February 1, 2005

Chickadee & Cruising Central America

Update: Hi Mates, greetings from San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. Thanks for your many emails regarding Chickadee and the status of:

CRUISING CENTRAL AMERICA: A COMPLETE UP TO DATE CRUISING GUIDE OF THE PACIFIC COAST OF GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS & NICARAGUA (COSTA RICA pending)

So far I have covered with great detail all ports of call in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. The guide is very comprehensive with...

• AERIAL PHOTOS OF OVER 72 ANCHORAGES
• 2005 DETAILED INFORMATION, RECOMMENDATIONS
• TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS OF EACH ANCHORAGE.
• CITY MAPS AND LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
• SPANISH / ENGLISH TERMS
• CONVERSION TABLES AND MUCH MORE…..

The next indicated step is to research Costa Rica so as to get it into this first edition of CRUISING CENTRAL AMERICA. The goal is to have the book in stores this spring. Chickadee remains at anchor in Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador. I am planning on heading up there at the next conceivable chance I get, to ready the boat and head south to finish the job. I’ll keep you posted. If you have any questions or suggestions on the subject of CCA. Please email Eric at: captain@worldkidsvoyage.org

 SINGLE MOMS SEWING CENTER UPDATE

Hard to believe, but we finally broke through the wall. The Single Moms Sewing Center is up and running. We have two sewing stations going full time and 4 local woman in training.

The first line of product made thus far has been beach bags using traditional coffee sacks. They also made some bathing suits, summer wear and dresses. Most of the items are test runs to establish familiarity and flow.

The repair man	Maria: First hand bag	Irlanda: 'Sew' it begins...

The sign up sheet of women wanting work is long. Our mid term goal is to bring the number of sewing stations up to 10, which in turn will employ over 24 local under privileged single mothers. The most important thing we need to focus on right now now is set up an onsite day-care center to keep the hoards of children from pestering their mothers while they try to work.

 DAY-CARE...SOME OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME.

Open sewage threat	Day-care area fence	House next door

The day-care will also provide the children with schooling after school. There will be a play area for the little ones with various activities and games. One corner of the day-care will be designed as a mini-school with desks, blackboard and maybe, in a perfect world, a desk top so the older children can get a basic understanding of what a computer is and can do.

Our overall start-up budget for the Single Moms Sewing Center is $4200. We’ve fallen short by a long shot, but at least we’re up and running, so I guess that counts for something. The estimate cost to set up the day-care center is $1800. in building material for a 7 foot high brick wall around the whole area, cement court, paint, activities, swing set, desks, black board and few other basics to make the area safe and functional for the children.

Something else the Sewing Center could do with is the need for action oriented visionaries that can offer capital support to World Kids Foundation. Your positive energy is what makes it all happen. Anything you can give to the Single Moms Sewing Center will change a life. Come visit us in San Juan Del Sur, make a difference hands on.

Sincerely,
Capt Eric “Chickadee” B
WKF-Project Director
San Juan Del Sur

captain@worldkidsvoyage.org