Maria Auxiliadora residents are planning a minga (workday).

Tuesday, December 3, 2002

Current volunteers are just Sara and me. Justine and Maggie left last week, and Alexis hasn’t turned up yet. We are enjoying a lot of help from other people in the community, though – Genesis school volunteers, various friends of Cheo, and other gringos. An American living in Canoa last night offered to help us – he’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, which is what we need. Hopefully he can help us get some new shelves up. The house is looking really great. 

Maria Auxiliadora residents are planning a minga (workday) soon to build steps on the old trail to the park. It needs doing, only fit and able people can use the trail, and in the wet season it will be impassable without steps. 

I haven’t talked with the police about MA park security, but plan to go with Cheo to talk the possibility of making the park private (accompanied visits only) and the chances of getting it guarded by the police. 

We’re not losing any more trees or steps. The heightened community awareness of the park seems to have scared the thieves off. The excellent work Rita and Sara put into publicizing the park may be paying off already. Local residents are guides (currently two of them, 4 later), but don’t maintain the park. PD can call mingas to clear the park, but I’ll suggest to Elbita, the leader, that MA residents themselves arrange to tidy the park regularly.