Day 6 in Mexico
Posted by Heidi Vanorse
Today was a busy day - I opted to skip the morning walk and get an extra hour of sleep. After breakfast we headed out on the bus to return to the migrant camp to deliver presents and shoes. We had a package for every child that contained pants, shoes, socks and underwear. Each child received their gift and then some of us (I was assigned to this task) made sure the clothes fit. We helped each child try on their new clothes and got them the right size if they did not fit. After they received their clothes, they got a goody bag, which included a beanie baby, a toothbrush, and three other really small items, like watercolors, crayons, etc. I had the privilege of getting to see the girls open their gifts and they were so excited to receive socks. Socks! Just think about what we think when we open a package of socks on Christmas morning.
The children then went to the shoe line where they were fitted for new shoes. After the kids had their items, some of us had a little bit of time to play with the kids. There was one girl that just stole my heart - Karla Veronica - she was sooooo cute! She and I played on the jungle gym and the tire toy for at least a half an hour.
Once we finished at Queseria, we went to a community called Colonia Rotaria in Colima City. This was a community of 50 houses that were built by Rotary Foundation Matching Grants. There is also a community center and school on the site. We handed out shoes and clothes and gifts here. We were not here long to play with any of the kids.
We then had a fabulous lunch at a local restaurant.
This afternoon was filled with meeting the kids in the scholarship program. We started with the homework club where we broke off in tables and met with the local children and we asked each other questions. We then went on house visits. The house I went to makes you thank your lucky stars you were born where you were born. I went Javiar's house. Javiar lives in the next town over, Nogelera. This house is no bigger than my living room and is comprised of only two rooms, all made of cement. There are seven people in his house - a single mother, Javiar, 17 and the only male, and five younger sisters, 15, 13, 9,7, and 3. The bedroom only has a double bed and a set of bunk beds. Javiar seems like a smart, energetic young man and is doing well in the scholarship program. He had the opportunity to go to Utah last year. He is a senior in high school and he will hopefully attend the University next year. It will be a great day when he graduates University, given where he came from. That is the goal of Project Amigo - to give these poor, rural kids a chance to better their and their families lives by providing them with education.
Before dinner, the Rockland Club went to a local school in Suchitlan where a water system was installed. This provided us the opportunity to see a system in place in the schools.
Tonight we went to the Colima City Rotary Club meeting - they don't meet until 10 pm, and dinner was not served until 11:30 pm.we are just getting back now at 1:17 am (2:17 your time!!)
There are a lot of pictures today, but there really are some great ones, especially with Mike's camera. He has photos of yesterday and today on there.
Enjoy!
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