Community Updates

Events of Saturday, June 27th

As Patrick Faustin and I leave the front gate to go review the week's progress on Madame Ellie's house, we are greeted by nearly seven hundred fifty people. Today is the entrance exam for the selection of the class of 2017.  350 applicants and their parents are quietly waiting to enter for the test. Before the year ends, another one begins. 

So many people ask about the selection of students, I thought it might be interesting to have a scene by scene of the day.  I have also asked John DiTillo (next year’s Lead Volunteer) to give his impressions on the day as a whole, from the point of view of seeing next year's work unfold before him.

Recently, we had the opportunity while rebuilding our exterior wall on Santo 5 to put in place two cement benches for our neighborhood friends to use when they congregate in the evening to talk about the day. [Of late, the conversations are mostly about World Cup matches.] This was a chance to show ‘concretely’ our appreciation for our good neighbors. Public spaces for distinct purposes also add order and stability. An outdoor restaurateur has already taken advantage of the friendly new space.

We are nearly finished with the basic wall construction. The Playground Project, which involves a series of iron picket pieces, will take another week to complete. We are excited about the aesthetics of this fence given that it is in the playground area. It will be secure, but open. We thank Kate [McDermott] McDodson [Volunteer 2003-04] for bringing the resources of her adoption group, All God’s Children in Portland behind this Project. This wall section was a $5,000 project. Overall, we have already spent more than $12,000 on wall rebuilding to date. Thank you to all who have donated to our Recovery Fund for making this and many other costs created by the Earthquake less of a burden.