During our 4th week of work, we went to visit one of the routes that were part of La Ruta del Guerrillero in Chalatenango, Cinquera. This visit was carried out on Thursday the 31st July.
Along the path we visited places that were important during the time of the Civil War and still exist today as part of La Ruta del Guerrilero. Places like the Cascabela - a secret hospital where guerrillas would go if they were injured during the fighting. We also visited El Mirador (a view point) and La Posa (called The Witch).
In addition we saw the Vietnamese kitchens that were used to cook the food for the guerrillas.
We also had the opportunity to find out about the Palo de Amate Blanco - a very important location where guerrillas used to hide in trenches.
The following day, Saturday, we carried out the 2nd cleaning campaign with the members of the youth group Quetzalcoalt and Progressio volunteers. As part of the activity we cleaned the rivers, the streets, the football field and other important places within the community of Nuevo Gualcho.
On Monday, we interviewed one of the returned refugees from Honduras so that they could tell us about the history of Nuevo Gualcho and how it was when they first arrived.
Over the recent days we have been carrying on with the construction of the steps for La Posa – on which we have all worked a lot!
On Thursday the 7th of August, we carried out the 1st school talk to the students of El Carrizal – talking to them about our project, work and activities as well as the importance of taking care of our environment. It was a very successful talk because we all participated in dramas and interactive activities. At the end we quizzed the children about what they had learnt.
Written by ICS National Volunteers: Blanca Rivas and Vilma Tisnado.
Translated from Spanish to English by Juliana Giwa
