Saturday May 24

Paint.

We started out with 6 gallons of paint, oil-based and sticky, and concluded with two large classrooms fully cleaned and painted. We changed the color from a gloomy musty purple to bright useful white, made new friends, and had a great time.

Gettin' started.

We had to fill in the grooves between the cinder blocks and the dimples in the cement before rollers could be used to coat the flat surface. One full coat everywhere, and a second coat with the rollers after a soccer game. All of the sixth-grade class came out to help - there were six of them; there are 100 children in the whole elementary school. Not many rural children get past 8th grade -- many parents are migrants back and forth to Nicaragua and the kids tire of being in school several months in one place and starting over again in another, losing ground and can't really catch up; others are asked to start working for their parents; etc.

Blackboard wall.

The one flat wall was the first to get coated with the roller, and that was all since most of it would be covered by the blackboard.

Our fans.

These two were so shy and spoke just a little Spanish with Melody, but loved to watch quietly from the door.

Cutting around the blocks.

Jeremi and a classmate.

Up the steps.

Getting the upper portion covered.

Soccer!!!

They loved the used ball we brought with us to leave with them. It went flying over the chainlink and barbed-wire fence several times and the local students all surprised us with their agility and speed getting over or through it and back to the field. This was a great bonding time to progress from curiously eyeing us from the other table at lunch to full out buddies.

Jeremi

The kids started having paint fights until they realized what a pain it is to get oil-based off the skin, let alone clothes.

Finished project.

All the desks and chairs were stacked in the center of the room, only the tallest folks could make it to the gable via the ladder.

Group shot.

Marylin, the volunteer coordinator for La Selva is on the far left, and all the painted goonies fill the rest.