The Latest News and Holy Week in San Cristobal

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in working in Mexico is that things don´t always go as planned and that going with the flow usually produces the best result. The women in the cooperative found a large house last December that would be ideal for their facility. Many of you donated to our capital campaign fund to help the women with the purchase. The building was inspected for wiring and plumbing. The cooperative has become the legal equivalent of a 501(c)(3) but the bank has been stalling in letting them open an account because they don´t have a permanent address (this is a bit of a Catch 22.) We were poised to send the deposit for the building as soon as they had the new bank account. And then Carmen thought it might be a good idea to also bring in an architect to look at the premises. He did and found structural issues in the bathroom walls due to lack of ventilation. He estimated the repairs at $15,000 and of course he couldn´t say what they really would find when the walls came down.

Even though the owner came down on the price a bit, the co-op and Carmen (the co-op coordinator) felt that perhaps this wasn´t the best idea. They emailed us and we definitely concurred. So currently the search is on again for a new building or a small piece or property where a facility could be built.

The bank´s stalling turned out to be a good thing...as the co-op would have signed papers without knowing of the problems. No money was lost....no down payment or earnest money had been paid.

The co-op, with its legal status now attained and the funds we have collected sitting in the escrow account, is in a stronger situation to purchase something else. We are holding off on fundraising until a new property has been identified. We will keep you posted.

I made an impulsive decision to travel to Chiapas as I always wanted to be here for Semana Santa. It has been fascinating. I´ve seen the Passion Play and followed Jesus as he carried the cross for 4 of the stations of the cross....the crowds prevented me from continuing. Unfortunately, a torrential downpour of rain cancelled the crucifixion. Saturday night is the burning of the Judases....traditionally huge paper mache figures which are loaded with fireworks and exploded. But now more socially relevant scapegoats are constructed. There were 11 this year, including Khaddafi, "No to War", the Narcotraficantes, the mayor of San Cristobal, misogynists, and the Future of Mexico as taken over by the multi-national corporations. At 10 pm I returned for the burning and fireworks and found incredible crowds. I did manage to stay for 5 of the "explosions" but the dense crowd got to me and I had to leave. The crowds during this past week have been unbelievable.

I´ve been able to see women from two communities and talk extensively with Carmen. Our first two scholarship girls will be graduating from university in 18 months. In May we'll have news of new scholarship girls. Remember our fourth annual Quality Garage Sale coming up on May 21. And many thanks to Danni Lowe for all her work on the benefit at the Oasis in Sequim on April 29 on our behalf.

Judith