10 Months to go.....

Yes, I'm counting! Bet you all though I wasn't since if I was counting then I should have realized it had been 4 months since I last updated! But I was having some issues with my account and slow internet combined with having to pay for it means I don't try to work out problems whole-heartedly. But I think things have righted themselves and I wanted to let anyone who still is interested and is determined enough to check on our progress via our blog to know we are still alive and kicking (some days more than others).

Currently we are trying to work on a couple of different projects in our community. We are redoing a garden project that we started with an HIV/AIDS Support Group. We initially started this project back in May (I think) and had some initial success but then because of the cost of trucking in water (we have no source of water in our community other than one bore hole which cannot be used for watering a garden) and disputes within the group we ran out of water and stopped working on the garden. Then we had the chance to attend a "workshop" (basically a conference where the attendees are taught new skills and/or provided with information on a particular subject) for "trench gardening". There they taught us ways to garden in a drought environment and ways to make the most of what water we do have. So armed with this knowledge we are attempting to inspire the group to try again.

We are basically finished with our World Map. We helped the High School Health Club to paint a mural of a world map on the side of their school which faces the road. We will finish it this month by having the club select some HIV awareness phrases to paint in the border. It looks pretty cool and if I am ever able I will try to upload a picture.

We also are working with our out of school youth association to start a bee keeping project. We have already secured funding for a week long workshop for them on business skills so that hopefully once up and going the project can be sustainable. Next is trying to work with the Ministry of Agriculture to get them trained on how to care for bees and harvest honey. We are hopeful.

These are some of the main projects we are working on in our community. Along with that I am attempting to work with a couple other volunteers to plan a Walk the Nation HIV/AIDS walk. We are hoping for a mid-March event and I will let you know how the planning is coming as we get more into things. Definitely going to be a huge undertaking and I'm a little scared!

The weather is starting to get hot again but we have armed ourselves with TWO count them TWO fans this year!! We are so lucky to have electricity to be able to take advantage of fans which make our lives much more comfortable. Well, better be going to catch my bus back miss you all and hope you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather! :)
-Amy