Photos running in "Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review"

I'm honored to have some of my photos of the people of Los Cobanos run in the Spring-Summer issue of Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review. My colleague at Riverkeeper, Ramona Cearley, is Director of the publication and very kindly asked to include some shots as well as a brief narrative of the project and its people. The issue will debut at the University of Texas Undergraduate Writing Center in Austin on July 17 at 7pm.

In addition to the photos, the issue will feature many beautiful works from renowned Texan poets and several book reviews.

For more information on the event, click here.

Thanks Ramona!

Living Water International visits village

Our effort to get clean drinking water to Los Cobanos is starting to pay off. Representatives from Living Water International visited the village in early June to brief residents on the hopeful installation of biosand filters for drinking water. Living Water presented the concept of the filters and discussed the importance of developing local capacity for perpetual maintenance and education.

Residents turned out in strong numbers and are energized by this potential partnership. My goal right now is to raise funds to purchase filters for their homes and ensure that a training and maintenance program is created. This summer, I'll be soliciting funds from friends and colleagues so this system can be built as soon as possible.

Thanks for your continued help!

A Great Trip

I'm back from a fantastic and intense five days at Los Cobanos, El Salvador. Thanks to all your generosity (and to the TACA Airlines for waiving baggage fees), I delivered to the villagers 160 pounds of clothes and soccer equipment, financial support to Neto's family, and jewelry tools and supplies for Neto's wife Irma. The boy, pictured at left, wears one of the donated shirts. In addition, I also started a fund for the village's water and sewer needs.

In the coming days, I'll be posting more photos and comments on the trip, the village, and the people in El Salvador.

Stay tuned.

Over $3000 in Pledges To Date

Wow. I never expected such a strong push of donations from you all. Thus far, we've collected $1,700 in cash and $3,000 in pledges. We're well on our way to providing clean drinking water and economic opportunities for the people of Los Cobanos. Moreover, I now have about two and a half duffel bags worth of donated summer clothes and soccer goods-- including linesman flags.

I leave in two days. Check back Wednesday night for my final pre-trip posting.

Today We're over the $1000 Mark

Thanks to a terrific outpouring of support, we zoomed past $1,000 in donations today. This is well more than I could have hoped for and sets us way ahead of the mark on the Los Cobanos projects.

In addition, the clothes and soccer equipment are beginning to pile up.

Excellent.

More later...

Many thanks for your quick responses! We're off on the right track gathering clothes, old soccer equipment and money.

Thanks also to Celina for the fantastic ideas about microfinance, drinking water technologies, soccer equipment programs, and future fundraisers.

El Salvador is a week away. Stay posted!

Friends,