Christmas 2021
Our partner organisation CEPUDO provided us with the ingredients for the delicious Christmas dinner. Tamales and nacho dip were served as starters, chicken and pork, Hungarian rice, mashed potatoes and Waldorf salad as main course and a tropical fruit cocktail as dessert.
Our little Andrecito stole the show with his Father Christmas costume but all the others wore their newly received clothes also with a lot of pride and joy.
After dinner, the children unwrapped their presents and enjoyed the fireworks.
Medical Brigade
Our children and our teenagers were examined by the doctor Maricela and two nurses. She was very pleased to find that our children are very healthy. She praised our balanced diet, personal hygiene and the cleanliness of our facilities, which is probably one of the main reasons why everyone is so healthy.
Shortly after the visit of the medical brigade, most of the children came down with the flu and shortly after that with COVID-19. Fortunately, they came down with the weaker Omikron variant, which the children perceived as a mild flu illness. There are now very few children and staff who have been spared from COVID-19.
Fortunately, the virus only spread in groups and not everyone was sick at the same time. Otherwise, I don't know how we would have managed everyday life.
Quinceañeras
In these first months of this year, we have celebrated two Quinceañeras (short for Fiesta 15 años). In Latin America, the 15th birthday is celebrated completely differently from the other birthdays of a young woman. It is considered the most important birthday in her life.
The celebration honours the 15-year-old's transition from child to woman and serves to acknowledge that the girl has reached maturity.
Our first Quinceañera took place on 3 January on the occasion of Wendy's birthday. Her grandmother, who lives in the USA, wanted to make up for her own unfulfilled girlhood dream by organizing a traditional party for her granddaughter and covering all the costs.
For Wendy, this was an unforgettable day. She got to go to the beauty salon, the hairdresser and wore a princess dress when she arrived back at the children's home for the party. The party was divided into different sections. The program consisted of a starter, piñata, main course, toast, cake cutting and waltz dance. During the celebration, the birthday girl danced with all her friends as well as the male attendees.
She said that she had never been so happy in her life! Wendy's grandmother is of the same opinion, and thanks to today's technology, she was able to witness everything every step of the way. Even though she was over 3,112 km away, she was able to actively participate with pictures and videos.
When Wendy's grandmother heard that Anahy was also turning 15 on 25 March, and she had enormous joy at Wendy's celebration, she immediately agreed to organize such a celebration for Anahy as well.
Therefore, Anahy also got to dress up as a princess on her birthday and enjoyed the same great celebration. She invited her elder sister and brother. They could not believe that their "little" sister, as they call Anahy, who came to the children's home as a street child, was now welcoming them at the gate as a princess.
Gastronomy training
Luz Marina attended the Prestige Gastronomy School Moreno Hernandez and received her diploma with much joy.
Now she works at the famous Copantl Hotel & Convention Center as a chef.
At the children's home we organized a little surprise party, and she told the children and teenagers about her experience in the professional world, what it means to take on responsibility and how difficult it is to "survive" outside the children's home walls. At the same time, she expressed her gratitude to God for bringing her to the children's home and to the foundation "yo quiero ser..." for their support over the years. With Nelson Mandela's words: "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world" she also argued why she wants to continue her studies and will soon start the bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Tourism Management at unitec.
Start of the new school year
For almost 2 years now, our schoolchildren have been attending lessons via Zoom. It was with great concern and apprehension that we had to take note of the fact that the primary school will start the school year 2022 virtually again.
For our 5 secondary students of IST (Instituto Tecnológico Sampedrano) there was better news. They started the school year hybrid, which means they will go to school 3 days a week and attend classes from home on two days.
The new President, Xiomara Castro, promised that in her government plan education will be an important cornerstone of her political program and that she wants to see the students back in the classrooms as soon as possible.
This year we have 19 children in the Laura Vicuña
1 girl in the kindergarten
2 in the 2nd kindergarten
3 in the 2nd grade
1 in the 3rd class
1 in 4th grade
2 in 5th grade
2 in the 1st secondary class
5 in the 2nd secondary class
1 in the 3rd secondary level.
In the Instituto Tecnológico Sampedrano there are
2 in 3rd secondary class
1 in first high school year (business administration),
1 in second high school year (business administration)
1 in second High School year (Tourism School).
We also have 3 special needs students attending IMDEE (Instituto Municipal de Educación Especial).
And of our oldest, 3 attend university.