IT'S ABOUT YOUTH

The bright moon guides me as I walk the dark country road outside the village to our quiet RV spot at Diego’s rancho. I don’t need my flashlight as I do other nights.

I have noticed this past week that the night time temperatures are getting warmer; I don’t need a jacket anymore in the morning, and I see the men and women, who walk to work in the morning, also start wearing lighter clothes. Even the tortilla delivery guy on his quad no longer has his face covered to protect him from the cold. Spring will be here soon.

But what am I talking about…? I think my friends back home would be much more excited about spring, for here it has been wonderful these last four months. Unlike as in Canada there is little difference in day light hours. The sun rises around 7am and sets 12 hours later. No matter what time of the year it is.

It’s been a long, busy day, starting with the prep meeting for the upcoming work week. I feel a little disconnected as I hear the schedule being discussed. Only one person seems to know every detail of the Youth week and that is Kathleen Zamboni. She came up with the idea for a work week for Interact students (Interact is a junior Rotary Club for ages 12-17) several years ago and has orchestrated it ever since. I just do what I’ am asked to do and will support her in making this week a success. 

The T-shirts are sorted and folded, water bottles initialed, and room keys ready. My final task for the day is the orientation notes which are quite different from other work weeks. At home I take a moment to sit down with a glass of wine and a light snack and pack an overnight bag for Ramiro and I. We’re going to Guadalajara to pick up a small group of volunteers.

We have 3 rooms booked at Casa Grande, right across from the Airport arrival hall. We settle in, check our emails, and get a bite to eat.

Our first guest is suppose to arrive at 8:30. The plane has landed, but it seems to take forever for travelers to come through the tinted glass doors, which block the view from the luggage belt and customs area. What’s taking so long?

There she is, with her bright neon orange sweater and her smile; our Elizabeth. We’re so happy to see each other.

The next arrivals are three Interactors with their Chaperone from Orillia, Ontario. You can’t miss them with their bright red Interact T-shirts. Other than their personal luggage, they each have brought a huge duffel bag filled with donated clothes and school supplies which they will sort to be distributed later. They’re all so excited to be here, they will be a great addition to the team. We take everyone and their bags to their rooms and get to spend some time with Liz, who’s staying in our room.

 

The Interactors were up very early at 6am, anxious to get going. As soon as we are ready, we go to the dining are for a delicious buffet style breakfast. Then we load all the bags in the large van and drive back direction Cofradia where other Interactors and their chaperone from California have already settled in.

After a hearty lunch at the Hacienda, everyone is put to work to sort donated items and clothes, and fill bags with peanuts for the piñatas. 

When there is time left they get together to make colourful friendship bracelets. Next they are briefed about Sunday's activities.

In the morning we make the drive west to Guyatlan, to the turtle reserve. We’re all wearing a special “Trip to the beach” T-shirt and upon arrival we start preparing for the arrival of 5 busloads with more than 250 kids from the various schools Project Amigo is involved in. They also received one of the T-shirts and every child get their picture taken. They’re split into groups and with our older scholars as leaders as well as the Interactors, they are being entertained with various activities, such as petting a turtle, playing at the beach, taking a boat ride or playing in the pool. 

 

Sandwiches have been prepared by Rotarians and their family from Colima. Everyone seems to be having a great time at this annual Viajea la  playa. It started as a generous gesture more than 35 years ago, by a few friends of Project Amigo founder Ted Rose, when they learned that most of the children in the small villages of Colima had never seen the ocean. They loaded a VW Van with 7 kids and gave them the time of their lives. Over the years this event has grown into an event that takes an enormous amount of preparations and volunteers from everywhere are being recruited, including our friends Peter and Judy from Alberta. When the buses leave to take the kids back to their villages, everyone is exhausted from this hot day filled with activities and, what seemed a thousand kids. When Liz spots a coconut stand on our way back, she must try one, but I'll pass.

Monday is dental day. The youth group has been briefed on the activities of the week and the visits to the various schools, where dental hygiene will be taught. After a talk from Maestra Kathleen they receive a lesson in tooth brushing and a fluoride treatment. 

 

When they’re all done the kids rinse their toothbrush and place it in a zip lock bag on which they write their name and take it home. 

Dentist Jose Zamboni gives everyone a quick check over and these who need some special care are being referred to a dentist. As a reward, they get to select a book which they get to take home.

There are several children in de Suchitlan school which we have sponsored. We arrange with the teacher to spend some time with them and Liz gets to meet the girl we sponsored in her name. 

Each of the children receive a small wrapped gift, which they open very carefully, not to damage the paper. I am delighted with the big smiles on their faces as they look at their present. Nothing expensive, but very much appreciated. We play a few games with them and then it is time to leave them behind again after they all give us a big hug.

This week is quite different for us from other weeks. With Kathleen in charge, our workload is a lot lighter, allowing us to spend time with Liz playing Rummikub and talking. 

During the evening program,  Susan, talk about the Virgin of Guadalupe. Three of our young becarios explain the significance of the virgin to them. They also give us details about their traditional costumes.

During my morning walks to the village, I am now accompanied by Liz who is quite interested in everything she sees. I introduce her to my friend Gollo, who always has a friendly word for me and now has a new friend in Liz. She also gets to meet Fernando who has a little store on the corner. Every morning fresh milk is left on the side walk from where the vendors fill their containers.

I stay behind on Tuesday to do some laundry and lots of administrative work, while Ramiro and Liz join the group for a visit to the market and a portable bull ring in Colima. 

 

In the afternoon, we take Liz to Comala to the Botanas bar at the portals and a shopping trip to Colima to fill up the shelves in the bodega at the Hacienda. 

 

 

There are a fair amount of Gringos in the village who do not take part in the work week, but spend a few weeks or months at the house they own here, or as a guest of these. Tonight they all get together in Hacienda del Arroyo to celebrate George Washington day. We are all given a specially made shirt to reflect this celebration. Some even put on a mop wig. What a great evening.

 

We take advantage of the opportunity to hike with Liz and Joe to Carizarillo for lunch. I love this walk and a half hour walk, with a constant view of the volcano. It is hot, but it feels great. It makes lunch taste even better.

We are lucky, It is very quiet. During the weekend it's quite busy here with people camping, boating, or picnicing. We take a different road back and treat ourselves to an ice coffee.

 

For this youth group and our scholars in the village, this work week is extra special, as they get to do a variety of activities together, including games, bracelet making and newspaper dress contest. They visit many places and get to experience the real Mexican life. Poverty and all.

 

They bond so easily, it does not take long before they’re best friends and exchange e-mail addresses. Most of the scholars have a Project Amigo e-mail address through which they can receive e-mails in the cyber café.

I spent the entire day on paperwork on Friday for our Canadian Charitable status application. I finally start seeing a comprehensive bookwork, containing a full explanation of what Project Amigo is and why Project Amigo Canada Society should be granted charitable status. Ted and Susan help me with some of the details and staff members such as Beto, Jorge, Lety and Anilu have been very helpful providing details about the various programs.

Saturday is Liz’s last day with us and we ensure that we get to spend this day together. After breakfast we join the volunteers to Fernando Velasco’s coffee farm and processing plant. Fernando gives us a briefing on which beans to pick and how to fill our baskets. 

If we were to do this as a living, we could earn 30 Pesos per kilo. ($ 0.27) One basket holds more than 20 kilos. A skilled worker would need to work hard the entire day to fill a basket. My calculation tell me that if I work really hard all day, every day for one month I could earn about $1,000. 

I would probably end up with a sore neck and shoulders from  reaching, and I would also get really dirty. My hands would tunr into sandpaper. There is a lot of dust in these trees and our hands are filty when we are done picking.

As a reward, Fernando lets us pick juicy mandarins from the trees surrounding the property. I also see banana and avocado trees.

We get to throw our beans in the “shelling” machine which separates the outer, red skin from the beans. Next the beans are spread on a large concrete platform where they must dry for 24 hours, raking them from time to time ensures that all sides are dry.

The next machine removes the white, inner skin from the beans, leaving a small light green bean that looks like a peanut and while sorting them by size they are dropped into bags ready for roasting for a good cup of coffee.

Some of the scholar are carrying baby-like dolls with them. I am curious and the students explain that this is a school project initiated by the  Mexican Government to create awareness of the consequenses of teen parenthood. The students have to take the dolls with them for the entire weekend. The dolls are the size of newborn babies and look so  real. The dolls are programmed in such way that they cry as if hungry or wet. The students, both boys and girls take turns feeding them with a bottle with real liquid and also need to change the diaper. When the baby cries the students look at their digital bracelet which they wear around their wrist. It indicates if the baby needs to be fed or changed. 

As others pick coffee beans, I see some of the students sitting on a low wall on the side. They understand, that while the others are able to earn some money or play and run free, eat, use the bathroom or rest, they can’t. This will hopefully make them think twice before they get themselves into trouble.

It is obvious, that those children who are able to get a good education, not only learn about birth control, but they are likely to marry at a later age and have less children.

It’s the poor who continue to have large families. There fore it makes sense, that in order to end poverty one of the main focuses must be on literacy and education; One child at a time. It may seem like a daunting task, but when we see these bright, intelligent, young students who come from extreme poor families, we know they would have never had a chance without the work of Project Amigo and the support of our donors.

Some of our volunteers are leaving right after lunch today. They are addressed with a few words of thanks and  receive their certificate of participation. 

 

The small group of Canadians stay behind and visit the museum at Nogueras and the eco gardens.

 Sunday’s departures have been a major part of the workweeks. We have made made new friends and then have to let the go. Today is different because our Liz is also leaving. Liz would have loved to stay for another week, and we would have loved for her to spend more time with us, but her studies are more important.

We say goodbye and return to the RV to pack an overnight bag for a short trip to the coast. We haven’t been able to spent much time together lately so we drive to Paraiso beach for a long walk and a delicious shrimp lunch, just the two of us. We take the Free road to Manzanillo. It is lined with yellow blossomed trees. What a treat. We enjoy the activities along the road, which runs though a number of small villages.

 

 

 Once in Manzanillo we get to put our feet up for a while. While Judy prepares a delicious cold salad meal. I help with the dishes and over a bottle of wine we reflect on another successfull workweek, during which more lives have been touched.

As I was checking one of the room in the Hacienda I found a plaque with a very appropriate quote, with which I like to end this blog entry. 

A hundred years from now….. it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove……. but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.