dear friends, thanks to all who helped with friends' first table at cow harbor day. we made about $600, but more importantly talked to a lot of people about what we are doing and handed out lots of fliers for the nov. 13 dinner fundraiser. jen brady-cotter's color brochure made its debut to universal acclaim. george pardo updated us on the search for a solar water system for nuevo amanecer. two companies have given prices for a solar pump, and further technical questions need to be answered. since the total cost of conversion from diesel power could be around $20,000, the issue was raised about whether continuing to use the diesel compressor might be an alternative at least for the near term. in order to make a cost comparison, information is being sought about the fuel and maintenance expenses of the current setup. an suv has been purchased for conchita ojeda to use for project-related business. students contributed $2,250 and friends the remainder. pete white has drawn up a list of rules for its use, the aim being to keep the venerable vehicle running for as long as possible. on the nov. 13 fundraiser, kristi lalor has been working with students. they are soliciting silent auction items, posting fliers (one is attached) and sending out invitations to those who attended friends' first fundraiser, at chez willens. please send in your checks. the group agreed in principle to contribute to completing the chacraseca water project. about 200 families are still without running water. a nonprofit in tulsa called just hope (www.justhope.org) is raising $52,000 to buy and install the water lines. several churches throughout the country have agreed to contribute. the amount of our contribution has not been established, and students also will be asked to make a donation. just hope had a deadline of oct. 15 for a commitment, so we will attempt to catch up. our next meeting, set for thursday, nov. 6, will be the last before the fundraiser. please try to attend to help with the last-minute details.