THESE ARE MY FRIENDS AND THEY ARE HERE TO HELP

This particular workweek is not a scheduled work week. It is designed, specifically or Rotarians from my Rotary District D5370 and their friends. One does not need to be a Rotarian to participate, but in this case we have only Rotarians and their spouses.

While I accompanied Diego to Manzanillo where the majority flew into, Ramiro makes a trip to Guadalajara to pick up our friends from Vermillion, Alberta.

During cocktail hour and dinner at the Hacienda, those who did not know each other yet have a chance to get acquainted and it does not take long before everyone has found something in each other they may have in common, whether it is our guest Gaylien from Honolulu, our friends from Vermillion or third time volunteers Darrell and Edith from Edmonton. They quickly bond with our Stony Plain friends, especially once we introduce three "wannabee" Canadians;  Gaylien, who's arm was twisted to come here, by Darrell and Edith; ,Candido from Brazil, who is here for the umpteenth time to do dental work and Local Mayor and past scholar Noe. 

Noe always likes to help, but the kitchen staff like to take advantage of his kindness and let him do all the dishes by himself while he watches.

Sunday usually starts with a tour of the village led by Ted, except for those who prefer to attend mass. What’s different this Sunday, is an invitation to the Folkloric ballet, put on by the dancers from the University of Colima.

I am not much of a ballet person and have no idea what to expect, but this performance is absolutely spectacular. Everyone just loves it. We may do this again, if we can get our hands on some cheap tickets again.

It is only a short walk to Las Brasas, where we have a delicious lunch of mixed grilled meat, tortillas and salads. Diego drives us to downtown Colima, where we all go our own way to shop or do some sightseeing. Dee and I visit the DIF (social services) artisan store to shop for some items we can take back with us to Alberta, Canada to sell at our Mexican Fiesta, which will be held on June 25^th.

 

A work week is not complete without a visit to our project sites. Today being Monday, the school at Queseria is not open, but the kids nevertheless come and see us with much enthusiasm. At Colonia Rotaria there are also plenty of kids eager to see us for a few hugs, especially if Ted is there.

Some of the students at Casa Amiga, have agreed to be there for us and prepared coffee and snacks.

Casa Amiga is becoming too small to house all the students we now have in university, and we are not able to take in any more boys in the dorms. We need to expand and build a second floor. Unfortunately, construction cannot begin until all funds are raised. Plans for the construction have been drawn up and are presented today.

We have some construction experts with us in our group and they are happy to give some advice and even offer their assistance, in monetary donations or labour. As much as we are sensitive to the importance of hiring locals to do the job, it is not always feasible and it will also cost us more money. Having a qualified volunteer oversee the project may not be such a bad idea.

Our volunteers are always very generous and bring bags with clothing or other items, which all need sorting, which we do the rest of the afternoon and on Monday we’re getting serious about work. We’ve explained a lot of the background details and now we have schools to visit to deliver more libraries. There are a total of approximately 450 schools in the state of Colima; Project Amigo has delivered mini libraries to 300 of these schools and our goal is to delivery books to all schools. We can see the difference in the reading skills of students who have received their first library from us previously and are now receiving supplementary libraries. Schools usually only have text books, which are not very stimulating for an elementary level student. The books we bring are funs books with lots of colours and drawings. Studies have shown that providing a child a book to read will create a desire to read.  And reading for fun improves communication and reasoning skills in children.

We have several women in our group this week who are fantastic with kids. They play games, sing songs, dance, blow balloons and play hopscotch. Most of the guys have no problem either keeping the kids entertained. Our friendly giant Howie bonds quickly with one of the students and surprises his wife Jane by announcing that they are going to sponsor Christopher.

This is gong to be a very special week, I know it!

After having seen these children, of whom most live in extreme poverty, we can’t help but showing our emotions when I show a Power Point presentation and explain the work Project Amigo has done and the work that still needs to be done; We currently have over 300 students in the program and wished we could take in more. Many of our scholars do not have sponsors and the cost to keep those in school comes out of the general fund.

All volunteers who participate in a workweek have seen the situation and understand how important it is to help more children obtain a brighter future with an opportunity to an education to help them and their family of out poverty. Their generosity is very much appreciated. I am delighted to see so many of my friends step forward to sponsor a student, either in elementary, Junior High, High School or University.

 

The guys are delighted when we discuss the plans for the following day. They are going to get their hands dirty, shoveling dirt, laying sod and installing more pickets, which we painted last workweek.  I wonder if they are just as excited when their wives ask them to do such tasks at home. But one of our female volunteers works just as hard shoveling dirt. 

 

The children are working hard on writing their names on the pickets, and those volunteers who sponsor a child at Queseria migrant workers camp, or are representing someone else who is, will have an opportunity to see the students and present them with a gift or just a hug. What a wonderful way for us to share our love and our wealth with those who have so little and whose parents have no time to share their love amongst the large number of children in the family.

Most of the kids in the program are very bright, that’s how they were selected into the program. Christian for instance, goes to a second class in the afternoon to allow him to advance; Where he is not able to in the morning school in Queseria whith grade 1 to 6  being taught in one classroom. Thanks to the generosity of Howie and Jane he has the opportunity to learn at his full potential. 

This week we also sorted hundreds of pieces of clothing for babies, children and adults. Tita, the teacher at Queseria has an excellent incentive for the mothers who help prepare lunches. They each receive a coupon, and when we arrive with our bags and suitcases full of clothes, we spread them out on tables and let each mother pick ten pieces. They are not picky and are happy with what's available. some pieces for their young children, some of their husbands and some for themselves.

 

 

 

When we’re all exhausted from shoveling dirt, pushing swing, blowing balloons and playing with and hugging the kids, we are happy to get on the bus, have some free time to freshen up at the Hacienda and get ready for lunch at Doña Meche.

When we return, the homework club, lead by Lety is at full swing and our volunteers get the opportunity to meet some of the scholars and spend time with them in small groups.

Four of the students invite the volunteers to their homes. Each group has a Spanish speaking person in them to assist with the translating.

I thought, that by now I would be used to seeing the poverty here,  but when I enter the property of what is suppose to be a private dwelling where one of our student lives, with the dirt floors and rags instead of a proper door, I still suffer from a culture shock. Those who have joined me in this visit feel very uncomfortable. Even more so when I ask the boy about his siblings and his father; He bows his head and looks at his Mom. “His brother is in jail” she quietly tells me, “and he does not know his father”. I apologize and tell her that it is not our intention to invade their privacy, but that we are interested in knowing about their lives and how we may be able to help them. We’re all very quiet as we walk the long road up the hill back to our bus. 

For Ramiro and I as volunteer coordinators, this job is not only very tiring physically but also emotionally; Every night we are drained. Our volunteers are very supportive. They want to hear the stories, they want to help and open their hearts. Bu our job is also very rewarding; We have seen so many smiles on the faces of the children, who are being introduced to their sponsors for the first time, or receive a small gift, or even a hug. The parents of these children thank us for the work we do. The conditions they live under and their family situations make our personal problems seem so insignificant.

Our D5370 workweek ends with a trip to Pihuamo, Jalisco, where upon arrival we are being greeted by the president of the Cultural centre, who tells us the history of this town of 8,000, which is nestled in between the mountains and the volcano.

 

Some of the men shop for cowboy hats before we enter the auditorium where a music and dance performance is being given in our honour.

The mulit age, brass band does a great job, but makes us almost deaf. Some are able to remove ther hearing aides, the rest suffers through  the loud performance.

We have some time left to shop before we walk to the Rotary Club house where Rotarians and their spouses have prepared a typical Mexican fiesta for us, with the knowledge that we plan on holding a similar fundraiser, fiesta in Alberta this summer. 

They do the works; the egg smashing on the heads and the tiny Tequila welcome drinks. They show us how the decorations are made and what ingredients are used for the various dishes and poor us some wonderful Tequila drinks.

If it would not have been so bloody hot, we likely would have stayed longer. But after a game of Mexican bingo we are all ready to get on the bus and make the one and a half hour drive back home where we will have our Farewell dinner.

The last evening with our volunteers is always very special to us, as we get to thank each person personally for their participation, their support, hard work and fellowship. We do that with a special certificate with a photo of the volunteer in action, which we have taken during the workweek.

 

What a fantastic group this has been; All their hard work, their friendship and kind words. We will miss them all and hope they come back next year for another D5370 Workweek.

Fresh fruit and juice has been prepared for those members of the group who leave at 6:00 am Sunday morning to catch a flight out of Guadalajara, while to others go later with Ramiro in the Amiguito bus to Manzanillo.

One more vehicle, driven by Diego takes me and two more volunteers to Manzanillo where we meet up with Ramiro. Diego takes the bus back to Cofradia and the four of us join our friends Gill and Chris, Ewa and Howard for lunch, together with Judy and Peter who spend the winters here and have invited us to spend the night with them  in their apartment at Marina Las Hadas

This is going to be fun! We had no idea how much we needed a little rest and thoroughly enjoy our time with Judy and Peter. The view of the bay and some good wine makes it even better. We stay on the second floor in a nice and cool room. 

In the morning, Judy prepares a wonderful breakfast for us.

What a great way to spend Valentines day. After a nice walk and some time in the pool Ramiro and I head back to Cofradia again to prepare for the next workweek.

We’re both refreshed again and look back at another successful workweek thanks to the help of our friends. 

We're ready for the next Work week.