Michoacan, Mexico Mid-Term Report
We’ve had another busy week here in Michoacán! Just a week after arriving in their communities, the Volunteers hosted board-member visitors from various AMIGOS Chapters. After attending a condensed briefing, the board members were transported to communities where they spent two days and two nights living the life of a Volunteer. They returned on Wednesday with lots of stories, great feedback and a new appreciation for all the hard work the Volunteers do!
Of course, while all this has been going on, the Volunteers have been working incredibly hard. We have received solicitudes (community-based project proposals) from all of the communities, and there are some very exciting plans for the summer. Some of the projects include installing trash cans, repairing playgrounds, planting gardens, working on reforestation, building a small health clinic and installing a community water chlorination system. The Volunteers have done a great job of motivating communities and encouraging them do their own fundraising, allowing AMIGOS to support even bigger and better projects.
In addition to the community-based initiatives, the Youth-to-Youth Community Development portion of the project is in full swing. Many Volunteers are doing workshops with school children five days a week. We are also lucky enough to have a wonderful host contact from SAPAS (a water conservation agency) giving classes in four AMIGOS communities. Furthermore, UNIVA (university) students are visiting all of the communities to do presentations on nutrition and other important topics with the Volunteers.
The Volunteers and Project Staff are preparing for two regional Midterms on Saturday July 21 and Sunday July 22. They’ll have a chance to swap lesson plans, work with UNIVA students on new classes and, of course, relax and call home. Between Midterm and Debriefing the Volunteers and communities will be busy carrying out their projects and preparing for the Second Annual Feria Ecológica (Ecological Fair), to be held in the central plaza on July 30th. We’ve already met many people who remember the fair from last year, so we are looking forward to bringing the fair back to La Piedad.
