Sunset tonight a tapestry of grey, black and gold. Usually there is more pink in there. I feel the same way. A day of emotions, the phenomenon of NGO's (non governmental organizations) in 3rd world countries can be trying at times.

In the boat ride to Santa Cruz I overhear some exhuberant, dewey (white american) young men talking about their church and projects here. Don't get me going, isn't this how the troubles began here back in the days of the spanish conquistadors?! At any rate the question remains, such a beautiful country and so much need but how to help by teaching people to help themselves.

Here is my friend Jiff in the new kitchen at Cecap in Santa Cruz. The kids are having fun baking cookies, notice the rapt attention, but after they bake they go over the recipes and talk about what it cost to make the cookies and what they might sell for or what someone might buy one for. This includes time to go by boat to town, gas to bake, not even mentioning the existence of an oven which is a rarity. Most cooking is done on wood fired stove tops. The fact that the school is there to begin with is something short of a miracle and much work by the Amigos de Santa Cruz take a minute to read about this group.

Looking down from the windows of the school one sees incredible beauty and great poverty, the song of life here. These are two views from the same window. When I am walking up the switch back road to the village there is a characteristic smell in the air, wood smoke from cooking fires, dry soil and a slight pitchy dry scent from the grasses that grow alongside the road. I'm not going to mention the other less enticing odors this time!

My friend Francisco and his family live farther up the hill. He has just finished hauling about 300 of the 600 cement blocks, 40 bags of cement, much sand, rebar and wood to add on to his house. The original adobe house has one main room where he, his wife and their 5 sons live. The last several hundred yards of the delivery process is on your back which is actually and improvement from a few years ago when the small pick up truck could only get to the town center with materials! The industry and perseverance is admirable.