Megan and I had to try out the new slides.
We presented the Rotaract sign to the chairman of the Casita Copan board. The Executive Director (Emily Monroe) and some of the staff were there to welcome our group and express their thanks and appreciation for the wonderful gift. The Board Chairman was a Rotaract member at one time!
It was a unique experience to be able to visit one of the Casitas that Casita Copan has just established for their young charges….a regular home where 5 of the “orphan kids” and their house mom live. The kids were delighted and so anxious to have our attention, try out their beds and look at their own rooms.
They have some personal space which these kids have never known in their lifetimes. We brought some little toys and played catch with their new bouncy balls.
Wheeeeeeee!
I wonder when we will see these kids again. I’ve known some of the children for many years and have seen them grow. I am so excited that they finally have a family type home in a rich and loving environment.
Adios for now from your Canadian friends
I have just showered off the sweat of the day and flopped into bed with weariness. It was a good day. The usual hour and a half of bumping along in a truck (at least we weren’t in the back) to reach Nueva Armenia (the site of the new Maternity/ Child clinic).
I presented the A Better World sign along with cards of greetings from those that have followed and supported the clinic progress.
The clinic is pretty much completed and they are just waiting for the equipment to be transported from Tegucigalpa. We were proudly shown the ante partum area, the labor area, the examination rooms, the delivery room and postpartum. There are showers! With hot water! I expect most of the moms that will use this facility have never had a hot shower.
Afterwards we were hosted by a local family and treated to a “Sopa de Gallina” lunch…. Chicken soup with wonderful local vegetables, the whole chicken, rice, hot/ fresh tortillas right off the grill and homemade fresh cheese.
Sopa de Gallina is the ultimate company lunch here in Honduras.
An hour on paved road then up, up, up the hill into the rural communities to reach the community of Cuchilla Zapa where a year ago we provided seed money for computers. The people from the department of education we’re excited about the possibilities. They visited Santa Cruz where the mother program is and implemented the program. 24 students graduated from Grade 7 last November. This year the numbers doubled with the entry of new Grade 7 students and our Grade 8 class.
I brought greetings from a Better World and told the students that education was a major focus of the organization. We asked the students as a group why they like the program. Responses generally included accessibility and lower costs.
So many questions. We had questions about costs, how many kids weren’t accessing the program for lack of funding and the vision of the program for the future. We interviewed the kids separately and together about what they would like to improve. The Minister of Education, the Plan International Director and Education Worker, and the superintendent of Education were there to answer questions, to observe and to look at some options for the future.
Courtney and Kevin observing the program materials:
Cake is always a hit! I like to bring something celebratory when I visit the projects and cake is rare here so very special.
