Mabaruma Eco Hostél

Hi all. Sorry it's been so long since our last post. Things have been getting pretty busy. Almost a month ago we departed for Georgetown for the 3 month reconnect conference where PCVs meet up to share what we've all been up to at our sites. It was really great to see everyone and hear all that they've been doing. It was also really nice to sleep in an air conditioned room without a mosquito net, take hot water showers, shop for supplies to bring back to Region 1, and eat food that other people prepared and then cleaned up. Another definite highlight was getting to spend some time with our host mom, Debee back in Vreed en Hoop.

After the reconnect conference week, Ilana and I stayed out another week. I was participating in a solar energy training and she was networking and working out some logistics for getting some resources for us in the future. The solar training was awesome, I think I learned more in 3 days at that workshop than I have in some semester-long college courses. Before I barely understood how any electrical appliance worked and now I feel confident that I could meet with a client, design a solar energy system to meet their needs, buy the components, install the system, and teach them how to maintain it... after only 3 days!! Thanks to the facilitators Jermaine,  Robin, and Duch.  Definitely a skill I'd like to develop more.

It was really nice to come back to our home in Mabaruma. I'm sure there will be some more adjustment surprises in the future, but we finally feel like we're getting things figured out. Living is way easier now that we know simple things like knowing who sells the best eggs, who to talk to when the roof leaks in the middle of rainy season, the phone number of drivers who can pick up a stranded friend at the airstrip, etc. 

We've also had some exciting work developments. As you know Ilana recently had an article published in 2 out of 3 national newspapers in Guyana highlighting an event she coordinated to improve awareness and services for people with disabilities in the Region. Yesterday we found out we received funding for a week of training on deaf education and culture.  We'll be able to fly out 2 specialists from Georgetown to facilitate trainings for teachers, children, and their families.

I'm also proud of another project that I just got approved, $2 million GUY ($10,000 USD) to improve adult literacy in Tobago Village. That will be enough to fly and accommodate a trainer, conduct training for literacy facilitators, purchase and ship adult literacy materials, and fund the implementation for the program for at least 1 year. Very exciting!!!

Well that's the update. Below is a video advertisement for a sweet little Eco Hostel in Mabaruma. We've seen it and I would strongly recommend it to anyone thinking of coming to visit. It's only $0 per night! Check it out.


Mabaruma Eco Hostel from n8stew on Vimeo.