bargains in bastion!

Last week there was an event in Bastion block 6 - a flea market held at the school. The office that I'm to share with Nikki has been FULL of clothing, sheets, towels, used and new, all sent down from Canada for this purpose. So much stuff that I've been unable to start my work at the school because there's been nowhere to work. So last Thursday was the appointed day, May 1st, a holiday for everybody. So all Wednesday evening we hauled stuff all the way from the office to the gym, then roughly organized it. There was so much stuff spread out in that gym that we could hardly believe it had all been in that little office!

We were there early the next morning for the final preparations, and then the doors opened at 9. And the shopping began!

the 3 photos below are of the same area, before, during and after

Prices were great, most items were less than a dollar, there were clothes for women, men and children, and some household stuff as well, most of it in great shape, some of it brand new.

the guys found these shirts and thought maybe they could be a cleaning team (the thought didn't last!)

The event was a success, a huge quantity of stuff was sold and people went away with necessities for their families that they were able to buy for very little money. In a way it felt wrong to be selling this stuff here, instead of giving it away, but it seems to be a better plan to sell it for a very low price. I was one of the "cashiers" and at times I was practically giving things away, when I knew the circumstances of a particular family. And I guess it helps to attach more value to something if they have paid something for it.

The money raised from the sale will go towards repairs to the roof of the gym, there are many holes. When we were organizing stuff the night before, we had to arrange it in the places where Felipe knows stay dry if it rains. There were many spots that had to be avoided.

And how does the office look now? Well, there are still an amazing amount of boxes and bags in there, but we're going to work on that next week. We WILL make that a usable office! Eventually.