Nets for Soccer and the Mosquitoes

Hi everyone. The last couple days have been more relaxing than normal. Late tuesday afternoon we visited 2 schools and 1 rec center. One of schools named SEARA was for malnourished kids aged 1 to 6 in a very poor section of the city. At the school all the children are bathed upon arrival given new clothes, they eat breakfast, participate in learning activities all day. We met with the school director and these German guys who were volunteering at the school for a year. After talking to the staff, Mike learned that these families of the children were in need of mosquito nets due to the outbreak of dengue fever. Mike had about 27 nets to give out to families so we decided to return last night (Wednesday evening) at 4 pm as this is when the families arrive to pick up their children.

So yesterday during the morning and early afternoon we had some free time to go down to the center of the city and do some shopping. Since tonight is the formal for the local Rotary District conference we needed to buy white button down shirts and ties. After searching for about 3o minutes we finally came upon a department store and got shirts. The only shirts they had were 100% cotton so these will be hot to wear and get wrinkled easily. After our shopping trip and lunch (I had a sandwich they call a "hamburger" but the meat is so salty here you need to drink a gallon of water just to get it down), we went back to the school to hand out the nets.

Upon arrival at the school around 4 pm, all the families were waiting for us. Mike with the assistance of the German guys demonstrated the importance of and how to use the nets. Each net is intended to cover one family and protect them when they sleep at night. These people are so poor that they all sleep together in the same room and bed. The nets come in different sizes based on the number of people in the family. After the demonstration all the families rushed up in line to receive their nets but unfortunately the demand outweighed the supply by about 41 nets. So Mike promised that we would be not leave any family without one so the school got the family names of the remaining people in line. Mike bought his supply of nets from donations he is receiving so he needs to raise about $1,000 more. These nets cost about $25 each and are treated with premethrene to fend off mosquitoes. Please email me if you would like to donate to this cause. 100% of what you donate will go directly to buying the nets specifically for this school. I saw this first hand and amazed at what I saw. We got to talking to the German guys who live next to the school and they invited us to thier place for a one of guys birthdays.

Anyways, after the visit to the school we came back to the compound and had dinner and hung out with retired dentist and his wife who is volunteering his services in Santarem. After dinner at about 9 pm we left the compound and went out to celebrate with the Germans. The party was great. This one guy played the guitar and actually knew some of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Bush, and even some Led Zeppelin. So we did some sing-alongs while we were drinking some beer and out of pine-apples. A good time was had by all.

Today we spoke briefly at the RYLA conference (Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly) and then went down to the block party as today was a Brazilian holiday yet again. We organized a pick-up game of soccer with about 20 kids. After about 45 minutes of playing in the hot sun I was done. So anyway, I have to get a shower now for the evening district conference dinner. Have a good night.