Hello Everyone,
I hope this posting finds you all nice and relaxed from Spring Break adventures, or better yet, still on Spring Break adventures. I've been busy trying to win approval for El Pital's computer center and library project, and finally received some good news today: the project has been approved by Peace Corps Washington, and is now official! A little bit about the project, taken from my project proposal:
"El Pital, El Salvador is a rural, agrarian community of roughly 800 inhabitants. The vast majority of residents engage in subsistence farming, with few job prospects beyond that. The four-room school serves not only El Pital, but three smaller, outlying communities as well, and offers grades 1-9, as well as a long-distance high school program. The four teachers are overwhelmed and have few resources at their disposal. Currently, the school has 3 computers, which students use in pairs, twice a week. With access to only these 3 computers and no library, the students here are clearly under-served and much of their potential goes untapped.
The Information Center Project aims to bring the children of El Pital into the 21st Century by addressing the problem of computer literacy as well as other educational issues. We aim to improve computer literacy by providing space to 24 previously donated computers, giving the students an unprecedented student-to-computer ratio. Additionally, we plan to implement computer programs in math, science, language, reading and English, sharpening the students' overall scholastic performance. Finally, we will provide space for a small library that will improve literacy and enrich young minds, as well as foster creative and analytical thinking among students."
In short, this project will drastically improve the lives of El Pitalians by improving computer literacy and education in general, which will carry over to better job prospects within El Salvador. And better job prospects within El Salvador means that fewer people from my community will face the dangers of illegal immigration to the US, and that fewer families will be left behind by immigrants heading north. As you can see, the benefits that this project will bring to my community are myriad and far-reaching.
We have already received a generous donation of computers from my former employer, Keesal Young & Logan, as well as a number of book donations from the US and El Salvador. All we need now is a place to put everything. So, here comes the uncomfortable part (for me, anyway): the community will contribute roughly $7,500 in labor and supplies, but to fully realize this project, we are asking for a little over $11,000 from US donors, which means (drum roll...) YOU GUYS!!! If you would like to donate to this project, you can do so online through a secure credit card transaction on the Peace Corps website, where you will also find a brief project synopsis: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=519-104.
Supporting this project is an opportunity to see exactly how your charitable donations are being used. I will be sending out photos and updates on the progress of the computer center/library, and will personally oversee the project, together with my community counterparts. Your money will be used wisely and effectively, and 100% of it will go toward the project - not to me, or toward paying NGO staff members or office supply costs.
Thanks in advance for your support. I realize that many of you are feeling the tax-time crunch and the tightening tentacles of recession, but if you have some spare cash, please think of El Pital and the bounties this project will bring.
All the best,
Ben
P.S. I've attached my project proposal, as well as the engineer's designs for those of you who want more information on the project and its goals. Also, please feel free to forward this email or the link to the Peace Corps website to anyone who might be interested in supporting the project. Thanks!!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Pictures and Moving Pictures
Hi All,
I thought that, this time around, I would give you all a multimedia presentation of what I've been up to lately. First off, here's the link to the latest Picasa photo gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bennnn.williams/March2008Photos
I've also decided to use the miracle of YouTube to bring you a little bit farther into my world here in El Salvador. My youth group has been taking some culinary adventures lately, as we've made pizza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GwR7iEooU and hamburgers in the last few months. I know – boring American food – but imparting sophisticated San Francisco Foodie techniques just isn't that feasible here in the countryside. Plus, teenagers love pizza and burgers. Speaking of cows, check out these two videos of a cow castration, El Pital-style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eg776oMNZ0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1lpYEoz8UQ. Not for the faint of heart – this is NASTY. But it's a big part of life here, and everyone treats it as no big deal. But you can still hear me shudder behind the camera, which means I haven't gotten used to seeing it yet. I wonder what a psychoanalyst would say about a society so at ease with castration?
My Sunday hiking group has explored nearly all there is to see around these parts, including several trips to the nearest volcano, El Chingo. Here we are in the crater, messing around on a makeshift see-saw. Not only is the video special because it contains a fat man squealing with girlish joy, but also because of the fall at the end by yours truly http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1699956108683494126. Great cinema. On the same hike, we found a vine dangling from the jungle canopy, and decided to swing on it, consequences be damned http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7216655464365819281. (Peace Corps has great medical coverage, by the way). Luckily for us, the vine was thick and not about to break. On a separate hike, I fought an epic sword fight on top of a misty hill and lost, badly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzO_lanu_UE. Always get under your opponent.
To give you a sense of the kids I work with daily, here's a video taken from the literacy group's end-of-the-year party http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JC75r2MZ5k. We're playing a form of Rock-Paper-Scissors, but with a huge group of people. Everyone loved it. At the same party, a friend of mine who has recently gotten into heavy metal taught the kids how to head bang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSxDxCSz5Mo. Not something you see everyday in the land of ranchera music. And finally, speaking of music, my friend Juan and I held an impromptu performance of a popular ranchera song ("La Puerta Negra") on my front porch http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5678246825823974841. I never thought that that's who I'd become when I grew up.
So I'm still spending my days teaching literacy and other remedial subjects in the Sala de Nivelacion (a special classroom for kids who have been held back grades or who are not getting the teaching they need in the normal classroom setting). I work there from 8 to 6 everyday, with occasional breaks to teach 8th and 9th grade English. On the weekends, I spend my time with the youth group/card makers, either going on trips, having parties, doing community service, or just hanging out. My life here is filled to the brim with activity, especially now that we're also in the initial stages of building a computer room/library to house the computers received from Keesal Young & Logan. I have submitted the proposal and budget to Peace Corps HQ in DC, and after it is (hopefully) approved, I will be badgering you all for donations. Honestly, it is a very cool project that will impact the lives of nearly everyone in the community for the better. More information on this is coming soon.
Already nearly a third of the way through my second year here, and time seems to be flying by. I've come to love this friendly, dusty little country, and I can't begin to think about what I'll be doing after this . . . any ideas? Any/all suggestions are welcome. Hope you all enjoy the videos and photos – and if you have the time, send me some of yours (but only if they aren't castration videos). I'm anxious to see and hear what life is like back home.
All the best,
Ben
I thought that, this time around, I would give you all a multimedia presentation of what I've been up to lately. First off, here's the link to the latest Picasa photo gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bennnn.williams/March2008Photos
I've also decided to use the miracle of YouTube to bring you a little bit farther into my world here in El Salvador. My youth group has been taking some culinary adventures lately, as we've made pizza http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-GwR7iEooU and hamburgers in the last few months. I know – boring American food – but imparting sophisticated San Francisco Foodie techniques just isn't that feasible here in the countryside. Plus, teenagers love pizza and burgers. Speaking of cows, check out these two videos of a cow castration, El Pital-style: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eg776oMNZ0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1lpYEoz8UQ. Not for the faint of heart – this is NASTY. But it's a big part of life here, and everyone treats it as no big deal. But you can still hear me shudder behind the camera, which means I haven't gotten used to seeing it yet. I wonder what a psychoanalyst would say about a society so at ease with castration?
My Sunday hiking group has explored nearly all there is to see around these parts, including several trips to the nearest volcano, El Chingo. Here we are in the crater, messing around on a makeshift see-saw. Not only is the video special because it contains a fat man squealing with girlish joy, but also because of the fall at the end by yours truly http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1699956108683494126. Great cinema. On the same hike, we found a vine dangling from the jungle canopy, and decided to swing on it, consequences be damned http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7216655464365819281. (Peace Corps has great medical coverage, by the way). Luckily for us, the vine was thick and not about to break. On a separate hike, I fought an epic sword fight on top of a misty hill and lost, badly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzO_lanu_UE. Always get under your opponent.
To give you a sense of the kids I work with daily, here's a video taken from the literacy group's end-of-the-year party http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JC75r2MZ5k. We're playing a form of Rock-Paper-Scissors, but with a huge group of people. Everyone loved it. At the same party, a friend of mine who has recently gotten into heavy metal taught the kids how to head bang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSxDxCSz5Mo. Not something you see everyday in the land of ranchera music. And finally, speaking of music, my friend Juan and I held an impromptu performance of a popular ranchera song ("La Puerta Negra") on my front porch http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5678246825823974841. I never thought that that's who I'd become when I grew up.
So I'm still spending my days teaching literacy and other remedial subjects in the Sala de Nivelacion (a special classroom for kids who have been held back grades or who are not getting the teaching they need in the normal classroom setting). I work there from 8 to 6 everyday, with occasional breaks to teach 8th and 9th grade English. On the weekends, I spend my time with the youth group/card makers, either going on trips, having parties, doing community service, or just hanging out. My life here is filled to the brim with activity, especially now that we're also in the initial stages of building a computer room/library to house the computers received from Keesal Young & Logan. I have submitted the proposal and budget to Peace Corps HQ in DC, and after it is (hopefully) approved, I will be badgering you all for donations. Honestly, it is a very cool project that will impact the lives of nearly everyone in the community for the better. More information on this is coming soon.
Already nearly a third of the way through my second year here, and time seems to be flying by. I've come to love this friendly, dusty little country, and I can't begin to think about what I'll be doing after this . . . any ideas? Any/all suggestions are welcome. Hope you all enjoy the videos and photos – and if you have the time, send me some of yours (but only if they aren't castration videos). I'm anxious to see and hear what life is like back home.
All the best,
Ben
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