Lots of things have been happening here. I’ve been doing lots and lots of work with a foundation for a school in town, along with the school itself. Above are a few of the photos from the school (some of them are borrowed from a group who came down to visit, focalpointaid). The kids are amazing, the school is doing amazing things on some crazy limited resources- I love it. I’m sure that everyone will hear much more about it. Also, I celebrated my 23rd birthday a few weeks back in the capital. We found a hibachi grill!!! It was a great night, pictures posted above.
It has been a super busy time here. Last weekend, a group of doctors came down to El Mozote (the town of the massacre), and a couple of Peace Corps volunteers and I helped out with translating. It was a truly incredible experience. I saw a baby’s body that was burned because she tipped over a pot of beans on the stove. I saw a 2 year-old little boy who had to have all his teeth pulled out of his mouth, because his mother had let them rot out and he had a major infection. I saw so many people who needed more care than a 2-day clinic could provide. I saw greedy people, who came back both days wanting more vitamins and more medicine for the same children already seen by doctors. I saw people hoarding toothbrushes, because they were giving them out for free. I saw people who traveled for 8 hours to come to the clinic. I saw severely malnourished children. I saw lots of kids with parasites (although, nothing to gawk at, I myself had to be treated for parasites that day). I saw 13 and 14 year old mothers. I saw so many people with respiratory illnesses because they use wood stoves to cook in the home, and it causes their whole families to be ill. I saw that it is hard to change the world. But things are getting better, I’ve got to hope anyway.
The doctors were amazing with the people there, they were great to the Peace Corps volunteers-it was a great experience, as are most of my experiences here. I’m learning lots of things, life changing, eye opening.
