Fishing nets and boats

This afternoon we visit a fishing village. Besides herding goats, fishing is the other main source of food and income. Recently, however, there have been fewer fish in the lake, and the community is struggling.

Just before reaching the village, we meet Paul, a local man who works as a translator and catechist for the mission. He is waiting for us with two of his sons, a couple of young boys and a friend's boat. Paul does not have a boat of his own, so he usually wades into the shallow part of the lake and sets his nets there, hoping to catch fish. Twice a day he goes into the water to check them. Today he has borrowed the boat to show us around and take us out to his nets.

The landscape is beautiful, with green canes contrasting with the blue sky and the blue water. Paul walks through the water pushing the boat, while his son Paco rows. We slowly reach the nets, and all the boys jump in to check them. They find only three fish, not enough to feed the family, but something nevertheless. On the way back, they collect the roots of the canes and eat them. As the fish are not enough, the canes are an alternative source of food.

Paul would like to own a boat so that he can fish in deeper waters, but he does not have enough money to buy one. We later learn that providing boats for local people is one of the mission's projects. The mission relies on donations to raise funds, but it also asks the local community to contribute, so that they have a stake in the outcome.

We think this is a worthwhile investment for donors. As the saying goes:

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."