LL THE WAY FROM EAGLE RIVER, ALASKA

In my previous blogs, I have given a detailed description of our activities during the workweek and its theme. This being another Literacy workweek, I won't go into repetition, but instead will give some highlights of the week and describe the team.

Other than two long time supporters from Connecticut, a grandma and her grandson from Massachusetts, a lady from California and a couple from Brooklyn, New York, most of the 22 volunteers this week are from Eagle River, Alaska. We have a good mix with seven teens, and ages varying from age 12 to mid 70.

President Pete brought several members of his Rotary Club and their family here to deliver close to 1,000 books. The club formed a partnership with the Pihuamo club and received matching grants from Rotary International to make this possible.

After loading many boxes of books into the bus, our first full day of the workweek takes us to Pihuamo, a beautiful, 1.5 hour drive through the mountains into the state of Jalisco. There all the books are unloaded again, labeled and sorted, with the help of some (very few, I must add) Pihuamo Rotarians. We have developed a well organized system and within a few hours, thirteen sets of 100 colourful and entertaining children books are sorted and marked and ready for delivery to the various school during the next week.

We are fortunate to have two librarians on our team, who demonstrate how to read to and with the kids with some vocal variety and make it entertaining and interesting. We don't really consider our activities work, and enjoy the fellowship and getting to know each other.

After our work we are rewarded with one of our favorite activities; a Mexican Fiesta. This time it is being held on the farm, making it so much more enjoyable than in the hall in which is was held last time.

A large welcome banner has been spanned on the house and those who are here for the first time are surprised with the traditional egg smashing ceremony and a tiny Tequila is hng around their neck and filled. 

The meal, prepared by the spouses of the hosting Rotarians is wonderful as always. A game of Loteria, a club banner presentation and a fitting of the traditional costume makes this event perfect.

After a group photo with some of the Rotarians, Diego take us back to Cofradia, for a relaxing evening.

This group has brought an enormous amount of donated goods which needs to be sorted and stored away or packaged for distribution. Having seen some of the volunteers in action, I am able to pick out a few team leaders, for the various type of donations to be sorted. I explain the procedures and each team finds their own area in the Hacienda patio.

I thought it would be a lot of work, sorting so many bags and barrels with donated goods, but with the help of everyone it is done in no time. 

We have enough time left to enjoy a snack and beverage before Tina and Cande arrive to prepare another one of their wonderful meals.

Everyone is anxious to take the first Bookshelf and set of books to the first school of the week. We make a little bit of a ceremony out of the application of the Rotary decals and installation of the plaque, indicating that this library is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Eagle River and Pihuamo and The Rotary Foundation.

Once we arrive at the school and have the book shelf unloaded, our volunteers place the books on the shelf under the watchful eyes of the children with whom we get to read.

The teenage twins Steve and Andrew, who are here with their Grandmother Martha, are very popular with the students in the schools we visit. They continue to play tricks on us by switching name tags, and it takes me at least three days to figure out who is Steve and who is Andrew.

While our volunteers read with the kids and play games, I take action pictures for everyone's certificate and admire the abundance of fruit trees in the school yard. 

Imagine being able to pick fresh mango during school breaks.

Every school we visit entertains us with a different type of presentation. We receive some lessons in Mexican history, when a school near the coast, does a half hour parade with it history of flags, all the way back to the Aztec period. At other schools the students perform a dance for us and the next gets us involved in an exercise class.

At times we worry that there may not be enough time left to spend time with the individual kids and listen to them reading to us, or sometimes we to them. 

If there is time left over, we play games, blow bubbles, blow up balloons or play ball. For the younger volunteers it is an opportunity to use up some of their energy, and for the adults simple a moment to enjoy the time spent with a child who seldom gets this much attention. The Gringos are very popular at the schools, and they hate to see us leave when our time is up. The kids cheer and yell and wave us out, pressing their faces to the fence and sticking their arms out as if they want to reach for us as the bus leaves.

 Not only do we enjoy our time spent with the kids in the various communities who are not part of the scholarship program. The opportunity to interact with the local students, who have been provided a scholarship by Project Amigo, make us realize the value of this program and the opportunity these young students have. Without our program they would not have much of a chance to succeed. These families of which many live under poor conditions are not able to finance their studies, let alone a school lunch or bus fare. Once we enter the homes of some of these students do we realize how much this means for both the students, their family and the vounteers. Our volunteers return with a totally different perspective of life.


This is even more enforced when we visit the Queseria Migrant camp, where living conditions are so much worse than they are in the villages. Young children the age of 8 or less work in the field and do not get to go to school.
Those who do attend the small camp school, built with the help of Project Amigo supporters, thrive on the visitors' attention.


There are happy moments and there are sad moments. I have brought a few bundles of small baby shirts, donated by the youth group from Canada, which was here in February. I ask Tita, the kindergarten teacher, if there are some families who would be happy with these.

I experience one of the rare opportunities to enter the camp itself and walk the dusty path through the alley with the, so called company homes on both sides. We stop at one of the one room shacks and call the name of the young mother. I am shocked at what I see, when I get a quick glimpse through the door opening; A dark room with a dirt floor, with a mat on it. In the corner a wooden shelf. This is the sleeping quarter. There is no electricity and cooking is done in the outdoor addition of wooden planks, corrugated metal and burlap sacks. The family basically lives outdoor. A metal roof protects them from the sun and the summer rains. 
I wonder how  muddy it would get once the rains start. 
I get to visit three more of these dwellings, all with young mothers, aged between 14 and 22. The youngest one I visit, lives with her mother in law, who comes outside to greet us. I recognize her as the mother of one of my friends sponsored child.
 
I have to contain myself; Yes, these conditions are well below out living standards and I am sure they wished for more, but they have their pride and do with what they have.
Some of the donated colourful clothes, of which some are lacy party dresses often clash with the surroundings not to mention their dirty faces and feet. 
Their way of keeping house is sweeping the dirt floor, or for some privacy, hang a cloth in front of the door of their sleeping quarter, which they share with, sometimes as many as seven other family members. All kinds of questions go through my mind; What kind of future do they have; How will they ever get ahead. Where will they go when the work stops and the rains start; What will become of their children?


Yet most of the children seem very happy, playing as if life is great. Well perhaps for some it is, but when I return to the school and see a little seven year old crying her eyes out, while holding on tightly to a small stroller with a little toddler in it, everyone is puzzled as to why she is crying. I am happy that I am able to communicate with her and learn that see also wants to play with the volunteers and the other kids.

" But sweety" I say, "go ahead and play with the others". "I can't, I have to watch my little brother", she cries as her tears turn into dark stripes, running over her little dirty face. I wish I had a tissue to wipe her snotty nose.

I offer to watch her little brother, while she plays. But even that does not stop her from crying: With a haltering voice she cries even harder. "No, I can't. If my mother sees me without my little brother, she will spank me. I have to stay with him". The volunteers who have been standing around us, wait for me to explain the situation. There is a moment of silence and sighs. "Oh my Lord" I hear someone say. "The poor soul".

But quickly we think of a solution. I suggest to my friend Joe, who is standing right beside me, that we will find a way for her to play, without leaving her brother.

Joe lifts the little boy out of the stroller, put the girl in the stroller and her little brother in her lap and off they go, running around and around. The face of the little girl changes into a big smile and so does ours.

How easy it can be to make a little girl happy, but how painful it is to see the huge burden she carries. Many of the girls must take their younger sibling to school, while the parents are out in the sugar fields, earning $8.00 a day. What kind of life is this for a child?

Other than our activities at the schools and the migrant camp, we get to take part of another homework class with the local students. Lety has organized a cooking class and together with the students we learn how to make Guacamole and salsa.

Food has indeed been one of the highlights of the workweeks. We are all curious about the variety of fruits available. One of our volunteers Natasha, decides to buy one of the strange looking fruits from a street vendor, with the request from one of our cooks Lupe to have it prepared for breakfast. 

But what is it? Everyone asks and what does it taste like? 

I identifty it as a Yaca, or Jack Fruit. I do recall that despite it's enormous size, only the meat around the seeds, in the centre of the fruit is really edible. It's taste reminds me of a mix between a peach and mango and is delicious. There is just enough for everyone to taste.

A workweek in Colima is not complete without a visit to the capital city. It's Saturday and there are lots of activities downtown. Any person with even the slightest talent or something to sell is present with the hope to make a little bit of money.

 

We stay in Colima for lunch and drive to El Ranchito for tacos. The seven teens share a table while the adults seek out their new friends for some fellowship. 

Desert is one of the popular dishes, and with so many people wanting sweets, the restaurant runs out of their usual dishes. Those who are last get to have a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream, topped with wafers and a Sherry; A welcome treat in this hot climate.

Since we have the rest of the afternoon for ourselves, we still have time for some other activities. How about a visit to Nogueras; the museum, the garden, or just to sit and watch the activities. The museum property is a popular place for weddings and today is one of those days where I get to watch a real Mexican wedding party.

Our final stop is Comala, where we have time to shop and enjoy the activities on the square; The many vendors, the music and the late afternoon sun. 

There is a misunderstanding about the pick up location and we wait for more than an hour for Diego to pick us up with the bus.

A friend offers the youngsters a ride in his pick up truck. While the rest of us wait for Diego. For the teens this got to be the highlight of the week, because there is no way they ever get to do such crazy thing in Alaska.

Another workweek has come to an end. Eagle River Rotary Club President Pete makes a small presentation and us Volunteer Coordinators present all participants with their certificate and thank them for their hard work and their friendship.

 Several, who have seen the need for support have come forward with the request to sponsor a student and I have the distinct pleasure of presenting them with the bio of these children. I love my job.

What a fantastic week this has been and what a bunch of wonderful people have we met.

I hope we get to meet them again.