Yesterday we went on a tour of the trash dump to get more acquainted with the area that we will be working with.
I have included some photos of the dump.
La Chureca is the slang term for the dump where some 200 families live. The people live in houses they have made from scrap metal or other materials and they specialize in collecting different materials that they can sell to be recycled.
Manna Project international works in many different areas in the life of the people in the La Chureca community.
One way is Child Sponsorship. With Child Sponsorship, children who are diagnosed as being mal-nourished and have mothers who attend weekly health talks in the La Chureca community receive monthly allotments of oatmeal, soy products and vitamins. The gals who will be helping the project directors this month with this program will go to the health talks and home visits to check up on the mothers and their children in the program.
Another program is an Beginners English class that is hosted in a Health Clinic that is located in La Chureca (called Casa Base de Salud). I will be helping the Program Director Geoff, with another volunteer here in this class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There is another program called Juntos Contigo that some Manna Volunteers will be helping in this month (I can't exactly remember exactly what they do).
Also within La Chureca there is a school that missionaries have started and a sort of half-way house (ranchón) area for children who are addicted to huffing glue. I think that as time permits, I would like to revisit the place because some little kids are just left there all day long. When we visited on our tour, the little kids just reached out to us and pulled us in to hold them. They just wanted some affection. I held this little girl named Karina. She was beautiful and loving and just wanted some affection.
Ok--So that's an intro to La Chureca. One of the places where I will be spending time volunteering.
I will also be working in Math class, Adult Beginners' English class, Women's Exercise Class (me and Christa, another volunteer will be making a new routine for the class), and Music class in the Cedro Galan community.
This weekend we will be traveling to Ometepe. We are spending the night at a coffee plantation and going on an 8 hour hike up a volcano. This will be some quality team bonding and fun!
I will keep posting news... love V
1 comment:
WOW, that place is so desolate looking! :( It's hard to believe with all of our comforts here that people actually live like that. :(
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