The rains have arrived in the Central Plateau, and it is a sight to behold. The countryside is lush, the rivers are full. Papaya trees bear many fruit and the breakfast passion fruit juice was rich with taste.
As Claude and I stood at the entrance to the Community Center for EcoVillage 1, he asked “But where are the houses?” In the early years you could stand there and count all 10 houses. Today, you can see some roofs and paths to those houses. What you see is papaya trees, moringa shrubs, bougainvillea flowers, banana trees and bean gardens. What a relief for people who two years ago went hungry during a year-long drought. This is the break from hardship they deserve after years of struggle since their homes collapsed in the earthquake.
It is good to return to the EcoVillages to see their promise being fulfilled — at least for this year.
What about the school, you ask? Today we took the all-school photograph. 264 students, preschool through 7th grade. There were 170 students last year.
We hope to send photographs tomorrow.