February 25, 2013.
Dear Journal:
Today
was our first day at Fundación
Santa Rita. When we got there we encountered a bit of confusion since the
people at Santa Rita did not know that we were going to be arriving. When
everything was settled properly, I was placed with the toddlers. There, I met a
little boy called Emmanuel, he couldn’t be more than five years of age, and
started playing with him. The thing was, this little boy had neither of his
arms yet he seemed completely happy. When we take a look at the world around
us, we see that everywhere you turn there is always going to be someone that is
always miserable, even tough they have perfectly fine working bodies. On the
other hand we see this little kid, who has to maneuver a piece of play dough
with his feet, beaming with joy. What I saw that minute was a though reality
that is hidden from us, but is the reality where others live in everyday.
After
I spent a while with the kids, a guy from the organization called Alejandro
placed me with an older girl (14 years of age) called Carolina. I helped
stimulate the sense of tough in one of her hands; she didn’t really use it, by rolling
play dough and jello on it. Also, I helped her make a drawing made out of rice.
When that was done I went to the laundry room to help fold clothes, and then
the group went back to school after one of the organization directors gave us a
speech. I won’t lie to you; the first day was physically and emotionally
exhausting for me. It was something I had never seen or known about. When I got
home I fell asleep and only woke up the next day. Even though it was tiresome,
I liked and appreciated it. It taught me something new and gave me a different
perspective.
February 26, 2013.
Dear Journal:
Today
was completely different to yesterday. We didn’t have any interaction with the
kids, except Carolina leaving the lunchroom and looking for someone to give her
a “vueltica” around
the place, although it was expected since it had happened since day one. The
coordinator gave us a few puzzles, memory games, and cards, for us to put
together and glue on a piece of cardboard. She explained to us that it was hard
for the kids to grab the pieces since they were so thin and that they didn’t
last too long, the cardboard would make them thicker and longer lasting. When
that task was complete we helped one of the helpers to put the sheets on the
beds and organize them properly. Some of us even had time to go help fold some
of the clothes in the laundry room.
February 28, 2013.
Dear Journal:
Today
I found out that my group had been kicked out from the organization. When I
tried to get the real reason why, nobody knew what it was. So after spending
what seemed almost like the whole morning, but was only two hours, discussing
about ways to fix the problem, we decided that making some educational games
and materials for the classrooms in the organization was best. After we had
collected all the materials we would need, we started working on the games and
had a pretty good result. Before we even realized it, it was time to finish up.
March 1, 2013.
Dear Journal:
Today
was also a stay-in-school day. But instead of making games, the social service
coordinator gave us a new task. There is a program in school where students
teach other about Math, Science, English, et cetera, and they all have
different levels. Each level also has its own booklet, but the problem is that
they don’t have a test for each level, our job was to make a test for a booklet
and when you were done with the booklet it was time to go home. In the end you
may not think that this little things actually help, but you couldn’t be
farther away from the truth. Some people learn through this method, and just
because you don’t, doesn’t give you the right to put those who do, down.
