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Enough of sleep. Up at 5.30 to ride the OLR’s bus with the children to
school. Education is very important here and more so to the girls of
OLR's - its the only way to break the spiral of poverty and to change
the culture. OLR excels at taking care of these children. ALL attend
school and are only limited by their ability and desire.
The public schools are good but only a few exist. Some attend that
school - 7 miles away. Some attend special needs schools or university.
OLR used to send most all of the younger children down the street to a
private school (there are lots of those), but that became cost prohibitive
and so OLR opened its own bilingual school. Next year they hope to expand to
6th grade. They have volunteer teachers from Netherlands,
Canada, US as well as a paid staff.
The bus ride was a journey, up town, down town across town. Lots and
lots or barbed wire and wrought iron fences.
We visited the clinic. OLR has a (greatly underpaid / volunteer) staff
of 2 doctors and a nurse. The clinic was a couple of blocks from the
home over dirt and broken roads. The doctor we met was extremely nice
and had to be to be there in the first place. |
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Off to the market with armed security guards (courtesy of the government).
Back to complete the painting and fixing of bicycles. The evening climaxed
with a pizza party, skits, dancing, a beautiful solo song by Jasmine and a
mariachi band.
good byes are tough. |
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