Another Amazing Day in Los Algodones
On Wednesday, we went into Mexico with several others to deliver some food and clothes and love. It was an amazing day. I need to learn from Marge; she is so good at bringing nutritious food for the children we visit.
This gal just had to be a retired teacher; she immediately started teaching Manny how to count in English.
Jennifer, Grandma's granddaughter who now lives at The Safe House, came with us to visit her Granny and her siblings. That hole he is in will be the new outhouse location... but right now it is a great place to play.
The hands of two strong and beautiful women; Grandma and MaryLou.
This little gal lives across the street and was very curious about us.
When language becomes a barrier, there is almost always someone who can interpret... and the English/Spanish dictionary is never far away. The neighbor man helped us understand what Grandma was trying to tell us.
This family makes plaster molds; these pigs will be painted and sold downtown.
These two girls really wanted to come over and see what we were doing; each received a toy car and a treat.
When we stopped at Old Maria's home, Jennifer and MaryLou enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and joyful day.
John was turned into a drum for a few minutes...
At Anna's house, all were happy to see us.
Kids entertain each other in all cultures and making faces is a great way to do it!
This is Dulce. She was born without an anus. At his moment, she is in the hospital and will have surgery on Monday. The surgeons are optimistic that the problem will be fixed and she will be given a normal life. In Mexico, the poor receive free health care, but some Xrays and other exams are not covered; donations helped Dulce to get the necessary preliminary examinations and donations will help keep her mom feed for the week to 10 days that she is in another town where Dulce's operation will take place. Some clothes were also donated and delivered for Dulce and her mom.
This is Martha, Dulce's mom.
And this is the letter she wrote to express her gratitude. Each Spanish word was looked up in the dictionary and the English word written. Martha does not speak any English, but she understands love. This letter was certainly a labor of love.
Our next stop was the wonderful Safe House where Jennifer lives and where several more children are now receiving quality day care. These two were making good use of the playroom "stuff".
I finally got a good picture of Dalia, the wonderful woman who takes such good care of all the children who come to this home. She is an extremely calm and capable lady.
Since this was our last visit till fall, we had our picture taken. It is amazing how quickly we have become attached to the people in this safe house and the people of Los Algodones. We both had tears in our eyes when we left.
It was an amazing day and it has been an amazing experience working with our northern neighbors and getting to know some of our southern neighbors.
I spent some time today, as we traveled from Yuma to Phoenix, making a list of things I want to collect and things I want to do before we return in November. One thing is to accumulate children's books in Spanish and bilingual books - those written in both English and Spanish. I can't help but think that knowing some English will be beneficial as these children grow up and struggle to overcome generational poverty. If anyone knows of a good source for quality books or has one they want to donate, please let me know.
Thanks to donations of many, the refrigerator is nearly paid for. It has been ordered from Home Depot and should be ready to install in the home early next week.
This gal just had to be a retired teacher; she immediately started teaching Manny how to count in English.
Jennifer, Grandma's granddaughter who now lives at The Safe House, came with us to visit her Granny and her siblings. That hole he is in will be the new outhouse location... but right now it is a great place to play.
The hands of two strong and beautiful women; Grandma and MaryLou.
This little gal lives across the street and was very curious about us.
When language becomes a barrier, there is almost always someone who can interpret... and the English/Spanish dictionary is never far away. The neighbor man helped us understand what Grandma was trying to tell us.
This family makes plaster molds; these pigs will be painted and sold downtown.
These two girls really wanted to come over and see what we were doing; each received a toy car and a treat.
When we stopped at Old Maria's home, Jennifer and MaryLou enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and joyful day.
John was turned into a drum for a few minutes...
At Anna's house, all were happy to see us.
Kids entertain each other in all cultures and making faces is a great way to do it!
This is Dulce. She was born without an anus. At his moment, she is in the hospital and will have surgery on Monday. The surgeons are optimistic that the problem will be fixed and she will be given a normal life. In Mexico, the poor receive free health care, but some Xrays and other exams are not covered; donations helped Dulce to get the necessary preliminary examinations and donations will help keep her mom feed for the week to 10 days that she is in another town where Dulce's operation will take place. Some clothes were also donated and delivered for Dulce and her mom.
This is their home.
This is Martha, Dulce's mom.
And this is the letter she wrote to express her gratitude. Each Spanish word was looked up in the dictionary and the English word written. Martha does not speak any English, but she understands love. This letter was certainly a labor of love.
Our next stop was the wonderful Safe House where Jennifer lives and where several more children are now receiving quality day care. These two were making good use of the playroom "stuff".
I finally got a good picture of Dalia, the wonderful woman who takes such good care of all the children who come to this home. She is an extremely calm and capable lady.
Since this was our last visit till fall, we had our picture taken. It is amazing how quickly we have become attached to the people in this safe house and the people of Los Algodones. We both had tears in our eyes when we left.
It was an amazing day and it has been an amazing experience working with our northern neighbors and getting to know some of our southern neighbors.
I spent some time today, as we traveled from Yuma to Phoenix, making a list of things I want to collect and things I want to do before we return in November. One thing is to accumulate children's books in Spanish and bilingual books - those written in both English and Spanish. I can't help but think that knowing some English will be beneficial as these children grow up and struggle to overcome generational poverty. If anyone knows of a good source for quality books or has one they want to donate, please let me know.
Thanks to donations of many, the refrigerator is nearly paid for. It has been ordered from Home Depot and should be ready to install in the home early next week.
posted by jf and me | 10:42 PM
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