We started off pretty early with lots of strong coffee. We were all out in the quad for "devociones" right on time. The students stand in a big circle in their smart uniforms while the leader calls the role. Then there are prayers, a little talk from one of the teachers, and then they reverently unfold the flag of Honduras and sing the national anthem. Dona Claudia introduced us all and told the students about us and our visit here.
Next we met with Dona Claudia for a talk about the school, giving us many stories of the children´s lives and background. Several of the kids joined us to tell us how much El Hogar means to them. Dona Claudia shared her philosophy and pedagogy with us. She is always looking for new ways to bring love into the lives of the kids and adopting new teaching ideas she finds during her trips to the states.
Our first assignment for the day was to divide into groups. Some did hard labor: working with shovels, pick axes, and wheel barrows to clear away a mountain of broken concrete and wet clay, others took apart a wooden deck, while the third group went into the classroom and read with the children. We switched off on tasks every half hour. The men felt like soldier ants with an unending stream of wheelbarrow loads back and forth. But the huge deck did come down and the area looks much nicer.
We enjoyed a lunch of chicken and rice outside under some trees. Then from one to three we were in charge of ALL the kids while the teachers had a staff meeting. (Some strong souls preferred hard labor!) So six of us split up into teams. One team played sports, one did jump rope with the girls, and the other did arts and crafts in the cafeteria. The kids were overwhelmingly enthusiastic about all our endeavors and we ended up exhausted but sooo happy to have been with them!
The weather is being very kind to us. It has been clear and cool with a nice breeze the whole time. There has been much laughter and fun as we relax on the porch. Our evening ends with Padre Nuestro... the lord`s prayer in Spanish.
We miss you all ...
Gayle
No comments:
Post a Comment