Jamaica 05/2010

Day of Celebration 2010

This year's Day of Celebration event was hosted at the Puerto Seco beach.  The children always enjoying swimming so each  year we host the event at a beach location.  This year was the first time hosting the event in Puerto Seco and it was a wonderful success.  Children from 16 different facilities attended the event. 

The day consisted of swimming, hula hoop contest, bun eating contest, three legged race, sack race, manicures, make-overs and recognitions given to the "Best Child" and "Most Improved Child" from each home.

The FFP Jamaica staff worked very hard to organize the event and coordinate things between all the different homes.  We spent  hours packing gifts for each of the children, making the award sashes, and packing gifts for all the staff and administrators of the homes.  When the day finally came, it was a great success and a huge sigh of relief for all those involved in the preparation.  Each child went home with a thermal lunch box full of different items, including wrist and head bands.  Each staff member also received gifts and each home was given two brand new bicycles.

The purpose of the Day of Celebration event is to do something unique and special for the children.  We want to show them how loved they are and encourage fellowship amongst the different children's homes.  It is a time when the children are truly celebrated and showered with love and attention.  In that sense, the day was perfect.

Guatemala 04/2010

Guatemala will always hold a special place in my heart.  I met Food For The Poor in Guatemala 4 years ago when I was working there as a volunteer and I continue to be amazed and impressed by our work there.  I feel proud to be a part of this organization and proud to know that I play a role in making it all happen. 

Angels of Hope currently works with four children's homes in Guatemala.  In late 2009 two of the homes received a donation of a full Marching Band of instruments.  The 40 piece donation includes all the needed accessories, reeds, and oils, etc.  The bands were donated to all the homes program-wide who had more than 40 children and an exisiting music program. 

When I visited each of the homes, those who had received the bands were proudly showing off their new instruments and playing a "welcome" march as I arrived.  It is so nice to see the children have these additional opportunities that allow them to continue to grow and develop all the hidden talents that each one posseses.  I always try to make eye contact with each one and send them my biggest smile.  I also like to address individual children and ask them questions about their instrument; how long have they been playing? their favorite song? can they play a little as a solo?  is it heavy? etc.  I wish I could spend more time with each one of them.  I try to as much as possible but the heavy work load and distances traveled do not allow enough time for "hanging out".

One of the other tasks I was trying to accomplish on this trip was to take full picture retakes of all the children.  Every other year we send out Updates to the sponsors that include an updated photo of the child and a letter from the orphanage's director.  So a focus of this trip was to retake each child's individual photograph.  As you can imagine.. this takes time, lots of time.  Here is a sample of Estuardo Cruz from Hogar San Jeronimo Emiliani.  You can really see how much these kids grow and develop in only two years!

Guatemala will soon head into their rainy season.  Even so, being the end of the dry season, it is such a lush and green country.  As you drive through the countryside you can look at the rolling hills and mountains and see that "patchwork" that is sketched in children's books.  Each crop or field has a different color and texture and the pattern covers the sides of each slope.  I am always amazed that on pieces of the most trecherous terrain you will still find corn and coffee being planted and harvested.  I am sure I drove by the plantations that grow that yummy coffee we all buy at Starbucks.  :)

I would be so happy the day that this t-shirt comes to be true.  Isn't he adorable!

El Salvador 03/2010

I would really like to share with you some of the great projects that we have executed in El Salvador this past year.  In 2009 we really wanted to focus on making the children's homes self-sustainable.  With the economic crisis, these homes really struggle as donations and support diminish and costs continue to rise.  We wanted to work to provide animal husbandry and agriculture projects for all the homes to allow them to stand more independently and ensure the nutritional quality of the diets they are providing for their children.  As a regular part of the Angels of Hope program we distribute food items, but they are basic grains and non-perishable goods.  The items that the homes need to find for themselves are fresh produce and protein products. 

One of the projects that we did in El Salvador is a project in Hydroponics.  The provision of the project started with training workshops and education, worked through construction and getting the gardens off the ground, and finishes with continued supervision and technical assistance as well as workshops regarding how to ensure the sustainability of the project and the costs associated with its continuity. 

Seven orphanages participated in the project.  As I visited the homes and saw the proyects for the first time in person, I was impressed and overwhelmed over and over again.  The homes are harvesting fresh herbs and vegetables on a daily and weekly basis.  They boasted of the fact that they were growing the most beautiful tomatos in the country and that their radishes were larger than any radish they have seen in the market.  They are planting a variety of crops and cycling the boxes so that one box of each crop is ready for harvesting while the others are in different stages of growth.  I ate fresh cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, celery, cabbage, broccoli, green onions and watercress. 

In each of the homes the children are involved and assisting with the projects but in some homes they have developed the project even further and offer Hydroponics as a vocational course.  In these cases the children are almost 100% responsible for the project and they themselves have received the technical training from our Hydroponics engineer. 

One of the seven homes that is very dear to my heart is Hogar Dolores Medina.  This home caters to a small population of boys who have previously been living on the streets and suffering from drug addictions.  The boys generally come into the home when they are 8, 9, or 10 years old.  These young boys have lived lives of struggle and suffering that many adults cannot even imagine.  The home has always had difficulty becoming accepted in the community.  The neighbors often shunned the boys or even feared them when they played on the street or walked by on their way to school or soccer practice.  Despite the loving nature of the children, their pasts have continued to haunt them and affect how their community has treated them over the years. 

As this project started to develop in the home, the neighbors grew curious.  By the time they were harvesting their first crops, the home realized that they were going to have a large surplus of produce.  The home only houses up to 10 boys at a time and the Hydroponics garden was providing more than enough for them to eat for lunch and dinner on a daily basis.  The boys suggested to the sister that they try to sell some of the produce to the neighbors.  This has opened new doors and changed the environment in which this home used to exist.  The neighbors have come to know the boys and have fallen in love with them.  Persons who used to close their doors, now call out and ask the boys to come knock on the door when the lettuce is ready.  This project has indirectly changed the perceptions of an entire community towards this boy's home.  They can now see that the boys are good-hearted, hard working, lovable children who flourish with the love and attention of those around them.  The Sister who runs the home expressed this story and her gratitude for the project with tears in her eyes, saying that a large weight was lifted from them and replaced with love and acceptance.