Tortilla wraps and water taps

By Tom Campion

Water is a wonderful thing,
But we take it for granted
And drink it like a king,
Raleigh thought, with a rather long pause,
There must be a way, to help this cause,

 

Las Tablas was in a faraway land,
So we marched up, enthusiastic like a marching band,
To live and feed on these tortilla wraps,
But importantly so,
To turn on the taps,

X-Ray 6, we sweated and dug,
Our adopted parents kept us warm and snug,
Sunburnt and thirsty, we tried our best,
But the Nicaraguans,
They work with such zest

An amazing community, warm and kind,
An amazing community, we did find,
We were on our best behaviour, kind and good,
And we helped as best we could,
With all our tools of spade and hoe,
Life was sweet as we yelled proper bo,

Succeed we did, with time to spare,
We created smiles that were wide and rare,
We gave them a gift in the simplest form,
For we did something far from the norm,

As Raleigh volunteers we helped to create,
A feeling in the locals,
They described as great,
As Raleigh volunteers we had to believe,
As Raleigh volunteers we did achieve.

Alpha 6 Gets Involved

By Pamela Martinez, Project Manager and Interpreter, team Alpha 6

Back at Field Base to post an exciting Project Planning Visit in Nicaragua, Alpha 6 is looking forward to meeting the Venturers and making Phase one an unforgettable experience! Last week we traveled for two days on a bus to meet our Project Partners from Cooperativa Juan Francisco Paz Silva. The group will work on a project to supply running water to several families in Las Tablas' community. The spring is situated at 1.2km walk from the houses, and this will make for a beautiful morning stroll to the work site.

We are in the process of discussing the logistics of the project such as materials, captation design and other practicalities. The most exicting aspect of the PPV was meeting our wonderful host families. Each one of them will house two Venturers, who will enjoy a diet of corn, rice and beans, fresh milk and delicious coffee. The houses are situated along a road surrounded by amazing views, together with streams, ponds, and a big, exhuberant esplanade that serves as a baseball pitch. Ducks, cockerels, dogs and cats are an addition to an already colourful scenery, and the numerous children running around will ensure that the Venturers make an effort to improve their Spanish!

We can't wait to start working and living in Las Tablas, spread the 'Raleigh word' and make Alpha 6 stand out from the crowd!