Today Was A Celebration And A Party
… for volunteers, guests, parents, teachers and children.
We rode on a school bus that my friend Efrain drives for the school system.
The children were dressed in their finest outfits and everyone had a great time. The children were all very happy to be back in their remodeled classrooms. Teachers and help were excited with the small nursery and a nice clean kitchen for preparing two meals a day.
Yolanda, who has participated in this project, was elated to have a sister, husband and 3 children vacationing from Paris. They have visited the school several times while in this country and were amazed at the wonderful condition of the school today.
Yolanda has been in contact with government officials and it looks like they will finish up some additional work.
They plan to tile the school floors, do a large concrete patio and fence in some of the yard as there is a large drop going into a gorge with no protection for these little ones.
We have moved the bathroom to the outside of the building and the new toilet was delivered this week along with a door. This will be finished within a week
The gate and wall is being completed so that the children cannot run out into the street chasing a soccer ball.
My friend Mountain was in charge of remodeling this school for many weeks. His small crew of indigenous workers did a great job. We had many setbacks and had to be put on hold several times. We had some rainy days and had to wait for the new wood support beams to dry as they had to be treated for termites. Time was spent purchasing building materials and looking for the best prices.
As of today, you would not believe this is the same school that we started to remodel. Mountain’s work is deeply appreciated by the indigenous village, teachers, children and myself for his dedication to this project.
Today was a fun day. Several children graduated with cap and gown and will enter kindergarten.
To our surprise, a beautiful cake surfaced in honor of this celebration and was shared by everyone. Musical chairs was played with the Mothers and then by us expats. A delicious meal was served to all. Chicken soup, fava beans, cheese, potatoes , corn and homemade lemonade.
A Special Thanks
I want to give a special thank you to all the donors, near and far, that raised the funds to update this school to be a healthy, safe environment for these little ones.
I also extend a special thanks to my expat friends who volunteered with time, school supplies, baking cookies and bringing treats many times to the school while the building was under construction.
People from the US and Canada brought educational books, puzzles and much more in their suitcases to be distributed. We even had donated diapers for the Nursery today and handmade hats, scarves and booties for the little ones that were brought from the US.
Another visitor and her small daughter brought a Mickey House – a wall hanging item with many velcro items to be attached. What fun for these children. Words cannot express the gratitude to everyone who has been involved in this project.
Now take a few minutes and watch our slide show of the day…vibrant colors, smiles and a real immersion in culture.
Blessings Micky