We started the day by visiting two more schools out in Tipitapa, a town about 45 minutes from Managua. Four of our children combined study in the two schools. We were thrilled to find out that three of them are doing very well.
Two of the kids are doing so well they might be able to skip a grade. They’ll be taking a test soon to determine if they can do so. The progress made by one of those kids is especially encouraging, since during our school visit last May her teacher told us she was struggling in class.
One of the school directors told us that one child has some medical problems which are hurting her studies. We went right from her school to the child’s house, where we discussed the matter with her mom. Her mom said she’d take the girl to the clinic today, so hopefully we can resolve that issue soon.
After the school visits we had lunch then visited the dance and English classes the kids attend on Tuesdays. The kids love their break-dancing class, taught by our friend Amber, who works at the local hostel where the classes are held. The kids had fun trying to teach us dance moves.
Also, it turns out the kids were on the local news last week for their dancing! We got to watch a clip of them dancing and being interviewed on TV. Very cool. Amber, the dance teacher, is also trying to get a couple of our kids to perform in a city-wide dance exposition.
I’m thrilled that the kids are involved in the break-dancing classes. Now they have something to be proud of. As I discussed in an earlier blog, the kids seem more confident now than even during our December trip. The dance classes surely have contributed to that confidence. And the classes are just plain fun, too.
Last night we hosted a huge birthday party for all of the kids and their families. Many of the dads we had not previously met came, which made it even more special. We enjoyed a buffet dinner and birthday cakes. Then, as the kids were leaving, we gave each one a bag of donated clothes and toys for their birthday gifts.
During the party we showed them video messages from their sponsors and pen pals, as well as record reciprocal messages from the kids. We also had the kids decorate quilt squares, which Emily’s mom will put together in order to auction it off during our next fundraising event.
The party was a bit chaotic, but any 50-person gathering usually is. I’m grateful for the cooperation from the team members who ran around and made sure the party was a success. Everyone was great during this entire trip.
Thanks for reading. We appreciate all of the support you all give for our work here in Nicaragua.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
School Visits and Emotional Growth
Today we visited three of the schools where 16 of our kids study. We talked with the kids’ teachers and took pictures of them dressed in their school uniforms. Not all of the kids were in school since Nicaraguan schools are on a half-day schedule. Most of our kids study in the morning, but some go in the afternoon. But, we got to see most of them.
The trips were quite encouraging. Most of our kids are doing well in school, according to their teachers. Two of our kids stand out. Jonathan is one of the top students in the fifth grade. He’s about to join the school band – an opportunity only granted to high-performing students. Carlos, according to his school’s director, is the top student in all of the afternoon classes at his school.
Yesterday I wrote that I’ve noticed a difference in the kids’ behavior. They’ve certainly become more mature over the last year and a half. Some of this development is surely due to the natural maturation process that comes with aging, but I think more of it is a result of their return to school and normal lives.
The kids seem to be settling into new identities. Before VISEDAL, they thought of themselves as street kids without much hope of becoming anything else. In the early stages of their involvement in our program, I think they thought of themselves as street kids who started going to school. Now, I believe, they consider themselves normal children. They seemed more confident in themselves as they showed us around their schools and introduced us to their teachers. They belong now. No longer are they street kids dressed up in school uniforms. Now, they feel just as much a part of the school community as their peers.
During this trip they’ve smiled more and walked with a new sense of self-assuredness. Even physically they look more confident. They all dress in clean clothes and comb their hair. Some of the boys take a surprising amount of pride in their appearance. For them, hair gel is an essential.
I’m so proud of how much the kids have grown over the last year and a half. When we started the program, we thought we could improve their lives in terms of providing education, clothing, and nourishment. And they’ve certainly benefited in those areas. They’ve starting tapping into the potential they have for greatness. But, in my planning, I underestimated the impact our program could have in restoring their self-esteem and spurring their emotional development. It’s been such an honor to see this growth.
In other news, our luggage arrived this morning! And it didn’t rain today. Life is good.
Tomorrow we’re visiting two more schools then attending the supplemental English and dance classes the kids take. Afterward, we’re hosting a big birthday party for all of the kids at a local restaurant. Turns out the place has a buffet tomorrow. I’m anxious to see what kind of damage our kids will do to it.
Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day.
-Dylan
The trips were quite encouraging. Most of our kids are doing well in school, according to their teachers. Two of our kids stand out. Jonathan is one of the top students in the fifth grade. He’s about to join the school band – an opportunity only granted to high-performing students. Carlos, according to his school’s director, is the top student in all of the afternoon classes at his school.
Yesterday I wrote that I’ve noticed a difference in the kids’ behavior. They’ve certainly become more mature over the last year and a half. Some of this development is surely due to the natural maturation process that comes with aging, but I think more of it is a result of their return to school and normal lives.
The kids seem to be settling into new identities. Before VISEDAL, they thought of themselves as street kids without much hope of becoming anything else. In the early stages of their involvement in our program, I think they thought of themselves as street kids who started going to school. Now, I believe, they consider themselves normal children. They seemed more confident in themselves as they showed us around their schools and introduced us to their teachers. They belong now. No longer are they street kids dressed up in school uniforms. Now, they feel just as much a part of the school community as their peers.
During this trip they’ve smiled more and walked with a new sense of self-assuredness. Even physically they look more confident. They all dress in clean clothes and comb their hair. Some of the boys take a surprising amount of pride in their appearance. For them, hair gel is an essential.
I’m so proud of how much the kids have grown over the last year and a half. When we started the program, we thought we could improve their lives in terms of providing education, clothing, and nourishment. And they’ve certainly benefited in those areas. They’ve starting tapping into the potential they have for greatness. But, in my planning, I underestimated the impact our program could have in restoring their self-esteem and spurring their emotional development. It’s been such an honor to see this growth.
In other news, our luggage arrived this morning! And it didn’t rain today. Life is good.
Tomorrow we’re visiting two more schools then attending the supplemental English and dance classes the kids take. Afterward, we’re hosting a big birthday party for all of the kids at a local restaurant. Turns out the place has a buffet tomorrow. I’m anxious to see what kind of damage our kids will do to it.
Hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day.
-Dylan
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Day Trip to the Lagoon
As I type this, at 9:45 p.m., every member of our trip is either soaked or asleep. As you might guess, I am in the soaked group. We had an awesome, yet tiring, time with the kids then braved two rounds of intense rain storms. The latter storm sprung up while we were watching the NBA playoffs at a local bar. It not only shut down the satellite feed with three minutes left in the game, but also forced us to sprint back to the hotel while getting drenched.
However dreary our evening was, it couldn’t put a (bad pun alert) damper on the day. Our day trip with the kids to a lagoon turned out to be a great success. We anticipated some resistance from the moms about sending the kids with us unaccompanied. The kids’ moms have always tagged along for our group events, which until now have always been local.
For this trip, we wanted to just take the kids in order to bond with them apart from their moms. Plus, between us and the kids, we already had to fit 27 people in the van. However, the moms were gracious and allowed us to take the kids without any fight. We loaded in the van and headed off to Laguna de Apoyo around 8:45 a.m.
The kids had never been to the lagoon, but they certainly were not afraid. Almost immediately after we arrived they changed clothes (or merely stripped down to underwear, in some cases) and jumped in. We spent the morning frolicking (most of the kids can’t swim) in the shallow parts of the lagoon. We had lunch and then most of the kids switched over to the lakeside pool, which obviously meant piggy back rides and large games of “Shark” were in order.
The adults took turns playing with the kids/getting roasted in the sun until we sensed the kids were running out of gas. Indeed, it looked like we left at the right time, as almost all of the kids fell asleep on the ride home and were only jolted awake by the smell of the Pollo Campero carry-out we sent with them as they left.
Then, minutes after their moms picked them up, the first heavy storm started. The lighting led us to delay our much-needed showers for a bit. Powerful storms, to me, are nearly as much beautiful in some way as they are scary, so I enjoyed just watching the downpour from our window.
Our kids are certainly growing up. I am very proud of how they acted today. In general, they behaved better than during previous VISEDAL outings and the cliques so firmly established in the past seemed to have dissipated.
Esmir, our local coordinator here in Managua, told us the kids are doing great in school and in the English lessons he teaches. He remarked that he’s seen vast improvement in the kids’ academics and their behavior over the five months he’s worked with VISEDAL. I have to think that the kids are becoming more comfortable with their new settings. The rough attitudes they developed on the streets are hopefully fading as they spend more time in school.
Our luggage will supposedly be ready to be picked tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I certainly hope so, as I’m well on my way to a cavity without my toothbrush. But hey, at least my dad and I have bonded over shared deodorant.
Ok, time for me to switch from the soaked group into the asleep group. Tomorrow we’ll visit some of the kids’ schools and hopefully head to the market. Thanks for reading.
-Dylan
However dreary our evening was, it couldn’t put a (bad pun alert) damper on the day. Our day trip with the kids to a lagoon turned out to be a great success. We anticipated some resistance from the moms about sending the kids with us unaccompanied. The kids’ moms have always tagged along for our group events, which until now have always been local.
For this trip, we wanted to just take the kids in order to bond with them apart from their moms. Plus, between us and the kids, we already had to fit 27 people in the van. However, the moms were gracious and allowed us to take the kids without any fight. We loaded in the van and headed off to Laguna de Apoyo around 8:45 a.m.
The kids had never been to the lagoon, but they certainly were not afraid. Almost immediately after we arrived they changed clothes (or merely stripped down to underwear, in some cases) and jumped in. We spent the morning frolicking (most of the kids can’t swim) in the shallow parts of the lagoon. We had lunch and then most of the kids switched over to the lakeside pool, which obviously meant piggy back rides and large games of “Shark” were in order.
The adults took turns playing with the kids/getting roasted in the sun until we sensed the kids were running out of gas. Indeed, it looked like we left at the right time, as almost all of the kids fell asleep on the ride home and were only jolted awake by the smell of the Pollo Campero carry-out we sent with them as they left.
Then, minutes after their moms picked them up, the first heavy storm started. The lighting led us to delay our much-needed showers for a bit. Powerful storms, to me, are nearly as much beautiful in some way as they are scary, so I enjoyed just watching the downpour from our window.
Our kids are certainly growing up. I am very proud of how they acted today. In general, they behaved better than during previous VISEDAL outings and the cliques so firmly established in the past seemed to have dissipated.
Esmir, our local coordinator here in Managua, told us the kids are doing great in school and in the English lessons he teaches. He remarked that he’s seen vast improvement in the kids’ academics and their behavior over the five months he’s worked with VISEDAL. I have to think that the kids are becoming more comfortable with their new settings. The rough attitudes they developed on the streets are hopefully fading as they spend more time in school.
Our luggage will supposedly be ready to be picked tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. I certainly hope so, as I’m well on my way to a cavity without my toothbrush. But hey, at least my dad and I have bonded over shared deodorant.
Ok, time for me to switch from the soaked group into the asleep group. Tomorrow we’ll visit some of the kids’ schools and hopefully head to the market. Thanks for reading.
-Dylan
Saturday, May 23, 2009
We're here! (And using our fingers as toothbrushes!)
We made it! Granted, I can’t say the same for our luggage, which is somewhere between Washington D.C. and Managua. I’ve traveled down here roughly 12 times and have yet to have my luggage misplaced, so I guess I was due. Either way, it’s supposed to arrive tomorrow.
We were delayed a few hours by some storms in Miami and the inefficiency of the Managua airport, but at least some of the wait was worthwhile due to some unintentional comedy. Evidently the Nicaraguans are still very worried about the swine flu, as all airport employees wore masks. But the funny part came when each passenger was forced to step in front of a thermal scanner, which detected the possibility of fever. I felt like I was on the TV show House as I watched myself in various shades of orange and red on the screen.
We were traveling with a group called the Global Heath Outreach, and none of its members were concerned with the swine flu. In fact, one said the masks worn by the airport workers were only good for a few hours. Oh, Nicaragua.
Our hotel is quite nice and I think everyone else is already asleep after a long day of travel. We have a day trip with the kids to a lagoon lined up for tomorrow. It will be lots of fun, but require an equal amount of energy, I’m sure.
That’s all for tonight, but I’ll post a longer entry tomorrow night detailing our trip.
-Dylan
We were delayed a few hours by some storms in Miami and the inefficiency of the Managua airport, but at least some of the wait was worthwhile due to some unintentional comedy. Evidently the Nicaraguans are still very worried about the swine flu, as all airport employees wore masks. But the funny part came when each passenger was forced to step in front of a thermal scanner, which detected the possibility of fever. I felt like I was on the TV show House as I watched myself in various shades of orange and red on the screen.
We were traveling with a group called the Global Heath Outreach, and none of its members were concerned with the swine flu. In fact, one said the masks worn by the airport workers were only good for a few hours. Oh, Nicaragua.
Our hotel is quite nice and I think everyone else is already asleep after a long day of travel. We have a day trip with the kids to a lagoon lined up for tomorrow. It will be lots of fun, but require an equal amount of energy, I’m sure.
That’s all for tonight, but I’ll post a longer entry tomorrow night detailing our trip.
-Dylan
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