SHRIMP FARM AND MANGROVE

Mom looking out the window of a bamboo house built for the shrimp farm workers!

We had to walk through the mangrove to reach some of the pools of shrimp.

Mangroves grow in salty ocean water and protect beaches from erosion.

The long roots reach down into the soil and a new plant emerges!

The little lady in the rear owns the farm.  There are about 10 ponds and about $50,000 in shrimp in each one.  These little ladies are fairly wealthy and donate a lot to their organization to help people with vision problems.

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Water is pumped in from the ocean to the shrimp ponds!

Birds like to steal a few shrimp for dinner!

Shrimp ponds from a distance!

SCHOOLS AND HOMES OF BLIND CHILDREN

Family Kitchen!

Block houses crumbled and now the people have to live in make shift homes!

Many tents have been donated to the affected area!

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Beautiful scenery but the people don't have much!

Power poles are interesting!

Cock fighting arena!

Student helping a blind student learn her letters!

Little blind boy learning shapes.

Blind boy learning to read and write in braille.

Happy little girl!!!

HOMES BABAHOYO

Homes are built on stilts to prevent flooding during the rainy season.  Notice all the aerials and satellite dishes.

We talked with missionaries from a few years back.  They told us they had to visit the homes by canoe and wear gum boots to avoid getting wet and muddy.

Home are built with bamboo for ventilation in hot humid weather.  We were told that well built bamboo homes could be more expensive than block.

Some of the homes are brightly colored but the majority are not painted.

Beautiful setting!

Some of the homes are tilted.  Not sure if it was a result of  the earthquake or poor construction.

AT THE BEACH

On the way to the beach!  These people work very hard to earn a living.  I guess they have to stop pedaling occasionally to catch their breath.

The evening was very beautiful!

Fisherman were still out on the water.

Pindal Schools

Pindal is a small town close to the Peruvian boarder.  We had to fly to Guayaquil and then take a van for 5 hours to get there.  Here are examples of the new desks and white boards that we donated by the church.

Some thankful students.

The kids had written some notes of appreciation on one of the new white boards.

A meat market along the way.

Typical homes in the area.  Most are made out of bamboo and up on stilts.

Some of the students giving us a thumbs up!

The church donated new teacher's desk.  This teacher had put a tablecloth on hers to protect it.

These were the old desks that they had been using.

More old desks.  Usually there were 2 students per desk.

The children with their new desk.

ERNESTO ALBAN MOSQUERA

Ernesto Alban Mosquera is a school in Santo Domingo with 1200 kids.

A lady cooking platanos and corn outside the school.  She takes the platanos splits it down the center and fills it with grated cheese.  The corn when it's cooked is covered in  mayonaise and then rolled in grated cheese.  We didn't taste any of it.  We don't eat off the street so we don't get sick.

Another lady selling a gelatin like drink.  It looked gross!

These are the old desks that were replaced by a donation from the church

Some of the kids saying hello.  The girl holding the food is a member of the church and she is eating her lunch.

Me with some of the kids. They all wanted to be right next to me and touch me.  So cute!

The new desks donated by the church.  Much more comfortable for the children.

Another shot of the desks.  The rooms are very full and you can see they are still using some of the old desks in the background.

More cute children.

These are just 1/2 of the students and you can't see them all in this picture.  In Ecuador there are 2 sessions of school a day.  One session for the younger ones in the morning and one in the afternoon for the older children.  Here one of the teachers is directing them in a few arm exercises.

We had a little ceremony for the donation of the desks.  Here the stake president is saying a few words.  We like to have local leaders involved in our projects.

Here we are with the stake president, the school principal and the lady on the end is from the school district.

These are the youngest children at the school and they wanted to have their picture taken with us.

A group hug from the children.  I wish I could bring them all home with me.  They really are very sweet and loving.

Happy students with their new desks.

Whenever we enter a classroom they always stand up and say "buenos dias!" They are very respectful.

Some of the children keeping the school clean.

On our way home we stopped at a fruit market.  The man holding the platanos and his wife next to him are from our ward.  He is a driver for the church.

More shots of the fruit vendors.

We had a flat tire on our way home but it only cost $3 to repair.

We were presented with this huge bouquet of flowers from the school.

The children giving me a hug!