Honduras 2013 Dia 6

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Dia 6 = Best Day Yet!

I can't believe my time here in Villa Soleada is almost over. The week always goes by so fast. And I felt like I might have missed out a little since I spent so much time in the clinic with the sickies! But today made up for everything and then some. I even got to see mi amigo Hector this morning!
When I told Shin about the dresses the other day, I thought he would have been more excited. I didn't think about the logistics of how he would need to distribute them fairly, evenly, and then get me the pictures I had requested. So I left him to think about it, and waited for him to get back to me. He came to me yesterday with an idea I loved: I would select 12 dresses to leave here for when the 12 girls arrive to live in the Girls Home here in Villa. The 23 remaining dresses would go with us to IHNFA, the orphanage in San Pedro Sula, when we went to visit today. Perfect plan! So Dara helped me to pick out the 12 to leave, and the rest we bagged up to bring with us this AM. Sidenote: as we neared the orphange, we learned that San Pedro Sula happens to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world!
I want to share a little about IHNFA. Well, at least what I can remember. IHNFA, or Instituto Hondureno de la Ninez y la Familia, is a one of the many government-run orphanges in Honduras. There was actually a very severe fire back in the fall of 2011 and it burned down, but fortunately no one was hurt It was eventually reopened, and is currently home to about 100 orphans, or children whose parents could no longer care for them. The 12 boys living in the Hogar, or Boys' Home here in Villa, are all from IHNFA. The government chose them based on certain factors, including those most at-risk but also boys who had the potenial to be rehabilitated and educated, so they would have a chance at being successful in life. Most of the boys has been living on the streets and many were prone to stealing and violence. An interesting fact: the orphanage sits right next to a juvenile hall, so on the occasion that boys are able to escape the orphanage by scaling the walls, they often times get in trouble back out on the streets and end up behind bars next door. The boys currently in the Boys Home here in Villa have been doing great, and are so fortunate to have been chosen to get out of the orphanage. Living conditions are by no means ideal, and when there are no volunteers visiting, the children, ranging in age from infant to 20-something, are kept locked in their rooms. While there is a classroom, it is rarely used as the minimal staff can not accommodate such a large number of children. But let's move on to today.
So we arrived, and thanks to Shin and Ana Lucia, we had permission to distribute the dresses to the girls, AND get pictures with them wearing the dresses! This was a huge deal as the orphanage normally does not permit cameras in the facility. And why would they want those kinds of images out in the public anyway? But fortunately I had my camera and got some great shots of the little girls in the dresses and cute little hair bows. They were so excited and I was filled with such a sense of fulfillment, happiness, pride, etc. Basically I was overwhelmed with emotion. The girls did have to take the dresses off and return them to the staff as they needed to be redistributed at a later time based on size. What an awesome thing to witness!
After an emotional visit to this orphange for many, we were headed to Guamilito, the market in San Pedro Sula, where I may or may not have done some serious damage last year. But this year I had a mission; to get another one of the Honduras flag hackey sacks, and some more toys for my classrooms. My kids LOVE the ball in a cup and other similar popular toys I got last year. While I did not find the hackey sack, I did buy a TON of other cool things including souvenirs for all of my contributors and supporters of my trip. 😊 I did not, however, spend as much as last year, as we only had an hour this time. You may remember last year I got an extra hour due to the bus breaking down as we were waiting for it to take us back to Villa. Lol.
We got back to Villa pretty late today so lunch was quick (and hot, soup!) and then out to the worksite for the last time. 😞 Of course as soon as we got back to the volunteer lodge, I had to upload the picture of the girls in their dresses to Facebook! And check my email...which made today even more amazing then it already was! Turns out my last minute plea for more donations brought in an additional $200, which not only allowed me to reach my personal fundraising goal, but it also brought the total amount of donations for the Girls' Home to OVER their $40,000 goal! Wooohoooo! Another special thank you to ALL who helped make all of this possible. Off to work!
Being that it was our last day of work, I made sure to kick some serious butt today! Carried probably 20 cinder blocks, and then got up on the scaffolding to help finish cementing the wall behind the Centro Escolar (Bilingual School). I definitely got some great work done, while the rest of the group I was with did very little other than get their nails painted by some Villa chicas. Oh, and Yoselin and Julisa were hanging out, and Yoselin actually pierced a second hole in Julisa's ear with her existing earring! I promised Julisa my Sambas, since I wasn't giving up my work boots, which by the way, are awesome! Even with all the wet mud and cement my feet stayed dry all day yesterday! I may or may not have bought some additional things in Villa this afternoon, that the women were selling. They make and sell picture frames, jewelry, etc, which the helps to provide them with a little extra income. Unfortunately, there was no soccer game today, as the Villa boys played the boys from Las Brisas (the village right next to us) this evening. And because the game took place in Las Brisas, we couldn't go, since it was after dinner and we had group reflection. Boooo. Dinner was delicious, as was every meal, and we even got dessert for the first time! One of the volunteers celebrated her 18th birthday today so we had cake too! Oh, and happy 4th of July all!

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Photos

Meeting 2 goals at one time!
Check out the bottom right corner :)