Somehow everything is different the third, fourth, fifth time around. Like reading Le Petit Prince for the 20th time, with every reread I capture a new idea or learn to see those timeless metaphors in a different way. I feel that way about New Orleans during the personal development course we just completed in our…
After weeks of late-night Skype meetings with the project team, reading travel books and articles about Cuba, and jumping through lots of bureaucratic hoops, the Recrear project team finally landed in sultry La Habana at 3 am on a Saturday night and was greeted by Handy himself. As we drove through the quiet darkness along…
After weeks of hearing about an enigmatic but well respected theater group tucked away in the mountains of Cuba, we finally fell upon Teatro de los Elementos (Theater of the Elements). If all goes well, we hope that the entrance flanked by now-in-season mango trees will be welcoming a group of Canadian and Cuban students in November.…
By Nouha MaaninouKenitra, Morocco When RecrearApply finally kicked off in Morocco, all I did was worry. It was 11.30am and only five people were present. We had worked hard and we were expecting more people: 55 students were signed up. Kamya, another Recrear staff member, had come all the way from Granada to help out…
By Aleksandra (Sasha) Kuznetsova, Kazan, Russia The only thing I do not enjoy about Recrear projects is that they always end. No matter how much effort you put into developing the project, or how many people will benefit from it, or even how much money you fundraise, every project will eventually finish. And no matter…
By Kelli Fleming, Timbiré, Ecuador Put “Timbiré, Ecuador” in Google and you won’t find much, and by that I mean you won’t find anything. Well, unless you count islamicfinder.org, which conveniently tells me how to orient myself towards the Kaaba, which, for those curious, lies about 8026.59 miles away from Timbiré. Rough. These days I can’t…
By Maria Laura Minoli, Timbiré, Ecuador After our follow-up project in Palma Real, Kelli, Caitlin and I came back to San Lorenzo, and stayed the night at Fabiola’s house. We met Iván Grueso, an agronomic engineer, who carries out projects around the area, and who would take us to Timbiré the next day. The following day…
By Maria Laura Minoli, Palma Real, Ecuador Last May, three colleagues from Recrear went to deliver RecrearParticipate in a small fishing village on Ecuador’s border with Colombia, Palma Real. Kelli, Caitlin and I came back three months later to follow-up, checking how the participants had progressed on their projects and receiving feedback on the workshop. We…
By Caitlin Flannery, Palma Real, Ecuador It is a true waterworld. With the entire four-square-block town center precariously balancing on bamboo stilts, every detail of this place fascinated me from the moment I stepped out of the turquoise lancha into the vibrant and forgotten community of Palma Real. Running toward the dock to take an afternoon…
As new Recrear members Kelli Rae Fleming, Caitlin Flannery and Lala Minoli got ready to deliver our latest projects on Ecuador’s border with Colombia, Recrear Executive Director Gioel Gioacchino, now a Sauvé scholar, sent them a letter to share her insights from her work in the field. Here is her letter: My Dearest Kelli, Caitlin…
