We all piled into the back of his truck and began our journey. As we rode through treacherous back roads and through streams we realized why our driver had earned his nickname. After about an hour an a half of driving through the woods where at some points the roads completely disappeared, we arrived at our destination...Las Brisas Numero Dos, a rural village north of town.
Upon our arrival we encountered a problem. A member of the neighboring community had passed away and all of the members of the village we were supposed to work in were attending the funeral. Our local contact Don Fidel suggested that we visit the location where the school was being built so we could see it and then return back to San Juan to work in his workshop.
Don Fidel's workshop produces clean stoves and water filters for rural communities in the surrounding area. All of his resources come from donations through the Newton Sister City program and two other humanitarian programs. The clean stoves that we helped to build toay allow families to cook inside their home and have proper ventilation so they don't inhale smoke while they cook, which can lead to respiratory problems. Each stove costs 1000 cordobas ( about 50 USD) to build. The families have an agreement with Fidel that allows them to acquire the stoves for their homes.
We spent 4.5 hours working in the workshop with Fidel and some of his family. We mixed concrete, built metal stove frames, and poured the molds to create the stove tops. It was hard work in the blazing heat and made you imagine working in those conditions for 8-10 hours a day at minimal compensation (around 5 dollars a day).
After we left the workshop we hitched a ride back to town with Crazy Bird and headed to the beach for a swim. We needed to cleanse the filth off of our bodies from the hard day of work.
After a refreshing swim we headed out for dinner on the beach again. We went to an Italian restaurant that was good but not our favorite so far. Once we finished our meal we decided to head up to the Pelican Eyes for dessert. When we arrived up there we ran into our colleagues from Lasell who were dining with Fidel. We joined them and had a long discussion about the importance of the partnerships we have built and the work that we accomplish together in helping the communities in this area. Fidel hopes that we are able to share our experiences with our friends and families back home because he strongly believes in the value it brings to the building of better communities.
It was an eye opening day and one that neither of us will soon forget. Tomorrow is our final full day here. We will be checking in the library to donate the books we brought with us and then we are heading to Playa Maderas, a remote beach outside of town.
Hasta Mañana
M and D
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