During the month of July, while VBS was happening in one part of ACE, Allen and non-VBS volunteers were doing some pretty serious projects needing completion before the heavy rains come in September. We continued the work of previous teams on cleaning out the 16-foot cistern, clearing out dirty water and soil to prepare it for holding fresh water. We pumped most of the sediment out, but found, near the bottom, we needed to get in there and hand-bucket it out. Not a problem for our teammates; in fact, the messier, the better. Afterwards, we put on a tin top as a cover to capture the water.
Then, as always this time of year, we have all our regular and pink guavas come into season. A rush is on each week to beat the cows for the guavas as we sell the juice in our jerk center and make wonderful guava jelly. With 50 hands or so to pick the trees, it’s a win for the humans this year vs. the animals.
Never tried guavas? Well, you should. Come on by Buccaneers and buy a glass of cold guava drink. People drive from all over to get that Vitamin C. Just another sustainable project growing out of the ground on our property down on the farm!
TRIP COST
There is an old proverb, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.” History proves that lasting change in a poverty culture is achieved by empowering the people to reach their full potential and become self-sustaining. ACE is invested in our community long-term and in conjunction with our partners in the US, we are identifying the circumstances of those around us in order to find real solutions for their unique needs.