Things Are Heating Up!

Hello family and friends.

Wow, talk about never writing blogs anymore. Things will be changing - that is a promise.

I have a TON to tell:

I have been meeting a ton with our community board and good results have come out: we have elected a forman to oversee construction of our project, and also contracted 5 men that have a ton of experience building with cement. This week started construction. Every day the community is collected rocks to haul up to where we will be constructing.

I will be drawing and adding photos of the project, but just so that you have an idea here is what were are looking at:

The landslides fell down and the used the road to head towards our community, finally deciding to part ways with the road once headed right towards my house. Where it first hit the road, tubes that are barried under it have been completely blocked. We will remove these tubes and construct a huge cement square so that there is always space for rain waiter to pass. From where this box is constructed we will be digging and cementing a huge run off system so that the rain easily drains down the road instead of sticking around, gaining weight, and then causing everything to fall. Apart from that, we will also be constructing two retention walls where the effects of the landslides were more harsh. This is in hopes of containing fast erosion and prtecting houses from more boulders falling.

We have gone to a ton of hardwear stores doing price checks and finally have located the place where we will be spending project money. Also, we stopped by the mayors office and invited him to a community meeting this Saturday where we will be oficially starting the project, explaining it and asking for both community and mayor support!

Out of nowhere things are really starting to pick-up.

In other news, I have teamed up with a group called Un Techo para mi Pais (A Roof for My Country). They are building small, wood houses in Guadalupe where I now live. I have been building with them and am organizing a large group of Peace Corps Volunteers to come to help out as well - all in all, a great experience.

I have been doing a ton of walking lately. It takes about an hour to get up the volcano, but it also gives me something to do... the mornings can be slow because I have to wait for the community to get its other work done before we can meet. Now that the project will be officially starting, I will not have to worry about that. We are looking at about 6-8 weeks of digging, hauling rocks and using cement!

We will be ready when it starts to rain again, thanks to your donations!

Desde El Salvador,

Jimbo