Part one...
During the months
of August and September, I became very busy with volunteer work. Planning had begun for the American Society’s
annual Angel Party – a Christmas party that we throw for 230 of Sao Paulo’s
disadvantaged children. As I wrote last
year, this is a full day affair, starting off with lunch provided by
McDonald’s, shows and games (with lots of great prizes), and a visit from Santa
with each child receiving a full bag of goodies, including a backpack, new
outfit, shoes, toys, and a sweet treat.
The planning of this party is a huge undertaking – volunteers need to be
recruited and assigned jobs, prizes need to be purchased and sorted, donations
secured, gift bags organized…the list goes on and on. It takes a small army to make sure the party
goes smoothly, and my main job was to coordinate all of the volunteers – hundreds
of emails were exchanged and many hours went into getting everyone scheduled
and making sure every job was covered.
It rained all day and night before the party, but on Saturday, we were
relieved to see the clouds disappear and the sun came out strong. This year, Matt and I decided the boys were
old enough to help – the three of helped out with sports, and I was so proud to
see them interacting with the local children.
The party was a huge success – our hard work had paid off, and seeing
the smiles on the kids’ (and volunteers’) faces made it all worth it.
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| Kids enjoying games at the Angel Party |
Another big
accomplishment came the day after the Angel Party – the kids took the exam to
receive their orange belts in Kung Fu.
They were a little less nervous than the first time, as they now knew
what to expect; it was after the exam that their nerves got the better of
them. Waiting for the results to be
posted was painful, as Ian became more stressed and convinced that he had not
passed; it was such a relief the next morning to see that both boys had passed!
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| Our new Orange Belts in Kung Fu |
From August to
early November, the Angel Party wasn’t the only thing keeping me busy, as I was
still acting as volunteer coordinator for the American Society. It was through this role that I began
volunteering regularly at a local children’s home. Every week, another lady and I visit an
“abrigo” – a group foster home – and spend a few hours with the children. This particular home has several babies, all
of whom have been born to drug-addicted mothers, most abandoned at the hospital
just after their births, and a few who have been removed from their mothers’
care by social services. Some of these
precious little babies were also born with illnesses, such as toxoplasmosis and
syphilis. There are also older children,
from two to seventeen years of age – all there due to abuse or neglect. One of the young men who lives there is in a
wheelchair and is immobile, except for limited use of his hands – he has a
bright smile and great personality and loves to talk. Our time in the home is spent mostly helping
with the babies – feeding them, holding and cuddling them, changing them when
they are dirty. The home has a caring
staff, but there just aren’t enough hands to care for 23 children (seven of them
under the age of two). We also make sure
to give the older kids attention and take toys and games so they can play with
something different for a while. They
love to ask us questions about ourselves, if we know any famous people in the
U.S., and how to say phrases in English.
Their favorite thing, however, is when Denise (my volunteer buddy) takes
out her I-phone or I-pad and lets them listen to music and play games. I think the kids and staff have come to look
forward to our time there – I know that going there every Thursday is the
highlight of my week.
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| With two of "my" babies |
To be continued...
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