A Full Day!

Upon arriving at Transitions this morning, we were introduced to Santos, an able-bodied staff member who lives in a nearby town called El Hato. John Bell, the retired director of Transitions, who has been a great help to us, insisted that we see the town, meet some of the people, and visit Santos in his home. We drove up a winding hill - not a long distance, but a very steep one - and stopped in front of the church - the end of the road. We learned that up until about five years ago, the road was not paved, and all movement in and out of the town was on foot. (That meant carrying babies - and all of your "groceries" from the mercado - on foot.)

We got our bearings at the church, where we learned that this is an indigenous town of about 200 families. The town receives no services from Antigua. Although there is electricity, the town only recently received potable water. We walked down a small hill to the government school, and watched the kids at recess. John wanted us to meet and follow a child named Marcos, a third-grader born with an as-yet undiagnosed spinal issue. (John, trained in special ed, believes it is polio rather than spina bifida or another spinal-related disorder.) So we shot Marcos as he walked into his classroom and participated in his class. From there, we went to the home of a family in which a two-month-old baby had been born, again, with a spinal disorder. One of the child's legs had been put in a cast to help straighten the leg. (The cast we saw was the sixth cast in this short life.) We interviewed the mother as she nursed the baby in front of her home on a ridge overlooking the town of Antigua. Then we returned to the school, from which we followed Marcos home, walking with his sister, and watched him enter his house for the noon meal.

Finally, we climbed even higher to Santos' home, where we interviewed Santos, standing in front of a spectacular view of Antigua. We were able to meet his mother, and his wife and children. The conditions in which the family lives are remarkable - and each member of the family expressed gratitude that we had taken the time to visit them.

Today is Friday, and that means only one thing. So after lunch at our guest house, we walked the couple of blocks to the basketball court for wheelchair basketball! This time, we shot much of the game. Peter Rollins, our Production Coordinator, had the idea of strapping a camera to the chair of one of the players to get some action shots - so that's what we did! (BECA colleagues, FYI, this was NOT a department camera!) The footage is terrific!

The day ended with a production meeting and preparations to go to the lake (Lake Atitlán) for the weekend.