As I finish
up my Peace Corps 2nd year assignments, and am in my last weeks of service, the
most fulfilling project is also concluding. The Magude Family Park! From start
to finish, it has taken approximately 11 months, overcame a few barriers, and has
resulted in what community buy- in is all about. The personal commitment of the people who
shared making this possible was an important key element.
A quick
overview of the background in doing this park:
A workshop
by Peace Corps on extra funding that could be available for projects. This was attended by the volunteer and a
counterpart from the community. This
time emphasized how important the maintenance of a project is after the
volunteer leaves, therefore unceasing investment.
Here we
formed a Design Team, introduced the idea of rehabilitating the dilapidated
Children’s park built 100 years ago by the Portuguese in the center of the
village. The idea grew into converting
it to family park, where there would be facilities for educational workshops on
proactive health practices (there was also no place that the whole family can
go past time together). We then divided
into sections and wrote a $5,000 grant to Peace Corps.
Now we are
in December- six long months later; we received the money, interviewed
contractors, and fine tuned the blueprint. Just as we were about to sign
contracts, I get called to immediately appear at the village’s administration
office and speak to the Honorable Mayor (that is quite a formal event here). A
bit curious I walk over to be told that the village has other plans for the
park area. The mayor who is very smart,
didn’t even pause to get me to start to protest nor whine, and tells me that
they re allotting the project a virgin area right next to the old park. Months
later I learned that the Director of the Infrastructure Department, who I had
been meeting with for months, went and proposed the idea all by himself. If it wasn’t for Alfredo Joao, this project
would have been closed.
Now all
seems good, but there is a difference in rehabilitating and started from scratch,
we now had figure out how the money was going to build a new park; something to
attract the mothers, fathers, and children, and meet the standards of the
grant. Challenge starts, time is moving,
the exchange rate is decreasing, and inflation is causing construction material
to increase daily. The solution came
from finding two new contractors, Elias and Velasco, whom are village
natives. They agreed to do what was
needed to result in a family park. Their
personal dedication, pride, and honor to the community resulted in a place that
is actually more beautiful then what we hoped for.
Magude
Family Park had its grand opening on June 1st, 2017, on Magude Day
and International Day of the Child.
The Hospital
Director calls it “a dream that came true”. Congratulations Magude!
I love he earring about how this park came to be!!!
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