If there is one thing that all PC Paraguay volunteers can agree on it’s that all Paraguayans want to do a project that sounds “lindo” (pretty). Por ejemplo:
- Reading books to the class = not so lindo
- Painting murals in front of the school = Soooo lindo
So, what to do, what to do…? Obviously teaching the value of books is important, but if I ever want to get to the point of convincing my school to do a big project with books, I must do something lindo first.
For my first very lindo project, I have decided to collaborate with another Encarnación volunteer (Jessica) to paint murals in celebration of “El Día de la Juventud” (The Day of the Youth). My school (Dr. Francia) and another school, which I plan to begin working at in the near future, have both expressed interest in participating. We are also planning on asking another school in the area and perhaps the youth group of the Baptist Church (yes, there is a Baptist Church in Encarnación). I would have liked to have painted a mural with the girls at the orphanage, but the orphanage director insisted that they didn’t have a “lindo” place to paint one. I was and still am disappointed about that because the orphanage has the most space of all of the potentially interested organizations to paint a mural.
Where to begin??
Jessica and I have met a few times in order to go over the details of the project. We have identified the whos, whats, whens, wheres and hows of the project. Check it out:
Who: Any school or organization in Encarnación that has youth from the ages of 13 – 18.
What: Each organization will choose a theme (friendship, environment, values, etc.) and then ask its jovenes (youth) to draw potential designs for a mural. The leaders of the organization will then choose a few of the drawings to use. In addition to painting murals, the project will also promote teamwork, creativity, civic service (making your community beautiful), responsibility, self-esteem and pride in one’s work, school, community and self.
When: Late August – September 2011
Where: Schools, organizations, youth groups
How: Schools and organizations will provide ladders, buckets, cloths, paint brushes and paint thinner. We are in the process of writing a “pedido” (request) to City Hall for the money to buy the paint, which is the most expensive supply. After checking around on prices, I discovered that paint brushes and paint thinner are very inexpensive, and I am assuming that the majority of the organizations already have ladders and buckets.
I drew up the letter for the City Hall this week, and we plan to meet with the principals of the schools and whoever else late next week to get their signatures showing their involvement. Then the letter will be off to City Hall and hopefully, APPROVED! Fingers crossed!
Crossed and hope all works out!
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