Setbacks, difficulties, and finally--some shreds of success.

March has flown by in a blur of canned foam and water balloons for Carnival, and now April is looming close and my number of weeks left in Cochabamba has dwindled to the single digits. The past month has been characterized by a healthy mix of excitement, frustration, and laughter--which has shown me that after half a year at Proyecto Horizonte, I'm just beginning to feel like I'm doing more than flopping uselessly about. (Okay, maybe I didn't feel like I was flopping, exactly, but I'm just starting to get into a groove where I feel adequately useful).

Cold and wet after celebrating Carnival at the school with my students.

The Excitement: 
In the past month, I've been focusing mainly on three things: English classes and extra tutoring for new students, arranging in-home nutrition workshops for a group of women in the community, and a youth leadership initiative that I've been thinking about practically since my arrival. English classes have been getting better and better as my students become more comfortable around me and my confidence in my teaching increases. The nutrition workshops are finally starting to look like a possibility as we explore possibilities for using outside resources to bring student nutritionists out to Mineros San Juan. But finally, my youth leadership initiative is finally up and running and off the ground. I'm thrilled to see it finally have decent attendance. The participants seem to be enjoying the meetings and activities, and I can already see them starting to realize and correct the mistakes they make when working in teams. I'll write another post about the leadership program soon. Check back!


The Frustration:
As wonderful as the above is, it's been quite a struggle to reach this point with everything. In English classes, I've had a rough time managing some classes of unruly (and sometimes manipulative) kids, who at times have made me doubt my abilities as a volunteer and teacher. Organizing the nutrition workshops has also been difficult. With the initially grueling work of arranging groups of neighbors done, we've had a challenging time locating a professional to give the workshops, as the majority of our contacts are in La Paz for some time and unavailable to come to the community. This has forced us to postpone the workshops' start. With the leadership program I was initially frustrated by how few students showed interest, and even more frustrated by those who showed interest but failed to act upon it by showing up to the first meeting. It was certainly hard to face my first leadership meeting with just two students, but it only doubled my resolve to encourage the kids to come and make the initiative a success. The next meeting saw ten teenagers turn up, proving that perseverance is probably the most important factor when working in this environment.


The Laughter:
The way I've turned most of my frustration into excitement is by laughing. Of course it's hard to deal with disappointment, especially after working very hard for something. But one of the great things about working at Proyecto Horizonte is that the work is never done. When something doesn't work, try again, change it up, and do it over. Eventually it'll start to work. That attitude has allowed me to see a lot of these potential setbacks as funny rather than upsetting. The most important thing is not to be discouraged and to keep your spirits up. Energy and persistence conquer all things, after all. 


If you're considering coming to work with us, please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions at keah20@gmail.com and I will answer as promptly and candidly as possible.