It's Independence Day!

Holy cow did we have a crazy day!  And it wasn't even the 4th of July (it was the 3rd)!

We left the house at 6:45am to meet the firetruck in time for the Murray parade.  We love riding in the parade!  I think seeing all the parade-goers may be more fun than actually watching the parade itself.  Plus we get to throw cool red, white, and blue plastic bead necklaces (not quite like Mardi Gras, but close), so that makes it extra fun.  And this year our cousins came with us - extra bonus!

After the parade we went for our traditional breakfast at Village Inn.  Nothing exceptional except that Corbin actually won something from one of those claw grabber things!  And of course this was just after I told him not to waste his money on it because no one ever gets anything from those things.

And THEN, his cousin got one too!  So much for all my great motherly advice.

After that, Russ had to work the First Aid booth at the park, so we went over, too, to check out all the fun...

Obstacle course

Playing on the playground

And then Corbin got to do the coolest game ever

And then Russ got involved (yes, he gets paid to do this sort of thing)

Too bad they lost.  Back to training for him!

Then they all got to try the hoses.  That's always fun.  I love how their shirts say "Property of MCFD" (Murray City Fire Dept).  We just got them the morning of the parade and I love them!  We are so proud of our Daddy!

Russ had a little fun of his own that was captured by a local reporter . . .

(click here for photo credits and more) 

And since we hadn't had quite enough water . . .

It only took Russ two tries...

On the way to a BBQ/Pool Party with our firefighter friends, Colton did a little of this:

But that didn't last long.  Then we spent the afternoon doing this

and eating yummy food and chatting, of course.  Thanks Jeff and Martha for being awesome hosts!

And then we made our way to yet another BBQ at Russ' brother's.  Unfortunately, by this point I was quite tuckered out and was a complete party pooper - no pictures and we left before it even got dark enough for fireworks.  It was long, but FUN!

(And since I am now tired from doing this extra long blog post, I will have to post about the actual 4th of July later...)

Be grateful you speak English

There are so many advantages to being able to speak English, especially in another country.  Some people criticize it as "westernization", but the truth is that the people of El Salvador want to learn English and it really will give them an advantage in the job market and in the future.  HELP taught English on four different levels this year.  We partner with the LDS Employment Center, whom we have worked with for many years.  They help us get the word out and graciously provide many other resources for us to use. 

Part of the advanced class this year is preparing them to continue teaching the English classes after HELP volunteers are gone.  Many of them know alot about English grammar, etc (maybe even more than me), and it will be dually beneficial for them to get up in front of others and speak and share their knowledge.  They are great kids and I have alot of confidence in them.  Hopefully we can make it a sustainable program before we leave for the summer.

The other English project we are doing is with another University that focuses on adult education.  There are many students there who are getting their major in English or are studying it as part of their program, but never get the chance to speak to native speakers.  Hence, we started "English Club" at the request of one of their directors.  We spend time talking, asking each other questions, playing games, anything to get them speaking English.  I think it is very beneficial and will boost their skills greatly.  The day I was there, we talked about The World Cup which had just started.  And although El Salvador was not in it, soccer is as huge there as it is in most Latin American countries and everyone had something to say about it.

This is my group playing a round of "Hot Potato" - whoever was stuck with the ball had to answer a question in English.  When one of us ended up with it, they thought it was fun to make us answer a question in Spanish.  It was really a great time and I think everyone was learning something.  I felt really good about this activity.  [The downside of the morning was that I totally got eaten by mosquitos because I mistakenly thought "Oh, I'll be indoors, I won't need repellant."  Apparently I forgot I was in El Salvador and that I need it ALL the time.]

If you want to know more about HELP's work in teaching English, click here.

Gettin' Dirty

The hottest, sweatiest, dirtiest day of my trip was also one of the best.  I love getting out of the city into the rural villages, and this project didn't disappoint. 

The Project: Square Foot Gardening.  Not going to go into detail on what it is and why we do it, because you can find out more on HELP's website.  I'll just tell you what we did with lots of pics to make it a little more fun to read.  The day I went was the first demonstration in that community and a good time of learning and teamwork was had by all.  Whether you are or are not familiar with this method of gardening, you will see that it is a bit different in the thrid world than it is here.  You cannot just go to the hard ware store to get your perfect boxes and then to the gardening store to pick up vermiculite and peat moss.  You have to adapt.  So here's the step by step . . .

Clear the ground (you dont want weeds growing in it already).

Gather rocks from the river.

Build a square box.

Place newspaper in the bottom and wet it down.

Get the richest dirt you can find (until you can use your compost), which in this case also comes from the river.  And yes, the local women could carry much more than even some of our male volunteers.

Fill the box with dirt.  The women clapped each time dirt was dumped in - they were all very excited.

Prepare the rest of the mix.  In this case, dried leaves and ash.

Add the mix to the dirt and that was it for this day.  Of course, we also talked to them about the purpose of it, how to take care of it, the nutritional benefits it can provide, etc.

So one woman in the group was lucky enough to be the recipient of this first model garden.  The others were challenged to go home and build their own.  If they would prepare the "box", with whatever materials they could find, and the soil, then in two weeks when volunteers returned, we would provide them with seeds and chicken wire.   A deal for them, because it did not require them to spend any money and being generally more resourceful than we were, they could probably do this much more efficiently and effectively than we could.

Chicken wire is required to protect the garden from the many animals that tend to be randomly wondering around their homes (and no doubt soon to be part of some meal).

All in all, a great day - successful training on a project that I love and I got to get out a see a different side of El Salvador.  Here's some other pics from the day:

The house where we built the garden.

The latrine (this is actually a pretty nice one).

I think it's always like this.

Salvadoran baby swing.

Riding the back of a truck, again, fun for like the first 10 min, but gets old after two+ hours.  Ignore the fact that I look completely bald, after the huge rat's nest I had the day before, I was not risking having to cut out any more knots in my hair.

Angel's Hands

Yes, another fundraiser.  Some firefighter friends of ours are involved with the Angel's Hands Foundation, and since I can't ever pass up a good cause, of course we had to go out and support them.  Angels Hands helps to improve the quality of life for children living with rare or undiagnosed diseases, and boy, do they know how to throw a good party!  We had so much fun and there were TONS of people there, so I really hope they made alot of money.

There was a motorcycle ride.  Cool.  We obviously didn't participate in that exactly, but it was fun to watch.

And it was fun to see Russ' chief and his wife!

It was held at Murray Park and almost everything was free - and you could donate if you wanted (And I actually think they make alot more money that way).  Our favorite parts were . . .

FACEPAINTING

And the free POPSICLES:

But we also had fun on all the big inflatable activities - slides, jumping, obstacle course, etc. 

It was also a car show, and I was surprised that the boys actually wanted to walk around and look at the cars (I think that kind a stuff is sort of boring, but they are boys, so maybe that means something.)  Cody picked his favorite one.  good taste, eh?

They also had an awesome band, a silent auction, lots of cool booths with free stuff and other activities.  So if you're into getting out and having fun for a good cause, check it out next year, and you won't be disappointed!

Do a little dance

Build confidence and self esteem.
Teach them to use their creativity. 
Model appropriate social behaviors.
Show them someone cares.
Help them to smile a little bit more often.

These are some of the main goals of HELP's work at CIPI, a government sponsored facility that houses teenage girls, young children and infants who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment.  There is also a group of about 25 young boys who came from another similar facility and who come froma similar background.  Some of them were living on the streets.  CIPI also houses pregnant teens or young mothers with children who cannot live at home.  Some of them are as young as 13.  Supposedly this is a temporary facility, meant to be an interim home until they can find other family members or another permanent home for the children.  But many of them are there for much longer. And group of boys - no one knows what to do with.  They tried to integrate them into regular public school, but having grown up mostly on the streets, they were unable to adapt to such a setting. 

Lucky for them, their new director is absolutely amazing.  She knows the story and status of each child, she knows what is going on in the orphanage at all times. As she was showing my around the compound, she would stop to talk to and listen to the children.  She has a good grasp on what is needed and seems to have good goals.  It is unfortunate that, like many government run programs here, she will never see the funding she needs to fully maximize those goals and really achieve what she is capable of for this program.

One of the main projects that HELP volunteers are focusing on for CIPI is creating a year-round program of local volunteers and interns who will really be able to supplement where the gov't funding falls short.  There are a plethora of universities in San Salvador, and all students are required to do a certain number of service hours to graduate.  So hopefully they can get something set up and running before the end of the summer. 

Here are some of the other things that HELP is a part of at CIPI this summer:

Drawing/Art Classes

Informal Literacy

Dance Lessons

Arts & Crafts / Music!

And of course, baby holding (I couldn't resist)