San Juan La Laguna (Ami San Lucas)

Whilst up at the lake I also got the chance to revisit Ami San Lucas- a project working with rural communities in health education and community development. On my previous visit, I had met some of the health promotors that they had trained. This time, they showed me a small garden that they have started with the health promotors -- they are just receiving training in the use of medicinal plants and want to be able to produce their own, so that they are able to sustain the help that they give ther communities.

I was also able to catch up with some of the staff - who during my last visit were just starting a project to help communities plan their response to nature disasters and emergencies. They are coming to the end of this project now - with 5 communities having been trained and

drawn up emergency plans. This will make a huge difference when earthquakes or hurricanes occur as many of the communities and far away from any emergency response that the government could provide. It's such a breathtaking experience to visit these communities - travelling up and down and around the mountains on hair pin turns and steep slopes -- but I know that these are exactly the thing that makes these communities at high risk from natural disasters and the hardest to reach, when something does happen. Enabling communities to assess their risk and respond to emergencies themselves is such valuable work.