New project

After Lindsey and I went to Mensajeros today, we were supposed to meet with the director and various doctors who have diagnosed the children and know a bit more about their histories. Also, the other volunteers were supposed to be there so we could arrange our schedules and brainstorm some ideas. I had been hoping that we could come up with some sort of routine, or coordinate activities so that the kids had some consistency and repetition, and a chance to improve.

We did meet with the director, but one of the doctors had an emergency with her daughter, the other volunteers couldn't come until Thursday, and it ended up just being Lindsey and myself with the director. I didn't get nearly as much information as I was hoping to, but she told us about some of her immediate goals and plans for the next couple of years. We ARE going to start a program the first week of October, which will be experimenting with various activities and charting the progress with the other volunteers. She had lots of great ideas for hand-eye coordination, sensory development, and connecting words with actions. A lot of the suggestions we had already been trying, but this will give us more direction and organization. She (and we) had observed that the children lack activity during almost the entire day, outside of meal times, and they don't have any type of therapy or development. The women who live with them basically just feed and clothe them, but don't have training in education or physical development. Sooo... that's going to be our job! I'm excited, because we talked about bringing in things like building blocks and crayons and music, and it will give us something to work on to pass the time. It's HARD to be there for 5 hours without any resources. The house is too small, they have lots of built up energy, and don't know how to play. So much potential.

If our efforts go well, there's a chance that they can get some funding to purchase an actual house, which would allow for a play room, a dining room, more comfortable living spaces, and suitable bathrooms. As of right now, all 4 children sleep in one room, the two women and the daughter sleep in one room, the kitchen is also the laundry room, and they eat/play/spend their days in another room. The director said there has been a high turnover rate of employees because it's so stressful to live in the house, and most don't really have any experience with children, not to mention children with disabilities. It's just a tough situation all around, but there are people who really want to help and improve the quality of life. What a neat thing to be involved in.