Jungle Walk

Here is a link for Kay's photos of her jungle walk with Marven, the naturalist at Verbo School. Unfortunately, you will have to register with Snapfish to view the album if you are not already registered.

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=7657255013/a=6244441026_127466845/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Playground in Use

Got these photos today from Kay our leader. Not only are the kids using the playground but a few of the staff in the Feeding Program are too!

We're Home

We returned home late last night except for Kay, our leader, who is staying for another week, and Alex who is in Guatemala visiting family. Kay may be adding more to the blog, so stay tuned. Here are a few photos of some of out last events and the completed playground.

Lunch with our hosts at Pelican Bay Restaurant overlooking the Lagoon. 

 Lunch at Pelican Bay Restaurant on Friday.

 The completed playground at Verbo Church. Three see-saws (that will be trimmed down into a manageable size for young ones to sit on and use once the concrete sets), balance beam, stepping posts, and bars.

 One of the many children we met.

 Kids loved to be swung by George!

On our way home. At Blue Fields airport 7:00 a.m. waiting for flight to Managua. These are our boarding passes. 

Verbo School Garden

On Saturday morning we worked at the Verbo School Garden/Greenhouse with Marvin the resident master gardener. We weeded the beds, harvested cabbage, cleaned off the shade meshing and the concrete blocks of mold and moss, and with the help of some of the students amended the soil with compost and tilled it in. 

 Getting instructions from Marvin.

Scrapping off the concrete blocks. 

 Adding compost

Tilling the soil

Saturday Sojourn in Tasbapounie

The group was up bright and early to head on the "panga" for Tasbapounie at the north end of Pearl Lagoon, an estimated 4 hour boat ride.  We got down to the wharf area around 7:30.  Since we planned to lead a series of games for Tasba children, our youth invited interested youth from the VERBO youth group to travel with us and help lead the games.  We were 18 on the boat in addition to the driver and his helper. 

Heading up the lagoon, we wound through a variety of waters including the mouth of the Escondido River as well as some narrow waterways to reach Pearl Lagoon, we passed by the village of Pearl Lagoon, continuing across its wide water to Tasbapounie.  We passed lots of cormorants along the way diving and flying.  We also saw pelicans, an egret and some ducks. 

When we got to Tasbapounie, we were pleased that a heavy rain squall had just ended.  They weren't sure that we would come.  A light drizzle welcomed us to the wharf and we walked pass the grazing horses and fishermen cooking some of their catch to arrive at the home of Henry and Sonja, stalwart's of the VERBO church in Tasbapounie.  Sonja teaches at the secondary school.  We presented some school supplies that Sonja had ordered and brought our greetings to the community.  Henry welcomed us and explained that Tasba was once a successful subsistence community, primarily dependent upon fishing in both the sea and the lagoon.  They also had north and west of them a lot of unpopulated forest where they hunted and grew food.  Gradually people from outside the region have moved into the area from the west so that they have been threatened and even shot by them outside settlers who are claiming the land by squatters rights.  Their fishery is depleted by the use of gill nets and large Honduran commercial fishing off the coast.  They also struggle with the effects of the drug trade.

Henry told us that storms come often, blowing off roofs and crushing boats but still they love their community.  Ten years ago the community received a secondary school so that their youth could complete their highschool education locally.  They have electricity from 2 - 10 pm ordinarily produced by a generator that was disabled in a wind storm on Wednesday.  An electric line is being run north from the Bluff which is scheduled to reach Tasbapounie by Christmas when they expect to have power round the clock.  They get some cell phone coverage from Claro and a couple of residents have had internet connections in the past.

We walked the beach and looked around for about an hour, enjoyed kids playing in the surf and boatmen coming and going and working on their nets.  We arrived at the school and led the kids in games, awarding ribbons to the participants and serving refreshments.  We also presented some recreation equipment for the school's future use.

Enroute back to the boat, we saw a recently completed house that another mission team had built for a family whose homes were destroyed by Hurrican Ida in 2009.  As we were leaving, some men asked for help in dragging their recently painted boat about 200 yards into a small creek.  At least a dozen folks pulled on a long rope forward by 8 or 10 others pushed from behind.  They placed narrow saplings under the boat's keel to help it slide forward, moving them forward after each heave.  Although a long process, they succeeded in getting the boat into the water (without mishaps).  Some of our team were right in the middle of it including the dank, black creek water.  Once afloat, a Tasba man told our guys to wash off the black water or they would get worms through their skin!  They washed by plunging into the sea for a swim.

We got aboard and enjoyed our sandwiches and chips and juice out on the water,  The boat turned south and we headed back to Bluefields.  A few images of our time there are below.

Verbo Church Feeding Program

Another project we participated in was the Feeding Program at Verbo Church. This is where we built the playground so a few of us helped in the kitchen chopping and slicing, setting up, and serving lunch to the children. Children ages 3 -14 are served lunch Monday through Friday. They begin gathering at 10:00 a.m. lunch is served at 11:00. Some of the older youth, over 14, lead the children in games, bible stories, and singing, and also help with the serving. We helped here on Monday and Tuesday and then had a final celebration on Friday with relays and pinatas.

 

Rama Cay

Rama Cay [Cay is pronounced "key"; it is an island, like the Florida Keys] is a little village of about 1000 people located 20 minutes away from Bluefields by boat. Kay, our leader, lived on Rama Cay for a year and a half in the '60s.  We went to Rama Cay on Thursday to have a "field day" with the Rama children, to meet the Women's Co-Op, visit the local clinic, and just meet and learn about the people.

Then we went to El Bluff, and swam in the Caribbean (a lot of us are very burned!).

Today (Saturday) we are doing a similar thing in Tasbapauni, which is about 2 hours away by boat.