How to use a Dry Latrine

Today I went to the primary school in Zacango to talk with the students about the new dry latrines at their school. We talked about how the dry latrines work, the correct way to use the toilet with seperator (sit forward to pee, sit towards the back to poop). They learned they dry latrine song that Isaiah and Micah and I made up the other day. To wrap up, everyone had to act out how to sit to poop, where to deposit the toilet paper (in the back as well) and remember to cover their poop with dry material. They are all "cats" now, instead of dogs :) Next time I should take cat stickers for everyone. Next week I'll do the same thing at the preschool.



I walked some and then hitched a ride back into town. I had time to notice the cactus in bloom, and the countryside. The mountain is the one we climbed with my dad during Holy Week.

Tadpole to Frog

Micah caught some tadpoles at the Ixcamilpa river when we went on Easter Sunday. Today we saw that one is now a frog!

English Class in Zacango

Yesterday I had the priveledge of sitting in on one of Jaime's English classes in Zacango. It was great fun! She's doing a wonderful job. The students were totally into the activities. Way to go Jaime!

Sun Rain - Written by Katey Feit

Our family visited friends living in a small town in the mountains of Guererro, Mexico. It was the middle of the dry season- which lasts 9 months long. The rolling, tumbling land all around us was dusty and brown. We learned to shower standing in big plastic tubs and to turn off the water while soaping up. That water in the big tubs would be used to flush the toilet. Dishes were washed using a small bowl of soapy water and a small bowl of rinse water. If the dishwater was relatively clean after dishes were done it was used to wipe tables, chairs, floors, the porch and even a kid’s face. Under the kitchen sink was a bucket to catch all the drain water. This was used to water the many house plants. The washing machine drain hose was hooked into a barrel. Rinse cycle water was reused on the next soapy cycle. This soapy water was delivered bucket by bucket to the trees lining the dirt road. Their daily lives were shaped by the lack of rain. Now home in Chicago I cringe when I flush my toilet with potable water. My son scolds me when I leave the water run until it is hot. Filling the bathtub seems an appalling indulgence. Watering the lawn is out of the question. I reuse the dish soap water to wash my kitchen floor and rinse water goes to the houseplants. We are working to install rainwater collectors at our down spouts. It seems their lack of rain has affected our daily lives, too.

Some thoughts

The other day I read a book about Mother Teresa called "A Simple Path".
Two of the many thoughts I had while reading the book:

When asked how she can go on day after day and do what she does when there are so many problems she replied,
"We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful." p.153

And from Brother Geoff, Missionaries of Charity Brothers,

"We are constantly asked, "Instead of giving a man a fish, why don't you teach him to fish?" and we answer that most of our poor people wouldn't have the strength to even hold a fishing rod. And I often think that this is where there is confusion - and sometimes criticism - about our work, because no distinction is made between our kind of poor and other kinds of poor." p.128

Another Birthday

Yesterday we went up to the church on the hill behind our house to celebrate Chuchi's birthday. Good food. Lots of laughter.



And of course the "try to push your face into that cake as you take the first bite" tradition.

At Home

Isaiah and Rosi "riding" the wheelbarrow.


Gabriel


Micah and Ana playing on the front porch.

Birthday Party in Zacango

Thursday evening we went to a birthday party in Zacango. Leonardo turned 50. It was interesting to talk with him about his work in Mexico City and Los Angeles. He also shared about his interest in Lucha Libre (wrestling), his secret recipes for cooking fish, and cerviche with soy. Fun times and delicious food.

TODAY it RAINED!

It rained today in the form of gifts of love! Thank you so much family and friends for thinking of us and sending treats our way. We got two packages today - from the Dyck Family and our Church Family. We are excited about every treasure. !Muchas Gracias! Hugs to all of you.

Dry Latrines in Chiaucingo

The first load of block for the dry latrine walls was delivered on Thursday. Everyone is anxious to finish their dry latrines before the big festival the first weekend of May. There are 36 dry latrines in the works this time around.

The Roads We Travel

Wednesday I drove almost 2 hours through the mountains to meet with municipal president Francisco en Ahuacotzingo. (I didn't get lost!) I accompanied representatives from Rincon de Cozahuapa (they would like to build 61 dry latrines), and representatives from El Planchado and Vista Hermosa who want to build 13 cisterns between the two communities. It was an interesting day for me. It was my first time to meet this municipal president. I was in a room full of men, talking about poop and pee. Well, explaining how the dry latrines work. And talking about MCC, who we are and what we do. The president said he does NOT have any money now to help with the cisterns, but he will have money in October to help with the dry latrines. So the group decided to wait until October. We actually have enough funds right now to build all the cisterns. Any mix of funds helps our money reach further. So the cisterns will be build in May and ready to catch and store this year's rains.
President Francisco invited me back in December so we can do some budget planning for the following year.

Four of the guys from Rincon took me out for lunch. At lunch I met Teresa, a university student who has traveled to Cuba and each summer helps organize 23 to 30 people who go to Costa Chica, Guerrero for a month. They run a literacy and health campaign. She was very enthusiastic and excited to tell us about their work. Inspiring.

Another Cooking Class

One more cooking class the other month. This time we made chocolate chip cookies. And tried to set a date for them to teach me how to make some traditional Mexican dishes. I'm excited! (Delicious mutual learning :)

Rincón de Cozahuapa

The other week Merideth, Kiara and I went to Rincón de Cozahuapa to talk about dry latrines and family gardens. The group would like to build 61 dry latrines. I tried to explain how the dry latrine works and then we made plans to visit the municipal president and ask for some financial help with the project. On these long drives (Rincón is just under 2 hours away) I have time to look at the landscape. It´s really dry here right now!

GRANDADDY!!!!!

We had a most incredible surprise visitor last week - MY DAD! It was absolutely wonderful to have him here with us for the week. THANKS DAD! The days were filled with spending time together, being with friends, some work, and remembering the events leading up to the crucifiction. Here is some of what we did together:

Saturday
Drive back to Olinala. Good time to talk and catch up with recent events as we drove. Caught the last quarter of my basketball game.

Sunday
To market in the morning.
Birthday party in the afternoon the lasted well into the evening.





Hanging Out with Grandaddy





A New (used) Bike for Micah!
We lost Micah's bike a month ago. Mom and Dad found a used one and stuck it in Dad's suitcase. Everyone had fun putting it together and then RIDING! THANKS!






Monday
Grandaddy went to work with Martin to build a dry latrine in Cualac. The muncipal president recently donated 100 bags of cement to build 36 dry latrines in a community. As part of that, he asked that we help build two demonstration dry latrines in the municipal head - Cualac. The president contributed all the material. Martin and Grandaddy went to explain how to use the mold.




Monday evening
We went to a cultural event downtown with traditional dancing, singing and food. (See video on facebook.)


Tuesday
Back to work finishing the dry latrines in Cualac. They were reminded of the benefits of working with a group of people instead of individuals.

Some of the kids at the house where they worked.

Tuesday afternoon
Grandaddy, the boys, and I went swimming at the local pool. In the evening we watched a movie and ate popcorn.

Wednesday Grandaddy and the boys hung out while Martin and I did some work.

In the afternoon and evening Micah, Grandaddy and I went to Chiaucingo to visit our friends Aquilina and Placido. Grandaddy and Placido talked for quite awhile about how to make the toilets.



Thursday we hiked up a mountain! 20 of us climbed 3 hours up and 4 hours back (lots of rest stops on the way back.) The view was incredible and hard to capture with the digital camera.












Thursday evening
Grandaddy and I went to the re-enactment of the last supper and procession downtown, We walked around some afterwards and I got to introduce Grandaddy to a number of our friends. The downtown square (zocalo) is packed during Holy Week.


Friday morning
We went to Dona Mari's again to visit. Friday durnig the day we watched the procession downtown.






Friday afternoon we drove to Mexico City and Saturday morning we took Grandaddy to the airport. It was really hard to say goodbye. We had a wonderful visit. Thanks so much for coming Dad. It meant alot to all of us.