10 February - Day 7

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​Our final full day in Berlin kicked off with some fun as we went out into the street in front of the Pastoral House and passed out pencils to everyone. Each student and person received 2 pencils. It was fun to greet them as they headed to work or school and as people started realizing what was happening, even cars started stopping to get pencils for the students who were getting rides to school. There were a lot of smiles and thanks.

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Then it was time to eat breakfast and prepare to head back out to Alejandria for our final day. We began the time in Alejandria by hiking up to their water source. Alejandria is very fortunate to have a fully functioning water system that provides water to the families of the community and the big reason for that is they have a dependable water source. The water source is plentiful enough that it continues to flow even in the middle of the dry season. Also, it is farther up the mountain than the community and so gravity keeps the water flowing through the system—there is no need for pumps because the water is always flowing downward.

It’s a fascinating system and something the community is proud of (rightfully so). They even have their own water association—a family pays $2 per month for a certain amount of water. There are even water meters for each home and if a family goes over their amount of water for a month, they pay an additional fee. These monthly and overage fees have enabled the water board to maintain the system without dipping into any of the financial reserves the Southwest Partnership has designated for the water system. Here’s an overview of the system with pictures from the source on down the mountain:

After visiting the water source, we had a final meeting with the Directiva summarizing our visit as well as allowing all of us to share any final thoughts or reflections. We then had lunch with them before going to the party/final gathering.

The whole community comes once again to the final gathering where we all had the opportunity to share some final thoughts with each other. Then we had some fellowship and fun, including pinatas! See some of the photos below: