Test Time

A large portion of the women in the women's group I work with participate in a federal literacy program called CONALFA (Comite Nacional de Alfabetacion). The term runs from March to August and classes are held in homes once a week. Although the focus is basic reading and writing, as participants progress through grades the curriculum elaborates as well. 

Today was test day, the term is over. We wanted to have a small celebration for the women participating in CONALFA and since the test was in the morning, we thought we'd make donuts. Around 30 women and half as many kids showed up at my house at 8:30 this morning and we began to make donuts, using a recipe that yielded 60 of them.

The giant bowl of donut batter.

In the middle of cooking the women had to leave to take the test, the Regional Director had arrived to administer them. With a lack of desks some women kneel on the floor and use plastic stools as desks.  

And once all the tests were done, it was time to celebrate. One woman, walking into my house after her test and seeing the pile of donuts said "I'm hungry. I'm going to eat all of these. I will fight the other women so I can eat all of these". 

And of course each of the kids received a donut as well, but it's 'to each her own' here apparently.