Progress in so many places

What a great day to some real milestones in Sierra Prieta!  We began the morning in the community touring different houses seeing the impact of our partnerships here.  

This is the same view of the school as was posted yesterday.

First stop was the school to arrange our meeting for the afternoon.  But before we even began to speak with the administration I was blown away!   The updates to the school are incredible.   There are now classrooms for each grade plus a preschool with its own play yard.  In addition the entire area is covered in pavement so that the children never have to play in the ever-present mud.  It is very impressive.  Since they don't have to share classrooms from morning to afternoon with different grades school goes all day from 8am to 4pm.  And to make sure the kids have enough nourishment to pay attention in the afternoon the school provides lunch for every student.  The cafeteria is quite impressive and clean.  Oh and then we met with the administration to arrange to speak to the older students in the afternoon. 

Panoramic shot of the school.  That is the original building on the left and the cafeteria on the right.  The preschool is behind the cafeteria. Pictures can't do it justice, but it is really very impressive.

lots of happy faces headed home after school

Holden right at home in the cafeteria.

A good harvest

We left the school to tour some of the different places that FH has helped people construct chicken coups.  There are 30 families with chicken coups. They were provided with 9 hens and a rooster.  Now each of these families is receiving from 9 to 16 eggs per day.  Those they eat enhance the nutrition of their family.  The extras they can sell, bringing in about $2 per day and providing inexpensive protein to the community.  $2 per day doesn't seem like much until you consider is about a 25% increase the the average income in Sierra Prieta.  That really ads up!  Nutrition experts suggest that the average impoverished person here needs to add 3 eggs per week for good nutrition, especially in children.  Combining the availability of inexpensive eggs and the school lunch program explains why many of the children look much healthier and filled out.  

water filter inspection - this is the whole filter system

Water Purification building.

After looking at 3 or 4 chicken coups we stopped by the new water purification center.  With this filtering system the community now has access to inexpensive drinking water right in the community.  The cost for a 5 gallon bottle of water is now what it used to cost for 1 gallon.  The charges cover the monthly servicing of the filter, a service agreement to fix anything that breaks or wears out, and the extra is put away for future community projects.  There is the possibility for the community to sell the water to others and make even more profit.  What I really loved about the project is that it was initiated by the community leadership, They provided all the labor and materials for the building and the FH in partnership with Agua de Unidad(another development group) provided the $12,000 filtration system.  It is gravity fed and charcoal based, so that it works completely without electricity and is tested regularly to ensure purity.

New house being built, those are cement forms on the walls.

The next project we stopped by was a house that the community is building completely on its own to take care of a very needy family.  This is the family of Javier, who we saw briefly at the school.  his mother and brother have special needs and he now lives with his aunt.  The house that his family lives in is in deplorable condition.  We've posted pictures before.  The community has taken the initiative to provide labor and materials to build them a new house.  It is in process at this time.  People are volunteering 1 day a week, and they hope to be completed by Christmas.  We can really see Siera Prieta standing on it's own soon.

We were blessed to eat lunch at Jahira's home.  In the past she has run the kitchen crew for our teams, but our small group fit in here house.  While there we met Wilmon, a special needs boy she cares for during the week.

Speaking with 7th and 8th grade

After lunch we returned to the school and spoke with the 7th and 8th grade students(Yes, now students can stay in the community for school all the way through 8th grade instead of having to travel after 4th). In the gathering Holden shared the gospel, (He did a really great job!) Then I spoke with them, motivating them to consider that their current actions and choices will have long-term consequences.  We had a fun time sharing God's truth with them.

Cute little pre-schoolers headed home after school

I think Holden and Christoper were sharing a joke here.

As school let out we made our first sponsored child visit, to see Christoper.  It is incredible to think we first began this relationship about 6 years ago.  He is now attending the high school which is a 1+ mile walk to the highway and then 25 minute bus ride.  He was talking about enrolling in computer engineering classes in January.  His parents are very proud of him, he has become a very happy and well adjusted young adult.

The initiative that the local leaders are taking in their community is really encouraging.  Another thing you may notice from our pictures is that there aren't a million or so kids hanging on and around us all the time.  That's because they are all in school all day.  The time in the classroom shows in their behavior outside of the classroom.  It's a different community than the one we entered 6 years ago.  More evidence of the promise people feel here is the presence of many new home building projects going on.  People are putting up cinder-block homes rather than moving away as their financial situation improves.  And we saw that kids are now coming here for school from other communities, just as children from here used to travel to other communities for better educational opportunities.  The changes are tangible and very encouraging.