Guyana 08/2009

I LOVE GUYANA!

While visiting Bright Horizons Children's Home we had the opportunity to play a little Cricket with the kids. Cricket is the most popular sport in Guyana, followed by soccer. The children use makeshift bats out of wooden boards with whittled handles. After enjoying our time here playing in the rain, we made sure to send a full set of Cricket equipment out to the home in their next distribution. I wish I could have been there when they received it!

I spent the week on the road, visiting the different homes participating in the program. Along with the Guyanese coordinators for the program we met with the different home directors and discussed everything from our support and potential future projects, to the current school year and the silly things the children do from time to time. The above picture is our FFP Driver Mr. Marks playing with the kids while we sitting with the house mothers and other children. Many of the children lack an appropriate father figure in their lives, and Mr. Marks gets lots of attention when he comes to the homes. The children know him very well and they all compete for his attention when he accompanies the AOH coordinators on their monthly visits.

One of our donors blesses us a couple times a year with a donation of beautiful hand-made outfits for the children.

The trip was wonderful and we were able to accomplish a full itinerary of visits and meetings. We also celebrated a Day of Celebration event with all the homes where the children went home loaded with gifts, candies and prizes. Each home had various children participating in the cultural presentations and it is always so incredible to watch children present to a large group of people. You can see the child gaining confidence and maturity when they complete the presentation and they are so happy that they had the courage to stand up and participate. One of the girls from Mahaica Children's Home ran up to me and gave me a big hug because she was so proud of herself for singing a solo to the group of 500 people. These children are extremely talented and it is wonderful to provide them with the opportunity to showcase themselves.

This is the exterior of a beautiful buildling addition that we completed at Joshua House. This large project gives the home the needed space to seperate the girls and boys dorms and provides a spacious breezy multi-purpose room/dining room on the bottom floor.

Here is a short video of the boys of St John Bosco's Boys Home's steel pan band.

They were practicing for a presentacion the following day to a gathering of all the homes of Angels of Hope.

The children of Guyana are so beautiful! Look at this beautiful face!

Nicaragua 07/09

"Thank you for your support"

When I visit Nicaragua, there is never enough time. We support 23 orphanages in the country and with our time and distance limitations, it seems I can never do as much as I would like.

July's trip included many computer lab inaugurations. One of our initiatives this year 2009 is to distribute computer labs to ALL of the 93 homes in the Angels of Hope program. These computers are distributed in sets of 6. With our Ncomputing technology that we have been fortunate to acquire, we are able to operate 6 independent systems off of only one CPU. This is perfect for the orphanages because they do not have the resources to maitain so many individual computers with the repairs that will inevitably be required in the future. With these systems the homes have only one CPU to maintain and they get the benefit of 6 computer stations with internet capabilities.

New Computer Lab in NPH, complete with Desks!

During this trip we were able to inaugurate 5 computer labs that were already installed and functioning. Some of the larger homes received larger labs that included more than one set (12 or 18 computers). It is incredible to be part of the process that provides these incredible benefits and opportunities to the homes and the children. It provides our children with the opportunity to compete academically at the same level or maybe even a higher level that other children in the education system, rather than be a step behind.

Here is a little example of the process that happens when an orphanage submits a "wish list" to me. When I travel I always request that the homes present me with a letter and a "wish list" of their biggest needs when I am visiting. I receive the list and I go through the home to see the different needs that they are describing. I ask a LOT of questions and I take pictures. Here for example, I visited Hogar de Ninos Siervas del Divino Rostro. They care for over 20 children under the age of 4. The labor required to maintain the facility is intensive given that they have so many babies under their care. They submitted a list that included a prioritized need for a new stove. This stove that you can see here is the only stove they have. Only two burners work and since the oven is broken they use it to store dishware.

Can you imagine preparing formula, baby food, and meals for 20 babies and toddlers three times a day with only 2 burners!

Also they requested a new Washing Machine. They have an old donated machine that no longer works. They wash all the babies and children's clothing, bedding, and DIAPERS every single day by HAND! Bedding is changed and washed every single day for the cribs and the nun estimated that they wash an average of 2.5 changes of clothes for each child every day.

When I returned to the office I reviewed the list again and prepared a request for our donations and purchasing departments. Within two weeks, we had approval and are now already in the process of shipping a new stove and a new washing machine down to this deserving children's home. What a blessing my job is!

One of the homes who had received a set of 12 computers for a new computer lab (complete with desks and chairs as well) had also received a complete dormitory make-over of new furniture.

Donated furniture from a generous University was supplied to them and all the boys (nearly 90) received a new bed and a personal dresser!

It has completely changed the face of the dormitories and you can see the pride the boys had to show me their rooms and the improved conditions. Previously the boys did not have any personal space to store their clothing and personal items and now they have the privacy and dignity they need and deserve.

The home also has an incredible music program in which nearly 50 boys voluntarily participate. I spoke with the music director regarding the instrucments and resources for the program and the home has already received a donation from us of a complete 40 piece Marching Band.

Once again, I get blessed with all sorts of beautiful presentations, dances, poetry, songs, speeches, etc by the children every time I visit. Here are a couple short videos to share that joy with you!

And, of course, we passed out stuffed animals and candy to all the homes we visited on the trip.

El Salvador 06/09

The fishing dock of La Libertad near one of our AOH homes in El Salvador

I left for El Salvador on Friday the 12th. In the airport I met a nice couple from Denmark who were embarking on a three month backpacking trip throughout Central America with plans to end in Colombia by the late months of the summer. I have to admit, I felt a moment of jealously which quickly passed when I was able to provide them with all sorts of helpful information regarding great spots to visit and certain areas that may not be all the Lonely Planet books makes them out to be. I felt pretty satisfied that I was able to comment, not only on El Salvador, but also Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Turns out that Food For The Poor works in some of the most beautiful and culturally rich countries of the world, and despite the incredible poverty, there are still many breathtaking sites and experiences to be had in these picturesque regions.

One of the places that I think is incredible. The scene of all the little fishing boats already docked for the day and all the vendors selling the freshest fish, shrimp, lobsters and other seafood. The sights and smells of a fish market are exciting and you can walk steps away from the market to sit at some outdoor picnic tables where local vendors will cook up the fish of your choice and serve it with fresh vegetables and rice. This is my favorite lunch spot when we are in this region of the country.

Friday consisted of lots of hard work and sweat. We were hosting a large event for all the children on Saturday, so the entire day was spent cleaning, setting up, organizing and making the finishing touches. We had the assistance of a local youth group in El Salvador that was a huge help. 23 youths came out and dedicated their entire Friday and Saturday to supporting the event for the children. As a treat, we packed them into the back of a truck and treated them to a delicious dinner of "Pupusas" and Coca-Cola. Pupusas are a traditional food in El Salvador made from Corn or Rice. The dough is hand-patted into thick tortilla form, but filled with delicious things like cheese, beans, and chicharon. They are then grilled on a big round skillet over hot coals and served with a tomato based salsa, hot sauce, and pickled cabbage/chile salad. It was really tasty and the entire meal, including staff and youth group, cost me a whopping $40.80.

Some of the youth spent the day doing face-painting for the children.

The boys of Hogar Ninos en Familia presented a dance for the crowd.

The following Saturday was a whirl wind of children, games, sports, competitions, traditional folkloric dance, song, treats, and Burger King Kid's Meals. Unfortunately due to the flu epidemic two of the homes had to cancel their attendance at the last minute. Despite that big set back, the event went on and the rest of the children had more than their fill of candy, cake, churros, pinatas, and fun! The weather was hot and humid but the rain held off for the entire day's activities. Once again the children had a great time and every single one went back to their home loaded with all sorts of goodies, gifts, medals, and trophies.

Some of youngest "Angels" are from Hogar Dr Magana. Each home was given color coded kerchiefs to keep track of their kids at the event. (light blue in this case)

To make up for the fact that two homes did not get to attend due to flus and colds, we visited those homes the following day to bring them some of the party that they missed. They really appreciated us showing up with their gifts and sweets, and they were excited to present their dances and talents that they were not able to present at the event. The children spent months preparing their traditional dances, songs, and poetry and it was dissapointing to not be able to attend the event and present them for the talent competition. As always the children were amazing and beautiful and its always a pleasure to get to spend time with them.

Girls from Hogar Cuidad de Ninos received some new clothes that were handmade by a FFP donor.

The girls of Hogar Natalia de Siman were overjoyed to have their own "special" party regardless of the fact that over half of the population was sick with the flu.

We are working with the homes in El Salvador to be able to provide them with computer labs, new beds and mattresses and also for next school year's uniforms and school supplies. We spent a lot of time meeting with directors and administrators to organize the details of both of these initiatives. I was also able to visit a current project in progress at one of our boys homes. FFP is providing the home with a beautiful Tilapia production project. The project is nearing completion and is being executed very very well. Not only will the home have plenty of healthy Tilapia to serve its own population, they will be providing for 11 other homes and still have a surplus of fish to sell to the local community for profit. This small profit will allow them to reinvest in the project and maintain it as a self-sustaining aguacultural project. I was very pleased to see the progress and how well the project has developed. In speaking to the home director and the boys, all were very excited to see the final product and also interested in learning the techniques of Tilapia farming in the upcoming training sessions that we are providing for the home.