They say that everything is connected. I can attest. Before my service, if you told me that a strike in a nearby town affected kids ability to attend school in a nearby campo, I wouldn’t have understood. But ha ha, I'm learning, such is the way of life here, everything is connected.
Last week, there was massive rainstorms throughout the country. There was flooding in some parts and uncrossable rivers in others. Up here in my part, the aqueduct in the nearest town of Montecristi broke from all the flooding and was damaged, hence the town didn’t have water. This also meant that there were strikes against the water company, including people burning tires in the streets, and public shootouts and wreckage in the town. My friend who lives in town didn’t leave his house for days. Because there was no water and crazy strikes, this meant that buses couldn’t cross through the town making travel to other parts of the country basically impossible. Then there was the fact that without water, people were not able to cook.
Let’s back up. Starting this year, President Danilo Medina mandated 4% of GDP to be spent on education. This meant extending the school day from four hours to seven hours. Bravo. They have also started giving lunch to all schoolchildren, which is great, but of course the school’s kitchen was not ready by the start of school so they outsourced their cooking to the town of Montecristi. In the three months that they’ve been bringing food to my campo, I’ve heard rumors of hair, cockroaches and worms being found in the food. Gross. And daily there are teachers and students who are sick and don’t show up to school. Almost no one I know eats it. Without water, queue worsening of the food.
So, without water, the outsourcing kitchen in Montecristi was unable to cook rice for the 1,000 schoolchildren in Manzanillo and the surrounding region. So, what happened? Kids just didn’t go to school for a week. What? Yes, everything is connected. Here’s a recap: rain > flooding > broken aqueduct > no water > strikes > no rice > no food > no school > no learning. This chain of events makes me think of that catchy country song, “Rain Is a Good Thing” It goes "Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby get a little frisky." However, in this instance, rain is a very very bad thing.
In other news this week:
- I just got over the nastiest case of an allergic reaction ever. Splotchy hivey rash all over my face and neck. No idea where it came from, but hell was it gross. I also had my eye swollen shut for three days. I went to the hospital and got an anti-allergy shot on top of bloody sheets from the guy who cut his foot on a pickax before me. #neveragain
- People told me to drink onion tea to cure my allergies. #nothanks
- You can’t wash clothes when you’re sick or it will make you worse.
- One of my most trusty and hardworking youth was selected as a youth ambassador to attend a three-week conference in America this January! I am so proud and excited for her chance to see America all-expenses paid. She deserves it and I am so proud of her! #proudmom
And on the agenda for next week:
- I am heading to the capital to be a trusty BAKER! Yup, that’s right. It’s Peace Corps’ Thanksgiving and I am in making some food for our annual volunteer get together. I will be staying in the house of the director of USAID in the capital to make green bean casserole and mac n’ cheese for 200 people. For four days, I’ll be living in a mini-America complete with hot water and flushing toilets. YAHOO!
- Then on Thursday it’s TURKEY DAY! At least that’s how people here see it. I say Día de Acción de Gracias and they just say, “oh yes, where you Americans eat turkey!” Nom nom nom.
- When I get back to the ‘Zillo on Friday, I’ll finish preparing for my Escojo Youth Leadership Camp in conjunction with fellow PCV/BFF Gray. We’ve got a full two-day leadership camp invented for our brightest superstar youth.
- Then the countdown to America begins! I leave on December 6th so I’ll be finishing up my stoves project, closing out grants, writing up some end of the year reports and saying bye-bye to the ‘Zillo for a whole month! #idahome
Sending muchas gracias!
B
 |
| This is what happens where there's too much rain...Roachie comes out to play! |
No comments:
Post a Comment