After celebrating one year of service with our cohort on a Casco Viejo rooftop, Michelle and I got up early the next morning to travel to Cerro Gallina. During her visit, we spent a day transplanting rice from nurseries to rice tanks with Marcelino's producers' group, were going to spend the day cleaning a cornfield but my stove gas ran out, so we had to hike to get a new tank and by the time we carried it all the way back the workday had ended, oops. We did some paseando, washed a bunch of clothes in the creek, and I left Michelle on my porch journaling while I went up to teach English class - she was bombarded by neighbor kids for two hours against my instructions not to pester her. Maybe one day they'll listen to me... A highlight was getting to spend two nights with my neighbors drinking cacao, and after drinking four totumas each night, Michelle was named Bechi by Enrique! Thanks for visiting, Bechi!! <3
I gave the first session of my in-site Project Management & Leadership seminar (like the one that I went to with Eugenio back in June) and unfortunately, Eugenio wasn't able to make it last minute but we're looking forward to the next one with him there. We talked about identifying personal values, strengths, tank filling, empathy, and goal setting and planning. To be honest I don't think much of the information was new to the people that showed up, but it's always nice to have a feel-good session where we all give each other shoutouts, right?
Last week Jess came to visit and we had my one-year meeting with the community. We talked about what we've done over the past year and what the community and I want to prioritize over the coming year. Some priorities: a latrine project (this is new?!), planning a holiday celebration in the community, cacao management charlas and learning to make cacao brownies :), more leadership training, trash management charlas, amongst a few other things. Also, our mini-aqueduct improvement project got funded by the NGO WaterLines, so the plan is to rehabilitate the toma and build a block tank in February (dry season), and hopefully get a couple of water committee training sessions in before I leave for the holidays.
I went to visit my neighbor and friend Sophia in her community for an HIV charla. MINSA came and talked about the alarming HIV trends in the Comarca, prevention, reducing the stigma and false beliefs surrounding HIV/AIDS, and then did blood tests for the gente. I also applied and was selected to be a facilitator for a camp for Comarca youth in January that promotes HIV education through theater! I'm really excited to hopefully take a group of teenagers to this camp and then do a performance in my community, because this information is so important for everyone. I then got to go visit Eduardo at the MIDA office for the National Producer's Day festival up in the beautiful capital of the Comarca, Llano Tugrí. There was tons of produce for sale, and there was a típico singing competition with these middle school aged boys singing songs they composed about sustainable agriculture and protection of the environment. So cool.
Michelle, nun kä krobökä ñaiba aune erere niara kä Bechi Kwitubu Ngäbere!
"Bei's meeting tomorrow at 9:30 in the morning" has been written on the exterior wall of this house for months...this family has never once been to one of my meetings :) (:
