Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust

In Nueva Prosperina, we are moving ahead with the building of the school . I have to say this architect is a different one from the one who built the other parts of the school and he is certainly moving at a different pace. He is very good - he built the Church and Nursery but he is a little disorganised. But he is in fact very lucky toe escape with his life as the other day they robbed him of $5000 which he had just taken out of the bank. They robbed him in a busy street in broad daylight. In fact the money he had was money he had just cashed from my cheque to him - he was going to pay for some material for the school. Lucky white heather, eh?. Things in the sector go well - as always it is the ordinary people who remind me why I came here in the first place and they who encourage me to get on and do some things. I went the other day to the house of a woman who was dying - Fabiola - and the family we are gathered there around her. What struck me though was that the only thing between her and the dirt floor was a thin mattress. No dignified way of dying here. I said the prayers, blessed her and went on my way. I heard that she had passed away the next morning. Back home a priest would then get involved in the funeral but not here - most of the people from these shanty towns have come from up the north of Ecuador so they quickly get themselves together and head to their home town to bury their dead there. That's what happened with this woman. Lived poor and died poor!