21-10-2010

We all sat in the back of the truck to school because the school bus was in maintenance, the kids have so much fun!

Alonso was so handsome with his shirt and tie.

Franklin also got promoted and wore his new shirt and tie.

Funny Jhonatan just finished his meal.

José Luis posed with a great smile.

I have been having such a great time, more than any time I have been here! For the most part, I feel so close to the kids as I have been here for a long while and we have been through some ups and downs. But also, my work here doesn´t seem to be in vain as I thought sometimes it might be. I have been doing a lot of therapy with Lemar´t and Jhosmelyr, and hopefully they will keep improving while I´m still here. Lemar´t has improved a lot with his speech, and he is learning much faster now. It is indeed hard work, but for him I wouldn´t mind anything. He is very aware of his environment now and always like to express himself. Jhosmelyr is also doing quite well, and she can follow instructions much better than before. Like I said before, it´s difficult to keep up the balance of the two roles, therapist and parenting, but I think I´m getting on with it and it seems to work. I have the most fun doing group work with the kids, and they are just too cute! Jhonatan´s speech has improved a lot too, although on the sad side he no longer calls me in his cute way "Tío Ryryan" anymore. I would never forget how José Luis reacts whenever I say something to him and he would open his eyes wide.

Three elder kids from kinder, Franklin, Joanka and Alonso, are ready to promote to primary 1 next year, and they will move to the boys and girls sections as well. I have been trying to do some orientation for them, as it could be really difficult to adjust the new environment with a whole different system and tons more of responsibilities. For these three, I sometimes tell them fables or let them watch some programs that would teach them good morals, as they are old enough to absorb that kind of information and they really need to as they are going to the next level of their lives.

Surprise surprise tonight! Someone knocked on my door, and it was Tía Flor. I didn´t have such a good relationship with her before as I criticized some of the workers´ work ethics and techniques and she took it quite hard personally. But tonight, she asked me if I have some "caritas felices" (smiley face) stickers because she wants to make a chart for Jeferson and Francesco for their Enuresis problems. Obviously she took the idea that we did with kinder and she even asked me for advice such as how the board should be structured and how they receive reinforcements. I was so pleased that she took the idea and did something so positive with the kids. I didn´t have any smiley faces but I have some stars stickers so I gave some a bunch to start with. It makes me feel that sometimes hardships in life is inevitable, but at the same time if we follow and believe in what we do and do it right, eventually it will turn out to be something good. Joy would be the word to describe how I feel right now, not because of my personal achievement, but because the local workers are improving with their teaching methods and they are doing some good things with the kids, and they are willing to make some positive changes. I sometimes feel frustrated because I felt that my work has no impact on the organization and after I leave everything will return to its original state, but now I feel very positive that none of the work that I have done is in vain. Our national director though offered me the option of staying here for one more year. Although it sounds really interesting and attractive, I´m not sure if I want to do it two years straight. Maybe I would come back after a break in Hong Kong? Haha …