Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Computers in Trinidad

Our computer labs have finally been shipped, distributed and set up in the AOH homes in Trinidad. I already received two lovely thank you letters from the homes.


" your generosity toward the children at the Christ Child Convalescent Home goes beyond words, but we need to thank you, sincerely for your donations of six computers for the children of our home."


Each home received a minimum of six computers. The larger homes received multiple sets of 6 based on their greater needs.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Thank You Letter from Guyana

This summer I visited St John Bosco Boys home in Guyana.
After touring the home and spending time with the home Director, I hung out for awhile with the boys. They had two board games. One was called "Fact or Crap" and it was a trivia game. I had never seen this game before and I was a little shocked at the title honestly. In my house as a child, the C-word was a bad word, and here was a group of kids playing a trivia game with that title. I was asking about the games and it became clear that the boys loved playing the games, but there were only two for a home of over 40 children.


They were so cute as they all sat around patiently waiting for their turn to participate. I sat down for awhile and talked with a boy named Gregory. Gregory was so smart and he really blew me away with his insightful questions about the United States and my job. He seemed so wise for such a young boy. As the kids played trivia in the background, he would split on a tangent and ask a question about something that didnt make sense to him. The game has a lot of idioms and references to things in America like Dunkin Donuts or famous rock stars etc.


I was really impressed by Gregory and the boys at St John Bosco's. When I returned home I went to Walmart on my lunch break and bought a variety of appropriate board games and educational materials. I bought a bunch of card games and envisioned Gregory figuring out the rules to Uno and Skip-Bo and teaching the other boys. I sent the package of things down with a co-worker who was traveling back to Guyana the following week.


Today I got this letter from Gregory.




The letter is super cute and nearly made me cry at work today. I especially love the globe with Gregory standing in South America and me, standing in North America.
This is the reason that Angels of Hope is so important. These children are such a blessing. They are so smart and full of so much potential. Just knowing that someone cares can change a child's life.










Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Guatemala.. fun surprise..


What are the boys of San Francisco Xavier waiting in line for?? ....


Sunglasses... I see they are feeling very snazzy!


It is so fun to be able to offer these fun little surprises to the kids from time to time.












DOC continued... Guatemala

The final event for the year was hosted in Guatemala in honor of Child's Day. We hosted two seperate events for logistical purposes. The weather was refreshingly chilly compared to the heat of Miami and our other Caribbean and Central American areas.

As always, these events are wonderful and it really is a special way to show the children they are loved. Each child went back to the orphanage loaded with gifts and prizes. Everyone received a hygiene kit with a new toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, towels, combs, etc along with other gifts like soccer balls, t-shirts, books and toys. For the different contests we also had fun prizes including PlayDough, baseball hats, remote control cars, volleyballs and basketballs.


We stress that the fun day is a gift from each and every one of their sponsors. It would be hard for me to describe to you how important it is to the children that they have a sponsor. They are so proud to have a sponsor and to know that someone in the United States is thinking about them. The moment when the child receives a letter from their sponsor you can see the joy and pride beaming out of their beautiful little faces. Each one feels like a prince or princess knowing that their sponsor helped to provide this big, exciting party for them. You can hear them talking about "their" sponsor Mary or William who sent them a picture last month, etc.
Our sponsors are so important, not only for the incredible support they provide to the children and the home physically, but also for the emotional and spiritual support they offer.

Monday, October 11, 2010

DOC continued...

Nicaragua hosts two seperate Day of Celebration due to the large number of homes participating in the program and the long distances between all of them. I missed the first event hosted in Managua in May, but I did attend the second event hosted in Chinandega in August. It was a beautiful, hot day and the children arrived full of excitement and anticipation for their performances and sporting events.


These cute bunnies are from one of AOH's newest homes in Nicaragua. It was their first time attending our Day of Celebration event and they had a wonderful time. They participated in everything and you could see how much time and effort they put into practicing their performances. Look at how adorable they are!

One of the many Marching Bands that we purchased and distributed to the children's homes last year. Initially they only started learning percussion and the trumpet. By now they have expanded and are utilizing every single one of the 40 instrument band that they received from us, in only 8 months time! These boys did such a great job and they were very proud. Can't wait to see the development by next year!















Friday, October 8, 2010

DOC 2010 continued...

The event in Trinidad this year was hosted on August 17th. We decided to think outside of the box and provide the children with a fun opportunity that they would not normally ever get the chance to experience. We took them to MovieTown cinema and they were treated to "Despicable Me" in 3D! Awards were presented to the Best Behaved and Most Improved children from each home along with other incentive awards for positive behavior.

After the movie we let the children loose with pocketfuls of arcade tokens. There was an excellent magic show, a bounce house and once again, face painting for them to enjoy as well.






Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Days of Celebration 2010

I am going to have to play a little bit of catch-up. I have been so busy traveling that I have not had a chance to really keep you all up to date with the events being hosted in the different countries. I see that my last DOC post was from Honduras in May! This year's events were a huge success. The staff in each of our countries does such a wonderful job planning the activities, prizes, entertainment and tournaments for each event. Each country has different ideas and offers different experiences to the children. In the end it is all about making the children feel special and creating fellowship in the program amongst the different orphanages.

In July I traveled to Guyana for their event. It was hosted in the National Gymnasium and started off with an impressive March Pass by the homes. Each orphanage proudly carried their banner and paraded across the floor to the applause of the other homes and invitees. The children also presented dances, songs, skits and poetry.

The afternoon was full of cricket and other games. I did not see much of the afternoon's activities as I decided to dedicate myself to face painting in a corner of the gym. I had a constant line up of candidates and eventually a couple other staff from the Guyana office came over to assist. Our artwork was amatuer but the children enjoyed it nonetheless. By the end of the day I had perfected my AOH angel!



continued..