For a month, little Dominick lives with us. From the beginning, all children and employees have taken great care of him and closed him in her heart. As a result, he literally blossomed in his first month with us. He has become the center of our everyday life and makes everyone smile with his laughter. For us he is simply our cutest sweetheart.
We also had the privilege to celebrate his first birthday with him...
Every child comes to us with heavy blows of fate. The last two had to live through particularly difficult times in their short life.
Dominick, who turns one year old in December, was brutally beaten, scratched and even tied on his neck by his birth mother. On the night of his arrival he did not even have the strength to cry. He did not know how it feels like to be loved. Everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, welcomed him with open arms. Only after a short time he started to feel at home with us, safe and loved.
As part of a longer trip through Central America, at the beginning of October, I had the opportunity to visit the childrens home three years after my volunteer assignment. I have often asked myself how things have developed, what may have become of on or the other child, how the second floor on the main house looks like, and in general how it may all be. Despite occasional contact with Paty I wanted to see the children again and see how they have developed. Luckily, it happened that this time my sister accompanied me and so we arrived as a couple at the "yo quiero ser". As soon as we opened the door of the car, the children stormed towards us, took off our luggage, hugged us - just a stunningly warm welcome!
Some of the children, understandably the taller ones, could remember me and others did at least pretend to ;-)
During these two and a half weeks we were accommodated with a warmth, as I only knew it from “…yo quiero ser”. An extra nicely decorated room with a welcome letter,…
Soap bubbles remind us of childhood. Of our little childhood dreams that flew away with the soap bubbles and no one could harm them. Because in a soap bubble, everything appears in a colorful, shiny and warm light. And it does not matter what the environment looks like. If the sky is overcast and gray or bright blue, the soap bubble is protected against the outside world.
And every time I entered the childrens home, I felt like I was going into a bubble. Sometimes I came back from a beautiful, sunny San Pedro Sula. Sometimes I returned drenched and a little uncomfortable. But as soon as I walked through the gate, I saw the colorful walls, the sparkle in the eyes of the children and I felt the warmth. I felt safe from the outside world and the dangers of the bustling city San Pedro Sula. And not only for me, but also for the children, the childrens home is a soap bubble. The circumstances in which the children lived did not leave much to be desired, but the children have dreams. And…
During the last two months Nora Baltermia from Salouf visited us. From the first moment she entered our home, she supported us. She tackled wherever help was needed: at our weekly purchases, at the Christmas mail, at the Sala Cuna, and most of all in the kitchen. Because we did not have any chefs at the moment, she cooked delicous Swiss dishes (rösti, lasagna and potato gratin) for a whole weekend. In addition, she baked together with the children during the whole week; “Griiti-Bänz”, lucky pigs, braids and many more fun things.
September 10 is the National Children's Day and most of the time, children are longing for this day long in advance. This year, however, it was not only a day it felt more like the Children’s Month because every weekend groups visited us (students, churches, companies, course visitors, families, ...). Each group has put together an exciting program for us, including a clown show, a Zumba dance program, various dances, games, etc.
Again this year the children were allowed to eat very fine and specially prepared cakes and muffins and each child received a few gifts. Of course, as always, the Piñatas was a must.
Like every year, each child received a new outfit from Greta Hofmann. They put their new clothes on immediately and showed them off with greatest pride. Thank you Greta!
International celebrities
On the Children's Day, we have been invited by the local government to see some international celebrities. The first celebrity was Biper, a well-known cartoon…
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…
This month, 3 pediatricians and 3 nurses visited us to medically examine all our children and adolescents and to do a general check-up.
They were impressed that everyone is in such good health. We are convinced, that this is due to our balanced daily diet (3 main meals and 2 snacks) and the two-yearly deworming treatments.
This year, the groups of Carolina Cross Connection, from here on out referred to as the CCC, visited us again for 6 weeks, three times a week.
CCCs’ mission in Honduras is to share the love of Christ with the children and those who care for them. But also to allow them to feel the presence of God and his ability to provide them with all the necessities.
In order to bring across this mission during their visits, they engaged the children in plenty of activities alike painting the outer wall, playing games, singing or dancing together. After one week, the group had to say goodbye. It was a heartfelt goodbye as always and our beloved American friends had to shed many tears, happy tears….
Birthdays
The organization CEPUDO has put together birthday presents for all our children. Each child receives a surprise on his birthday and they are always impatiently looking forward to the gift. Sweets are also a crucial part during the birthday celebration and this…
« When you start to dream, you begin to live...» A year ago we received family growth from the two sisters Yossely and Deysi. Both came to us in a miserable condition. And indeed, we have managed - both have begun to dream and thus began to live. Deysi was a year ago 70 cm in height and weighed 8.8 kg. Today she measures 80cm and weighs 11.4 kg.In addition to this development, she has also learned how to crawl, went onto walking, running and manages even the split. She continues to receive physiotherapy and early stimulation therapy inorder to be able to continue developing at the pace her age.Yossely was a year ago76 cm in height and weighed only 9.4 kg. She integrated herself very quickly and felt comfortable in her new environment almost immediately. We were able to support her with early stimulation and witnessed an incredible transformation. Since she is with us, she has grown 13cm and has gained 6.9 Kg in weight. For her age, Yossely is still very small. However, she is very…
Easter break Alike every year, the Easter holidays were long-awaited. In Honduras it is common for all people to go to the beach. Since our family is big and with so many children it is rather challenging to spend the holidays on an overcrowded beach, we have placed as an alternative 3 swimming pools on the football field. The children could swim all week.They really enjoyed it and had great fun. A surprise visit came from Cynthia Sieber, one of the last volunteers. When she entered our gate, the children immediately invited her to the swimming pool. They were allowed to tell her everything they had experienced last year. On the last day the children dedicated their time to the bikes and they turned the whole day rounds after rounds. From small to big, everyone was beaming with their smily faces. Since Edwing is a Catholic priest, we have not forgotten the right reason for the Easter week ... Therefore, from Thursday onwards, we also took part in church events. On Friday, the “Way of…
First courses at the ACEP Last month, the vocational training school ACEP was inaugurated and the first courses have already taken place.
One room has been especially set up, by the CAMO, for the RCP (Reanimación Cardiopulmonary = Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Resuscitation) course, including life-sized dolls and the necessary medical equipment. Unbelievable, but true that Honduran doctors do not have to attend this course during their long training. Several hospitals have now ordered their doctors and nurses to attend this course. The first training group therefore consisted of 36 participants.
The second course, "Professional Excellence," was held by two trained American business women. Several local companies sent their employees to attend the course. The high expectations from the participants were greatly exceeded and the enthusiasm was overwhelming when they received their diploma at the end.
The kitchen and dining room have already been taken over by the cooking class…
