Women's group

The women's group has been working hard for the past few months, and is really coming together as a group. A few weeks ago that started the process to become a legalized group, which means that they can then receive donations, or purchase land.

The latest project was building a small greenhouse to grown cilantro, tomatoes, peppers and more. Below are some pictures of the process.

They also through a BINGO to raise money. They raised over $300, so it was quite a success. I have also learned that I am quite lucky, because I won three prizes!

Yamileth nailing down the plastic.
Building the structure
My Bingo cards.
The community center full with people eager to win a prize!
Alba Luz, all smiles, while selling food.

Chicas Poderosas!

Sorry I have been so bad about posting lately. My computer died 2 months ago, which has made blogging (and many other things) more difficult. So, what have I been up to? The month of July was pretty slow because the kids had 3 weeks vacation and it was the start of the rainy season, so I spent a lot of time indoors. I was also consumed with studying for the GMAT. Yes, I have decided to go to business school next year. So, studying for the GMAT and thinking about my essays and applications has taken up a lot of time! I am planning to submit my applications in Round 1, which means in the middle of October I will be free and just have to sit back and wait for the decisions.

Things did pick up in August, and one of my new projects is called Chicas Poderosas. It is a program to promote leadership and self-esteem in young girls. I am working with the 4th, 5th and 6th grade girls at my school, and so far it has been a lot of fun! There are 12 of them and they have so much energy. It has been a refreshing new activity for me and is allowing me to get to know these girls a lot better. I also think that they are enjoying having something new to do once a week after school. So far the topics that we have discussed are: Communication and Teamwork. Future topics are: Making Decisions, Nutrition, My Future, Dating, Values and many more. Below are some pictures of the girls going sticker crazy decorating their notebooks and working on one of the activities about teamwork

I can't believe that I have only 9 months left. It is going to be sad to leave because I have made a lot of good friendships in my community, especially with my host family. But, I am also excited about what the future may hold.

Kelsey