LATEST TRIPS
Anna here,
I am planning my next trip to the Hogar and my mother from Sweden will join me once again.
We were last at the the beginning of 2008.
Can't wait to see the smiling faces and meet the new kids!
Will be keeping you updated here as well as on my blog http://annalindgren33.blogspot.com/
VISIT TO HOGAR MIGUEL MAGONE SEPTEMBER 2007
Hi, this is Amanda. I have just come back from a two week trip to the Orphanage with my friend Judy Rushen and the changes in the kids and the home since my last trip a year ago, are absolutely amazing.
We were picked up from the airport from Monica and Gustavo. Monica is Karen's friend who is now the administrator of the Orphanage. She is there every day for about eight hours and it's great to have some co-ordination to the kid's days. Gustavo is one of the boys who I made great friends with last year. He is now 13 and has grown so much in the last 12 months that I hardly recognised him. He's now up for adoption and there's a video of him and his brother on the Orphan's Hope Website, so check it out via our link.
We got to the Hogar at tea time and I was amazed at how many kids remembered me. It was great to walk into the noise, the hugs and the smell of cooked rice and plantanos! It's amazing the things that you grow to find comforting in life! I think Judy was a little taken aback but she settled in really quickly.
The volunteer accommodation has been vastly upgraded, thanks to Diane and Orphan's Hope and there are new tables in the dining room. And the best thing of all - THE COCKROACH INFESTATION HAS NEARLY GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Judy and I spent two weeks helping the kids with homework, cleaning, taking them to play football, teaching them English and helping with washing, dressing and general tidying up. It was the best feeling in the world to be back with all those hugs! We managed a trip to some Mayan ruins with the children as a special treat and for Judy and myself I think the best treat of the whole two weeks was to see the kids running and playing in total freedom.
About two thirds of the children were the same kids as last year and I was sad to see that some of my favourite faces had moved on. I had prepared myself for that but, it's still difficult to hear that some are back on the streets or in other orphanages or even back with abusive parents.
The one thing that still saddens me is the lack of staff in the home, although I have to say that they now have two more teachers than last year and they all do an amazingly dedicated job. But these children are so desperate for friends and affection and the one thing that they do miss is such things as bedtime stories, special one to one days out, proper comfort when they're poorly etc.......... there's nothing like a mum or dad! But what really helps is the placement of volunteers and I have loads of ideas for next year, so keep an eye on the website. Together with Anna we intend to set up a sponsorship programme to get some of the kids to school and also really push to get more volunteers out to the Orphanage.
Thanks for reading and staying interested, any support is greatly appreciated x
