Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust

I loved getting out and about this week through the mud which, as a result of the growing rainfalls, has appeared all over the Parish. Basically what happens is that, during the day, it gets hotter and hotter so that it is unbearable and then it starts to pour around about 6pm (just when I am thinking about going out for Mass somewhere). This week was marked by Graduation ceremonies and fiestas. Jose Luis is one of our catechists, guitarists and youth group leaders at La Paz chapel (he is also applying for entry to seminary in April). So, when he invited me to his Graduation (not Uni just Secondary school), I was happy to take up the offer. He goes to a school nearby our Parish that, like many poor schools, gets subsidized by a rich school. So the Graduation ceremony was in the hallowed halls of San Jose L Salle, secondary school to future Presidents. The ceremony was very fine and was marked by Jose Luis getting a special one-ff prize for Service to the Community. He was smiling from ear to ear. After that it was back to Andresito’s house (he came to Scotland last year) where he was having a fiesta for his Graduation: it is fairly traditional here that the fiesta meal is rice with chicken so I wasn’t let down! And then tonight, Tonio, our drummer at the Parish Church and also youth group leader, is having a Graduation ceremony but, since it is on the other side of the city, I might not be able to manage it. In any case two days and three Graduations!!! This week was slightly unusual in that I had to go on three separate occasions into the city centre on various bits of business. Since I didn’t need to carry things back and forward and was only going for meetings and stuff, I decided to take the new Metrovia bus back and forward. Basically it operates like a mix between a tram and the subway: there are only two or three main lines in the city and only set stops. However, two weeks ago they out in a feeder line that runs right past my house. So I decided to hop on and, fifty minutes later, was in the city centre. The only drawback is that for most of the journey you are squashed together like sardines. But who can complain for 25 cents each way? After a pause of a few months we started construction again. One of the local Rotary clubs had been offering for some time to lay water pipes from the school water supply up to the Nursery and Church. On Monday they started for real and, after moving incredibly fast, they got all the way from Nursery to School. Next week they will do the electrical work at the school and also the pipe work through the Nursery. But I would imagine that, within ten days, I will have a better and cheaper water supply …. Since, at the moment, water is costing me $50 per week!! The other project is the school where we are building the last three classrooms that are needed to make it a fully brick-built school. Since we have been adding a year group each year, this April (when we start a new school year) we will need two new classrooms. So the plan is to build three classrooms and a playground. All in time hopefully for an April start. We shall see.