around the stightly raised playground area, and the gardens are marked out with lime.