Hello,
I don’t think I will have enough space to fit in everything that has happened this month. So much happens at the project that I have to take a step back every so often to appreciate all that the volunteers have done and the progress we have made.

I was a little nervous at the beginning of the month. June is a bit of an unknown quantity, with exams and all of the schools finishing at different times, there was the potential for a difficult month. As it turned out, things went fairly smoothly. El Triunfo stopped having classes at the beginning of June, but there was enough to do at KM22 and KM35 to keep us occupied. Whilst the other children had exams, we worked with the remaining groups, and apart from 1 day there was school throughout the month.

We had exams of our own to give to the children, and they all did really well (especially Estella and Gilda) which shows we’ve made good progress. We have a curriculum prepared for next year and along with the teaching methods implemented by Erica in April and May, we are looking to build on the success of the last year.

Unfortunately, the 2 coordinators who were supposed to arrive at the beginning of the month didn’t arrive due to passport problems, so I will be holding the fort by myself until the beginning of August. I am happy to announce that Lukas Meus will take over as Project Manager at the beginning of September, and we are looking forward to working with him.

At the end of the month we had a school trip with Km22. We travelled to Puyo to visit the Botanical Gardens and the Water Park. This was the first time that the school have had a trip like this, and despite the constant rain, the children really enjoyed themselves. I think the water park may have been the most popular part of the day for the children, and everyone is already looking forward to next year. We are hoping to do a similar trip with Km35 in the middle of July.

At the house, as always, there has been steady progress. We now have hot water in the shower in the second bathroom, which also has a door (no more peeping!). There is also a new front door on the house, which has completely changed the feel of the place. It is a bit warmer now, and the dogs are slowly getting used to going under the house to get outside. They hardly ever bark now, which means we can all get a good night’s sleep. Lucy has also changed, and is a lot calmer than she used to be. She has stopped jumping up (no more paw prints on my clothes!) and doesn’t nibble when she gets attention. She’s also started rubbing her head with her paws like Jim. She’s becoming more like him, learning how to get the attention.

The dorm and the twin rooms have also been painted, and look totally different. The whole place looks like more of a house now. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped with the improvements. There are now 4 hammocks which are being used almost all day long!
Anyone who hasn’t seen the new website can have a look at www.youvolunteer.org and let me know what you think. Don’t forget we are on twitter “amazonteaching” and “You Volunteer and the Arajuno Road Project of Facebook”.

Keep in Touch!