Month of the family
For the Catholic Church, August is considered as the month of the family. Because few of our children have family members, we are their family. In a survey, all the children were asked what the children’s home "Yo Quiero Ser ..." means to them. 96% responded that it is their home and their family. On the second question, what they would feel for their "former or biological" family, we received a variety of answers. 8 had no answer, 3 would like to get to know their family, 5 do not remember them, 2 miss their family, 2 are ashamed of their family and 1 would like to help their family.
Each of us feels that we are a big family and the sense of belonging has become even stronger over the last few years. That's why we never separate siblings and fight really hard to reunite them. It is important, that they can stay together because it is truthfully the only thing left from their biological family.
As you can see from the photos, many siblings do not look alike at all. The reason for this is that they usually have different fathers and tend therefore to be more half-siblings.
International Painting Competition of CEPUDO
As we reported in the May newsletter, Jennifer won the first prize in the junior category at the CEPUDO National Painting Competition and was thus able to participate in the international painting competition where 7 countries participated. Talented her, she won the excellent 2nd place!
On Saturday, CEPUDO organized the official handover of the prize, which was endowed with $ 300, a new bike and a painting bag.
Jennifer was very happy. And the surprise was even greater when she was invited by a local TV station JBN to the “Buenos Dias AMERICA LATINA” program. She was allowed to talk about her drawing and our children's home. In the beginning she was very nervous but then she loosened up and gained confidence. She answered very well, humble but spontaneous, in a very sympathetic way - just the way she is.
In the evening we watched the TV program together with all the children. She was the filled with joy and the pride and everybody was incredible proud of her.
Business center ALTARA
For our children it was very special to visit the business center ALTARA. The people in charge were waiting for us in the game department where each child received a game card which allowed them to play for free for one hour on the different gaming machines, slot machines and gaming computers.
There was something for every age group. It meant that everyone - from the smallest to the biggest - had a lot of fun.
Then they were served pizza and cake and at the end there was even a piñata.
Before leaving the bar, each child was allowed to trade in their chips and choose different prizes. The elders exchanged them for cool, colored glasses, the younger ones, on the other hand, opted for medals or toys. It was fabulous observing the children in such a different environment.
Our all-rounders
We know what the life outside the children home has at steak and therefore what our children will be faced after leaving us. That is why it is of greatest importance to us that our children learn from an early age on to be independent and responsible. In this sense, we push them to become confident all-rounders.
Our girls know multitasking, they help in the baby section with the little ones, in the kitchen when baking and cooking as well as doing laundry etc. All these skills will be needed later in life.
The boys help maintaining the buildings and the courtyard, as construction workers, as auto mechanics during oil changes, as chefs while cooking the corn cobs and they are generally very helpful when someone needs a helping hand with their chores.
Since we live in a "Macho-Land", it is not always easy to change the given perceptions and prevalent mentality in regards of gender roles. Nevertheless, our boys have to wash their clothes themselves, wash dishes or help moping the floor. After all, we also strive for gender equality a desire which doesn’t know geographical or cultural boundaries.
Friendships
Over the past few years, our children have been able to establish honest friendships with many people. This allows them to connect easily with most visitors. The visitors rave about the warmth, the honesty and the friendliness of our children and always like to come back to us.
That's why so many groups visit us. Some of them are the same age as our elders. They want to spend their Sundays with our children and shorten the afternoons by preparing different games and spending exciting hours with them. Our children are very happy and appreciative of each visit. And the visitor then leave our home with a heart filled of joy and happiness. Because, as the saying goes: "The greatest wealth of men is their ability to make each other happy!"