Javier broke the news abruptly one morning early this week. “There’s a chick that can’t walk.” Indeed it was true. The little one had both feet tightly curled under its legs and wasn’t able to walk. Was another pestilence of the tropics going to wipe out our new project? Javi took the chick to the guys’ quarters and babied it through the night.

The next morning there was another chick with the same problem. Time to research. After some internet exploration, it seemed probable that we were dealing with a riboflavin deficiency in the food ration. Javi and Dwain made a couple stops in town before finding a stand at El Mercado that had several pounds of fresh beef liver. In no time at all, the flock of chicks (with a little help from the older birds) had consumed all the liver. Now to wait and see if it works…

The next morning there were no new cases. We tried purchasing more beef liver, but without success. We must have bought the last three pounds in Valle. Beef tongue, however, was available at the newly opened Carnicería next door to La Finca. Again, the flock downed the medicine in short order.

Morning 4 had two new cases of paralysis and we grimly added them to the small pen constructed as a convalescence area outside the boys’ quarters. The patients pitifully hobbled around to the shade, feed and water on their hocks. We couldn’t find any more liver until 6 p.m. that evening, but we purchased another 3 pounds and the flock ate most of it.

The next afternoon, Friday, some of the children came running with the news that one of the recuperating chicks was walking normally. We all went running to see, and sure enough, there it was somewhat gingerly walking around normally. Saturday brought two more recoveries with normal function of the feet and legs and the chicks happily scratching in the grass.

Monday marked the first day of school for Audrey and the Horst children. The California Gold Rush, Simón Bolivar, Jan Matzeliger, South America and the rotation of earth around the sun were some foci of the week.

Angelica and Ali working on a puzzle of the world
Zack working on an art projectEvery afternoon Audrey tutors some of the first graders at La Finca. Here are some children practicing the alphabet.
On Saturday we (along with the Horst family and our Spanish teacher, Silvia) visited an organic coffee farm in San Juancito (about 10 minutes outside Valle). Farmer Emilio led us along paths, sometimes only a foot-width wide, terraced with the coffee plants on steep slopes. After the tour he treated us to a taste of his coffee as we enjoyed the view from his back porch.
Yes, even Zack drank coffee . . . good to the last drop.