Today was our last day at the school and everyone tried to soak up the time with the students as much as possible. The first few hours of school we played soccer and kickball with the kids, took pictures and just entertained them until the fiesta. We threw a party for everyone. We invited the families of Escuela Especial students, and families from home visits. The party was a blast! We fed everyone until they could hold no more. There was chicken, rice, cabbage salad, bread, watermelon, pineapple, and tons of fanta soda. Everyone was so happy with full bellies.
We had a huge colorful horse pinata filled with candy for the kids at the end. It was so fun to watch all the kids beat the pinata as hard as they could, and then run for the candy in excitement. Everyone also got a bag to take home from the donations. We spent hours packing the 130 bags last night. There was an outfit, a bagged milk, a laundry soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush, cooking oil, a soda can, cookies, rice, pasta, and beans. All of the students, the staff and other families got one. The fiesta was a complete success!
After the party all of the students had to leave. We spent 30 minutes saying goodbyes and giving last hugs. Saying goodbye to all the students as they got on the bus sent everyone to tears. We all love every one of those kids so much. It is an amazing feeling to walk away from that school and know the impact I have made on the students of Escuela Especial.
Diana cried her eyes out for at least 30 minutes. Seeing her cry like that over us leaving proved how happy we made her and all of the other students this week and how much we have changed their life. Every time we helped her with addition or taught her an English word, we showed her that we care and humans need that care. We need the human touch and genuine trust. We built beautiful relationships with these kids in one week by showing them we have endless care for them. So much that we would travel on a plane to be with them and they saw that.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
DAY 5
After school today I went with, Nicole, Tyra, Max, Sarah, and our three translators on home visits. Magali normally goes on the afternoon visits but she had to cancel. Her job is to make sure families are taking care of their disabled kids. If they aren't she will threaten them, if they don't start taking care of them they will take away one of their healthy children.
We all crammed into one car and headed into Rivas. Our first stop was Malagra's house. She is a fourteen year old girl with cerebral palsy. Carmen Margarita is her neighbor and she tried to get the mother to do the physical therapy when she was young but the mother refused to do it over and over so Carmen Margarita had to give up and move on to other families that will do the therapy. Now that she is fourteen and hasn't done any physical therapy, it is too late. The mother now sees what happens when you don't do the therapy and wants to do it. Carmen Margarita can't help her now because if you tried to do the therapy her bones would snap.
When we first walked up to the house, we saw three skinny pigs tied to trees and a tiny yapping dog chained. There was a tiny outdoor shed for the bathroom and a little clothesline. The house was so small. It was stone and had one chair and a hammock in the main room. There was a little bedroom with two twin beds crammed in. Malagra was sitting in the rocking chair when we came in. Her arms were bent up and her legs went sideways. Her legs and arms were indescribably thin with no muscle tone and visible bones. The mother and her healthy daughter looked bathed and clean, but Malagra was so filthy and so poorly taken care of it was sick. The mother was trying to make it seem like she cared for Malagra because she knows we can get her in trouble with Magali. She said it is hard to bathe her because she is too big? Yesterday when some went with Magali, the mom and the other daughter weren't home, but they heard Malagra crying. Today the mom claimed that she just went to the store quickly. Zach told her how wrong it was to leave Malagra home alone and that she could have left the other daughter there. Someone in that state should never be left alone like that. Zach asked the mom if she believed in God. He said, she is an angel sent from heaven and that she needs to take care of her for the rest of her life.
We took pictures with Malagra and showed them to her, we tried to get her to smile and laugh. Before we left the mother put music on and sung to Malagra. It was so obvious how fake it was. Malagra and the other little daughter were looking at her so weirdly like she had never done that before.
We are trying to bring Malagra to the party we are having tomorrow at Escuela Especial for the kids. She never leaves that house, and when we said "hasta manana" her face lit up.
Julisa, a twenty three year old girl with cerebral palsy, lived in the second house. She lived in a dark room 24-7 and lied on a mattress on the floor. The house wasn't too bad, though it was small. We asked the mother if we could take her outside on the porch. She was extremely dirty though they said they gave her a bath this morning. She looked ten years old rather than twenty three. It was so hard to get even a smile out of her. We touched and talked to her but she just gave us an empty stare. When we left, they had her back in the dark room before we were all even in the car.
It is so heartbreaking the see them treated like this. The comparison of someone with the same disability with a loving family is amazing. Hopefully we can find a way to get her to the party tomorrow as well. Any light in Malagra and Julisa's lives will make huge differences.
We all crammed into one car and headed into Rivas. Our first stop was Malagra's house. She is a fourteen year old girl with cerebral palsy. Carmen Margarita is her neighbor and she tried to get the mother to do the physical therapy when she was young but the mother refused to do it over and over so Carmen Margarita had to give up and move on to other families that will do the therapy. Now that she is fourteen and hasn't done any physical therapy, it is too late. The mother now sees what happens when you don't do the therapy and wants to do it. Carmen Margarita can't help her now because if you tried to do the therapy her bones would snap.
When we first walked up to the house, we saw three skinny pigs tied to trees and a tiny yapping dog chained. There was a tiny outdoor shed for the bathroom and a little clothesline. The house was so small. It was stone and had one chair and a hammock in the main room. There was a little bedroom with two twin beds crammed in. Malagra was sitting in the rocking chair when we came in. Her arms were bent up and her legs went sideways. Her legs and arms were indescribably thin with no muscle tone and visible bones. The mother and her healthy daughter looked bathed and clean, but Malagra was so filthy and so poorly taken care of it was sick. The mother was trying to make it seem like she cared for Malagra because she knows we can get her in trouble with Magali. She said it is hard to bathe her because she is too big? Yesterday when some went with Magali, the mom and the other daughter weren't home, but they heard Malagra crying. Today the mom claimed that she just went to the store quickly. Zach told her how wrong it was to leave Malagra home alone and that she could have left the other daughter there. Someone in that state should never be left alone like that. Zach asked the mom if she believed in God. He said, she is an angel sent from heaven and that she needs to take care of her for the rest of her life.
We took pictures with Malagra and showed them to her, we tried to get her to smile and laugh. Before we left the mother put music on and sung to Malagra. It was so obvious how fake it was. Malagra and the other little daughter were looking at her so weirdly like she had never done that before.
We are trying to bring Malagra to the party we are having tomorrow at Escuela Especial for the kids. She never leaves that house, and when we said "hasta manana" her face lit up.
Julisa, a twenty three year old girl with cerebral palsy, lived in the second house. She lived in a dark room 24-7 and lied on a mattress on the floor. The house wasn't too bad, though it was small. We asked the mother if we could take her outside on the porch. She was extremely dirty though they said they gave her a bath this morning. She looked ten years old rather than twenty three. It was so hard to get even a smile out of her. We touched and talked to her but she just gave us an empty stare. When we left, they had her back in the dark room before we were all even in the car.
It is so heartbreaking the see them treated like this. The comparison of someone with the same disability with a loving family is amazing. Hopefully we can find a way to get her to the party tomorrow as well. Any light in Malagra and Julisa's lives will make huge differences.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
DAY 4
The students at Escuela Especial continue to amaze me. I started off in the deaf classroom this morning. They were all signing back and forth to each other, while I was trying to make out what they were saying. They were so welcoming of me. I introduced myself by spelling out my name in sign language and then they came up with a sign for me. They were trying to talk to me by signing and I think I got the jist of some of the things they were saying, but on others they just shook their head at me and gave up. I also showed them where I live on the map. I watched them review for their test which was pretty cool to watch and see how many signs they know. The teacher, Allen, is deaf and knows English. He was really nice and helpful. You can write down something on the board in English and he will sign it back to the students. He showed me the sign for "test" which was putting your fingers up to your throat like a knife which I thought was funny. The kids were just like everyday kids, joking around with each other. It was so interesting to just sit in the silent room and watch them sign.
While the deaf classroom took their test, I hung out with Estreynar, a little boy with down syndrome. He was looking at an I Spy book when I first saw him. It was so cute to see him sitting by himself on the floor so interested in the book without a teacher telling him to. I have never personally talked to or met him before, and when I went to sit down next to him he wrapped his arms around me with full force. He is so adorable. We played I Spy in the book for a while, which he was pretty good at. He kept his arm around my shoulder while we played and he got so excited every time he found something. He was so fascinated with my camera and cracked up when he looked at the pictures of us. We went in the courtyard and kicked the soccer ball back and forth. He would have never stopped if it wasn't for the lunch bell. It was so awesome to give him my full attention and gets laughs, hugs, and smiles out of him.
After lunch Ava and I worked with Diana. We helped her subtract simple numbers and then taught her a few English words. Diana is amazing, she has a permanent smile and she looks at you so intently. She was so interested in what we were teaching her and so happy to learn, it was a great feeling. These kids are so inspiring. Most of them come from homes where they have so little love and attention, but they come to Escuela Especial and open up to us and embrace our help.
While the deaf classroom took their test, I hung out with Estreynar, a little boy with down syndrome. He was looking at an I Spy book when I first saw him. It was so cute to see him sitting by himself on the floor so interested in the book without a teacher telling him to. I have never personally talked to or met him before, and when I went to sit down next to him he wrapped his arms around me with full force. He is so adorable. We played I Spy in the book for a while, which he was pretty good at. He kept his arm around my shoulder while we played and he got so excited every time he found something. He was so fascinated with my camera and cracked up when he looked at the pictures of us. We went in the courtyard and kicked the soccer ball back and forth. He would have never stopped if it wasn't for the lunch bell. It was so awesome to give him my full attention and gets laughs, hugs, and smiles out of him.
After lunch Ava and I worked with Diana. We helped her subtract simple numbers and then taught her a few English words. Diana is amazing, she has a permanent smile and she looks at you so intently. She was so interested in what we were teaching her and so happy to learn, it was a great feeling. These kids are so inspiring. Most of them come from homes where they have so little love and attention, but they come to Escuela Especial and open up to us and embrace our help.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
DAY 3
Working in Escuela Especial is so rewarding. The students are all so special in their own beautiful ways. Each one I interacted with was not only so sweet but also filled with so much learning potential.
Starting off this morning I worked in Yahoska's 2nd grade classroom. There were 7 kids, Julio, Zulema, Maria Jose, Christopher, Jesus, Wilbur, and Astrid. Yahoska was not there today, so there was a substitute. It was definitely a little crazy trying to keep all the students busy.
Zulema is the sweetest thing I have ever met. She was so loving and friendly to everyone. She pulled a chair up next to her for me to sit in, and every time I tried to get up and help some of the other students, she would pat the chair and reach for me to sit back down, with her. We gave them play-doh and clay to play with which took some time for them to understand what to do with it. Zulema was just so happy to have my attention. She wanted a "Muy bien" for every roll of play-doh, which I was happy to give her in exchange for a huge smile and gleaming eyes. Maria Jose was shy and not playing with anything so I kept trying to get her to play with the play-doh. Zulema was so sweet, she saw what I was trying to do and took Maria Jose's hand and gave her some of her play-doh. Zulema is extremely small and skinny, she also has super bad lice. She has a really bad home life with unloving parents and physical abuse. Lisa Marie said it's the worst home she has ever visited, and her mother is the worst woman she has ever met. Escuela Especial is Zulema's safe place where she can be loved and be free. It is truly amazing to see how grateful she is for all of our hugs, and smiles.
Starting off this morning I worked in Yahoska's 2nd grade classroom. There were 7 kids, Julio, Zulema, Maria Jose, Christopher, Jesus, Wilbur, and Astrid. Yahoska was not there today, so there was a substitute. It was definitely a little crazy trying to keep all the students busy.
Zulema is the sweetest thing I have ever met. She was so loving and friendly to everyone. She pulled a chair up next to her for me to sit in, and every time I tried to get up and help some of the other students, she would pat the chair and reach for me to sit back down, with her. We gave them play-doh and clay to play with which took some time for them to understand what to do with it. Zulema was just so happy to have my attention. She wanted a "Muy bien" for every roll of play-doh, which I was happy to give her in exchange for a huge smile and gleaming eyes. Maria Jose was shy and not playing with anything so I kept trying to get her to play with the play-doh. Zulema was so sweet, she saw what I was trying to do and took Maria Jose's hand and gave her some of her play-doh. Zulema is extremely small and skinny, she also has super bad lice. She has a really bad home life with unloving parents and physical abuse. Lisa Marie said it's the worst home she has ever visited, and her mother is the worst woman she has ever met. Escuela Especial is Zulema's safe place where she can be loved and be free. It is truly amazing to see how grateful she is for all of our hugs, and smiles.
Monday, April 15, 2013
DAY 2
Today was such an awesome day! We arrived at Escuela Especial right after the first van of kids got there. They greeted us with huge smiles and hugs! There were these two beautiful little girls that both gave me a big hug and then skipped off holding hands giggling from excitement. It was the cutest thing ever! Right after we met some of the kids, Max and I got to go on the first home visit with the physical therapist, Carmen Margarita, and one of the translators, Aleyda. They are both super nice and a lot of fun! We went to five different homes all in Rivas.
The first was very disheartening. The mother got pregnant when she was 16, she has a four month old boy with down syndrome named Angel. The grandmother did most of the talking. When Carmen Margarita asked the mother if she had been doing the therapy she showed her she said no. Carmen Margarita did exercises with him like moving a flashing light on a toy around so the baby would move his head. She also bounced him around on her lap to move his torso. Carmen Margarita said she was not where he should have been with the Physical therapy The mother did not act like she was grateful for the help, but instead annoyed that we came. Carmen Margarita showed them some other exercises to do and said that if they don't do them he will be very behind. We touched his arms and cheeks and gave him hugs and kisses. Carmen Margarita got him to smile and laugh a little when she would sing to him and dance him around. If only he was given more love from his family.
The homes were extremely small and hardly anything in them. They cooked outside on a fire and had clothes lines. One mother's story was super sad. She has a daughter Breisa with cerebral palsy and the father left her alone with the two kids because of Breisa's disability. She is a teacher, so the government gave her the house she lived in. She was an amazing mother and you could tell she had endless love for Breisa. It was so inspiring to see her strength. We helped Carmen Margarita tie Breisa to the back of a rocking chair to help her stand. She hated it and cried like crazy. We all tried to get her to laugh or play with toys but she continued to cry. The mother was so sweet and patient with her.
Michael, a year and a half year old boy with down syndrome, has a super poor family. The house doesn't even have a floor. It was really amazing to see the living conditions not just in their house but in all of the surrounding houses as well. Carmen Margarita had to bring them food from the school. The mother was 41 and she had a 16 year old daughter who had her son at 14. They were all very skinny. Michael was sleeping and wouldn't let Carmen Margarita do any therapy. The mother did care about him, she said she had been doing the physical therapy Carmen Margarita showed her. We weren't able to do the physical therapy at the other two homes because only the babysitter was with Jorge and they need the mother's permission. No one was home at the other home either.
It is crazy how someone as caring and compassionate as Carmen Margarita tries so hard to help and some of the families don't appreciate it. Hopefully, seeing our affection for the children in the homes showed them to open their hearts.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
DAY 1
We arrived in Nicaragua last night around 10:30, and didn't get to our hotel until about 1 am, so everyone was exhausted when we had to wake up at 6:30 this morning. Driving to Escuela Especial, and seeing Rivas in the daylight definitely woke me up. I was surprised by how many people were walking around, riding bikes, and outside of their houses starting their day at 7:30 on a Sunday. There were at least 10 stray dogs wandering the streets looking for food. Twice, I saw people riding on the street in a horse and buggy.
The school is beautiful, with blue and white walls, mango and plantain trees, and an awesome garden. The principal, Juana, told us that ninety percent of the students lunches come from the garden. The garden is teaching the students how to be self sustainable later on. We met the principal and two of our translators who were super cool and nice. Juana was so happy to see us. She was smiling the entire time and you could see she was grateful for our help. When I was mopping a classroom the mop was falling off the stick a little, and I didn't notice, so Juana came up and gestured for me to hand it to her so she could fix it. She then showed me how to mop better by making longer stokes. She was so motherly and I was touched by how sweet and sincere she was.
We got through the disgusting and pushed ourselves to work hard and accomplish cleaning the school for the students that deserve a clean school. I compared my school and typical school day and thought about their perspective. We could change their view on school through just one day of miserable cleaning. They will be so much more comfortable in a cleaner classroom.
Seeing how welcoming and sweet the people in the school and even at our hotel are even when they live a less privileged lifestyle shows me that they are still happy and still have so much love.
Looking at all the culture and surrounding, I am shocked. I knew it was going to be so different but imagining it is so much different from seeing it! Even with the crazy humid heat and constant scrubbing, today was a great first day. I have seen so much already. I am so excited to see what the rest of the trip will bring, starting with meeting the kids tomorrow! Tyra and I will be working in a classroom with students with cerebral palsy. We'll help keep the student's attention for the teacher. We will also teach the students with our lesson plans. Meeting the kids for the first time and building their trust will be so great and I am so excited!
The school is beautiful, with blue and white walls, mango and plantain trees, and an awesome garden. The principal, Juana, told us that ninety percent of the students lunches come from the garden. The garden is teaching the students how to be self sustainable later on. We met the principal and two of our translators who were super cool and nice. Juana was so happy to see us. She was smiling the entire time and you could see she was grateful for our help. When I was mopping a classroom the mop was falling off the stick a little, and I didn't notice, so Juana came up and gestured for me to hand it to her so she could fix it. She then showed me how to mop better by making longer stokes. She was so motherly and I was touched by how sweet and sincere she was.
We got through the disgusting and pushed ourselves to work hard and accomplish cleaning the school for the students that deserve a clean school. I compared my school and typical school day and thought about their perspective. We could change their view on school through just one day of miserable cleaning. They will be so much more comfortable in a cleaner classroom.
Seeing how welcoming and sweet the people in the school and even at our hotel are even when they live a less privileged lifestyle shows me that they are still happy and still have so much love.
Looking at all the culture and surrounding, I am shocked. I knew it was going to be so different but imagining it is so much different from seeing it! Even with the crazy humid heat and constant scrubbing, today was a great first day. I have seen so much already. I am so excited to see what the rest of the trip will bring, starting with meeting the kids tomorrow! Tyra and I will be working in a classroom with students with cerebral palsy. We'll help keep the student's attention for the teacher. We will also teach the students with our lesson plans. Meeting the kids for the first time and building their trust will be so great and I am so excited!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Preparation
I will be in Rivas, Nicaragua in 2 and a half months working with children with disabilities. The preparation for the service trip is all part of the journey as well. Raising money, community service work, practicing spanish and spanish sign language, and learning about disabilities. It is all a lot of work but it has taught me a lot about responsibility and the result will be amazing! Stay tuned for updates on this amazing adventure I am on!
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