Today was the first day of our Community Action Project (CAP)! We started off the day with a breakfast of eggs with ham and gallo pinto, as usual (everyone’s favorite). Then we walked back to the hostel and planned for the big day, which included walking down the streets of EstelÍ holding pick axes and saws.

Belén, the leader of Mujeres Usando Pantalones, met us at the hostel and we all took the bus to Mujeres Ambientalistas to start our work. The beginning of the day started a little disorganized because there was miscommunication about the shopping that still needed to be done. However, after we got into the flow of things at Mujeres Ambientalistas the work progressed quickly. We worked hard from 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, some of us choosing to work through lunch in order to make sure everything was completed on schedule (which it was!). Back at the hostel we had some free time before attending a Letters of Appreciation Seminar. Here we wrote our first draft of essays writing about our experiences and what we have learned from this incredible time. It was beneficial for all of us to get these feelings down on paper and be able to reflect on what we’ve learned.

At the Nightly Meeting we had a discussion about the quote: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller. This quote applied today because alone we wouldn’t be able to accomplish as much as we did in just a few hours. It was amazing to see the transformation of this overgrown mini-forest into the rich earth, ready for planting. Each of us worked with one another and helped each other to accomplish such a big task that for one person would seem almost impossible.

What will our CAP mean to the community? We think that it will encourage the community to become more involved in organizations like Mujeres Ambientalistas and Mujeres Usando Pantalones. These organizations are important because they were both started by women who wanted to encourage other women to help themselves and their community alike.

In the end, today the work was hard but the reward was being able to cooperate as a team because of the commitment that people from Global Glimpse and the community put in.

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Near the end of the day.

Near the end of the day.

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Beginning of the day.

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