Maryin Arauz
In August, the children's home received a very special visit: Maryin Arauz. She is a life coach and has already been to "Yo Quiero Ser..." several times before. She wanted to return with the aim to spend an extraordinary day with the children. She undertook fantasy journeys with them, meditated with them and even held a yoga lesson. All in a suitable style for children and teenagers. The activities offered space to reflect and talk about emotions, to deal with oneself and to exchange experiences.
For the older girls she had a very special surprise ready. After a presentation about self-esteem and self-confidence, the girls were allowed to have their make-up done and choose something from her jewellery box which she had brought along. Afterwards a professional photo shooting took place. The girls learned that they can and should feel beautiful, and that they should not compare themselves with the mostly unrealistic role models in video clips or advertisements. This was a very valuable and important lesson, but it has to be repeated a few more times for the girls to internalize this message.
“La confianza en si mismo es el único vestuario que no podemos comprar.”
„Self-confidence is the only wardrobe we can't buy.“
Visiting Switzerland
As every summer, Patricia's visit to Switzerland was scheduled for August. This time Patricia spent almost 6 weeks in her home country. The days were planned to the extreme, she tries to take advantage of the time back home to reconnect with many longstanding supporters which lead sometimes to up to 10 appointments on one single day.
There was for example the "Van Kersteren - annual event" in Einsiedeln. The "Van Kersteren" foundation, which supports "Yo Quiero Ser...", has also several other projects that it supports financially. At this event, two of the projects will always be presented and an exciting exchange takes place.
Then of course there was the traditional market stand in Savognin, where jewellery by Tanja Bodinoli and pastries by Patricia's mother are sold. The proceeds go to the children's home. This market is always a nice opportunity to thank all the people from the region who support the project and have often followed the development since the beginning. Especially this year: Desiree Ammann and her husband Abelardo Gonzalez, who until recently lived in San Pedro Sula and are close friends of Patricia's, came to Savognin and helped at the stall.
After this exhausting but very beautiful journey it is always nice to return to the children, who eagerly await Patricia. This time, a beautiful surprise was waiting for her in her room: all children had let a balloon rise to the ceiling and at the end of it, a very personal message was dangling off a string. For example, they wrote how much they missed her during the last weeks, what they are grateful for and how much they love her. If this is not proof that Patricia is at home in San Pedro Sula, then what is?
La Ensenada
The elder girls are an immense support in the children's home and do an incredible amount of work every day. They look after the little ones day in, day out. And before they go to school, they make sure that everyone has combed their hair and brushed their teeth. These are just a few examples of their work. For this reason, they were allowed to go on a very special trip in August: a long weekend at the Hotel La Ensenada in the coastal town of Tela. For the first time in their lives they could spend two nights in a hotel. So many new impressions and unknown things had to be digested first. The beautiful hotel complex with pool bar, the huge beds in the air-conditioned rooms, daily a buffet with food, where one was allowed to help themselves as much as one wanted. WOW!!!
It was also great to see how the new experiences raised everyday questions, such as what exactly is this knife for? What, here I don't have to take the dishes away from the table and wash them myself? Really, can I order another glass of coke? It was also very funny for them to go swimming in bikinis and bathing suits, usually they wear clothes when they go swimming. Another mind-boggling topic was the culinary variety they were faced with, it definitely sparked many funny conversations. Their choice can be summarized relatively simply: "what the farmer doesn't know..."
There was also time to talk about important things in the life of a young adult. For example, what does it mean to have a worthy partner, that inner values should have the highest priority, that the girls should continue their efforts in school so that they can later afford such holidays themselves, etc.
A true all-inclusive hotel experience includes participation in the extensive entertainment program. The girls enjoyed taking part in the daily pool choreographies or in the evening shows. To be perfectly honest, they almost stole the show from the animators when they were all standing in front of the stage performing a dance they had rehearsed themselves. Everyone deeply regretted it when the 18-member group had to leave after 3 days. It was a wonderful gift. To the donor from Switzerland, who does not want to be named personally, a huge thank you from the bottom of our hearts!