project suriname: Reddi Dotti & Casipura

These two parishes are part of Fr Dorus' ministry but we did not see them on our last visit. We had to drive the cars onto a pontoon ferry to cross the river which was a new experience - the new bridge had a section knocked out four years ago and has still not been repaired. When we arrived on the other side there was someone to greet and guide us to the village which upon arrival turned out to be the 'captain' of the village. It was a special day for the village as the water treatment plant was opened that day so each home has water readily available without having to go to the river all the time and this is run on solar power. It was a very small school of only 85 children from the surrounding villages and like Powakka there is a feeling of peace and calm surrounding you. We presented them with torches, sweets and some new toys for the kindergarten. The staff and children were really grateful as there is very little in the way of equipment. We travelled on to Casipura to the meet the captain of the village. This is even smaller and has neither a church nor a school and has only fifty families. The captain is still single if anyone is interested! Parts of the roads are still muddy and we were so lucky as there was a tropical storm just we got off the pontoon. We were a little late leaving as we waited for the school bus to arrive to take two of the children across the river.