Hurrah for donors! I picked up a couple of bags of sweatshirts today for the boys. They’ll go in the next shipment, which leaves here on the 14th. It will arrive in Guatemala a day or two before Easter.
Thanks for the sweatshirts Paula. We appreciate it!
This is RJ, a staff member of Hilltop YMCA, posing for a picture in our local YMCA facility.
He’s standing next to three boxes. The boxes are full of shorts and sweat pants for the boys and girls in Guatemala.
RJ and other San Francisco Bay Area YMCA staff members are reliable donors of useful gifts for the kids. They donate new shirts for the kids at the end of each summer camp season… again and again. They have donated balls, a pump, frisbees hackie sacks and other items for the kids.
I just had to take a picture. This donation includes shorts for the boys at the orphanage. Two colors, two sizes and all in all, there are 86 pairs of Nike shorts. Yes, new soccer shorts, still in their packages, are what the boys will be getting soon. And you know that they love to play soccer! These will certainly be useful as the temperature in Guatemala is warming up. The kids will love to wear these new shorts.
These are sweat pants. They are lined, nylon sweat pants and there are 25 pairs of pants. And of course, with Nike on the back of the shorts, they will be a hit with the kids.
Great donation RJ! The shorts will be packed up in the shipping box and they’ll be on their way to the orphanage very soon. And I promise to take pictures of the kids wearing their new shorts!
Just what do 109 pairs of brand new socks look like?
This is what they look like.
With about 50 boys in the orphanage and another 50 or so that we help out from the village, Wendy R. decided to collect at least 100 pairs of new socks for our boys. And she did. Was it difficult to do? No, not at all! Family and friends helped out and when people know what their donation is for, they are willing to give. Even in tough times, it’s not very difficult to donate a package of new socks. Wendy has collected and donated socks for us before and will continue to do so.
We do appreciate it. And the boys…. oh yes, they love it when they get new socks. They are very grateful. The boys wear the socks out rather quickly so we are always happy to bring new socks to the boys. Before you know it, our boys will be writing their names on these new socks and their feet will be dancing.
Here’s a picture of Wendy holding a couple of packages of the socks. Note the partial map of Central America, including Guatemala, on the left in the picture. Behind Wendy, you’ll see a story board about the orphanage.
Wendy, thanks so much for keeping us in your thoughts and in your heart. And thanks again for the socks.
Good things are happening.
Steve and Roger arrive today at the orphanage. The boys always look forward to visits by Steve & Roger. One of the great things that they do is have pizza nights…for all the kids. They go in the bakery, where the big ovens are, get an assembly line of pizza makings and helpers and make pizzas for all. What a treat!
Dr. Romila is visiting the orphanage on Friday, February 20th. She’s so excited to be going there…for the first time. Some donations are coming in from her collegues and she is also purchasing at least a 6 month supply of medicines for Daniel and for Nixon. What a help that is!
And… we updated the Orphan’s Hope Project weblog with photos from the January 2009 trip. Yes, there are over 350 current photos on there in a new photo album. Go have a peek to see all the good things that happened while we were there in January.
Let’s keep all these good things going!
Diane
I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day. Please think of the kids in the orphanage. Their day will be very different from ours.
We all have so much to be thankful for.
Have a wonderful day.
Diane
I’m an exercise nut. My friends know it, my family knows it and the kids at the orphanage know it. They see me take exercise walks every day. Sometimes, I’ve been known to run up and down the hill at the orphanage….and around the sport court, for 45 minutes each morning…for the exercise. I can’t get to the gym in Guatemala but I sure can exercise in some way. The walk to Satelite and back is one of my favorite ways to exercise. That hill is STEEP when you’re coming back from Satelite. I love it.
Now I have something new that can include the kids. Yesterday, I took an all day training class for Zumba instructors. I am now a certified Zumba dance instructor. We really worked out yesterday… from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM.
I can’t believe that I’m not sore from all the workouts yesterday. We did a lot of exercises and dances. I had been preparing for it the last two weeks by doing my regular work outs in the morning and by dancing every night for 45-50 minutes. I love dancing to Raggeaton music, Merengue music is easy to dance to… so is Salsa music. Zumba also is done to Cumbia music and all in all, I love the Zumba moves.
If you don’t know what Zumba is, take a peek at this You Tube video. It will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0q6qtThF4
It was a fun day yesterday. There were about 60 people in the class. Most of them were instructors so they had an advantage over me…especially since I’ve never even taken a Zumba class. The moves were new to me but it was easy to catch on. And the energy in the room. It was over the roof.
Many of our kids love to dance. We’ve had some dances in the dining room and they really crank up the music, especially the Raggeaton music. And I get right in there and dance with them. Hmmmmm…… a new activity for my next trip. I’ll bring a Zumba CD and then I will teach them Zumba moves. I think it will be good. The exercise will be good for them and you can’t leave a Zumba workout in a bad mood. You just can’t. Watch the video and just see if you are smiling and wanting to move a bit.
Zumba anyone?
When I go to the orphanage, I usually bring at least 100 new toothbrushes each time that I go. That’s a result of the toothbrushes that I saw during my first visit in May 2006. The toothbrushes that the kids had at that time were old, worn out and in a common box in the dining room. Boy have things changed.
Now they get new toothbrushes a couple of times a year. And they also keep their toothbrushes in their dorm rooms. That’s a bit more sanitary than the way it was before. Dentists often donate hundreds of toothbrushes and I bring them with me (or ship them). One donation was toothbrushes and lots of dental floss. I found a new use for dental floss on one visit. I used it to fix my toilet. The flushing handle was broken and I didn’t want to put my hand in the water each time I flushed that toilet. It worked quite well. Anyway… I’m digressing. Back to the toothbrushes.
During this last visit in January 2009, the medical team gave new toothbrushes to each of our kids. So… the 100 toothbrushes that I brought were not needed this time for the kids. So… what did I do with them? I did something that I’ve done a few times before. We gave them to moms and children in the neighboring towns of Aguacate and Satelite.
Near the end of our trip, Paige and I took an exercise walk to Satelite. We brought the bag of 100 toothbrushes with us. As we walked, we saw children walking and playing and also moms with their children. I know that many of these families can’t afford to buy new toothbrushes each year or every 6 months like dentists recommend. It was a pleasure and a joy to give out the toothbrushes to the kids and to the moms. Sometimes we’d ask how many children were in their family and we’d give them that number of toothbrushes. Some people found it surprising that the toothbrushes were gratis, the Spainsh word for free. That made it even more fun. Some were surprised, most were very happy and grateful but one boy wasn’t quite so thrilled with a new toothbrush. It wasn’t a toy or something to eat, was it? Anyway, it was a good way to take a walk and share with others who needed what we had.
Wouldn’t it be a better world if more people shared what they had, especially when they have many things that they don’t need? Paige and I were very happy to share. I know that Paige enjoyed the experience.
Simple things can sometimes mean so much.
Diane
The Oakland Raiders did it again! Yes, the Oakland Raiders made the start of the new school year a little more fun and more practical for the kids. This year, as they did last year, the Oakland Raiders donated backpacks to Orphan’s Hope Project. 100 brand new backpacks were shipped to the orphanage and the backpacks were waiting for me when I arrived on January 10, 2009.
We set the backpacks out on a table. Boy, did the kids get anxious. They wanted the new backpacks!
Ladies Workout Express of Pinole, CA. donated plastic ID tags. That meant that the kids could write their names on the ID tags as well as on the backpacks. Hey, all the backpacks look alike… they need to find a way to personalize them. We fastened the ID tags (onto the backpacks) with plastic zip ties and used Sharpie pens for writing their names. The medical team donated these purple clips and the kids personalized their backpacks by hanging other items on the clips, which got attached to the backpacks also.
Ladies Workout Express also donated new water bottles to the kids. They wrote their names on their water bottles also. They love em!
Here are 4 happy boys with their new backpacks.
These are some of the peques, the little kids, at their table, happily smiling for the camera now that they have their new backpacks.
Here I am with some of the excited kids and their new stuff!
We had to go outside because the smiles of the kids were so bright, they almost blinded us inside!
Thank You Oakland Raiders.
Thank You Ladies Workout Express.
The kids certainly had a great day this day, thanks to you.
I’ve been back for 11 days. It’s only been 11 days since I was there at the orphanage with the kids. It seems like ages ago.
Here I am back in my comfy world, not needing anything, waiting for spring time weather and let’s face it… many of us have a great life. When I get back from a work trip in Guatemala, I constantly make comparisons between my life and the lives of the kids in Guatemala. I also think about families in Guatemala and how difficult their lives are. I often look at the lined faces of many of the women in the streets of Guatemala, trying to raise their children and trying to survive in their world, which is my world. But it seems like we are worlds apart in comforts and what we take for granted. Reality is that many of these people have a tough life… and certainly compared to mine, it’s different. Their lined faces show their age but many of them look much older than their biological age. They work and they work hard.
I’ve gotta go back soon… I’ve gotta keep helping. I’ve gotta see those kids again soon. Yep, I’m going back before summer. Wanna go too?
Thanks Roger A. You know who you are. What a great donation!
I sorted, sized and counted the clothes that I received yesterday. There are 20 jackets in the stack, 19 collar polo shirts, 10 t-shirts, 9 pairs of pants and much more.
65 items in all. One for each boy. Now that just makes my day!