We are inviting 7th and 8th graders in four communities to participate in the antiviolence life skills program. As part of the first presentation we are using a colorful 'parachute' (sometimes called a 'playchute'). If you aren't familiar with these, the young people stand around it, hold onto the edge of the material, and make the parachute billow up, bounce a lightweight ball on it, etc., to play different games. None of the young people here has seen one of these before, let alone had the chance to play with one.
As we were spreading out the parachute yesterday (it's big, 30 feet in diameter to accommodate 30 students around the edge), a girl standing next to Anita firmly grasped the edge of the material and looked out at the unfurling parachute with some concern. "Are we going to fly?" she tremulously asked Anita. Anita reassured her and the girl had a great time after she got the idea.

The Clinic just submitted a new grant proposal to USAID that is mostly centered around HIV/AIDS prevention activities. For this proposal, a group of NGO's banded together to submit one plan from the coalition (this is a first for these groups - we will see how it goes). USAID had difficulties estimating how much was available in its 2013 budget because of the uncertainties in the US national budget process. USAID had not accepted any proposals here since the beginning of the year. The US foreign aid budget, though a small part of the total US government budget, is always flexible and changing. This has consequences for programs that the Clinic and other NGO's could offer.