Since mid-April I have been working as a volunteer at the children's home "Yo quiero ser"... I always wanted to volunteer in a children's home. Since I was already Yosseli's godmother before I left, it was clear to me where I wanted to gain this experience. Covid also made it difficult for me to travel to Honduras, but after 2 weeks of delay, I was greeted by bountiful beaming faces.
The compound of the children's home is spacious, which is very helpful in times of Corona. The children have not left the premises for over a year, with a few exceptions, such as the trip to Coca-Cola Mountain. The schools are closed, the post office no longer works.... locked behind a 2-metre high wall and a barbed wire fence, we are safe here. Safe from the violence, corruption, abuse and hopefully Corona.
As I don't speak Spanish, I decide to help with the little ones in the Sala Cuna first. They stole my heart immediately. There are currently 11 children in the Sala Cuna aged 1-7 and one child is 16 years old. The oldest boy and one of the little girls are physically and or mentally disabled. The children go to kindergarten from the age of 4. Here they already learn numbers and letters. Because of Corona, the kindergarten, school, and universities currently only take place in online classes. Fortunately, the children's home can afford the internet and the necessary technical equipment (tablet, PC) thanks to a generous donor. Despite the gracious donor, everyday life at the home means constant power and water cuts. The home is located in one of the poorest districts of the city. When the city cannot produce enough electricity, the poor simply have their electricity cut off so that the rich can have electricity. The government then claims that they just have to fix something and that is why there is no electricity. Unfortunately, this is usually not true. Sometimes the outage is announced, but usually not. At 35° or more, it gets very hot and exhausting. The kids than moan “qué calor” (what a heat). Unfortunately, many Hondurans cannot afford the online classes and do not go to school at the moment. These children will still pass the school year but can most likely not catch up in the following year and thus run a greater risk of dropping out of the school system. The government is doing far too little about this, as an uneducated society is more obedient and manipulable, and corruption can continue as usual.
Daily Life
Everyday life in Honduras - I haven't found it yet.
Most of the time it's mañana "tomorrow then" and the following day it's mañana again... and at some point, for example, a whole team stands in front of the gate and tells us “here we are to build the birdhouses with the children”. Well, we might not have gotten that this was the actual mañana.
Not too much is planned here. The wages are paid every two weeks. That is enough to survive the next two weeks. And another example; over a month ago Patricia, or Pati or Mama as she is called here, hired an additional caregiver. Until today she has not yet turned up for her first day of work. Who knows, maybe mañana?
The daily routine for the children at the home includes help cleaning the compound in the mornings and evenings, "a Comer" (eating) three times a day, doing the dishes, participating in online school (if the electricity doesn't fail), washing one's own clothes by hand... In order to look after and care for the 39 children, 2 chefs, 1 laundress, 1 cleaner, 2 gatekeepers, 1 psychologist, 1 teacher, 1 driver and of course Patricia work here. Most of them work 10 days at a time and leave the home on Saturday to come back on Sunday. In the first year they have 10 days of holiday and after 5 years, with the same employer, they reach the maximum of 20 days of holiday.
Besides the young children in the Sala Cuna, there are of course many other children/young people here. The eldest is currently doing an internship in a laboratory. All the others are at school or university. Except for mi Amore - Andrecito. He is now 2 months old and I fell in love with him from the start. Unfortunately, his real mum didn't. She abandoned him under a mango tree. That thought is still incomprehensible to me. How desperate must she have been? Many children who are here have experienced rape at the hand of their father, grandfather, uncle, sister's boyfriend etc, been beaten by their parents, abused, abandoned or sold. INCREDIBLE thoughts for me. How can anyone do such a thing to a human being? What does this horrific past do to the children? I can't talk to them about it. I'm not a psychologist either and unfortunately, I can't undo the past. But you can see it, especially in the children who have not been in the home for long. It takes them much longer to trust me. Which is understandable, of course. But what I can do is give them unforgettable moments in the present. For example, I invited my eldest ahijada (goddaughter) to the cinema with my mum's ahijada and we went earring piercing together. I also invited the oldest 3 girls - they are adults and are allowed to leave the home for a longer period of time - to visit Copán with me. Copán is the most famous Mayan city in Honduras and is located 10 minutes away from Guatemala. The two-day trip was a holiday for them and also a bit of school. They learned a little bit about finding their way in Honduran life.
The number of children can change at any time. This month Patricia had received two requests for taking in new children. She has to make very difficult decisions. In these cases, the Foundation was able to offer support by giving one family a bed including a mattress and the other family an air mattress.
Feliz dia de la madre – Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day - a very special day at the children’s home. Some children have a good relationship with their mothers, others don't know their mothers, others were abused by their mothers.
We celebrated the day spontaneously, but very emotionally. A few mothers came by and we had pizza for everyone. Afterwards, the children thanked the mothers in front of everyone, which I thought was very brave. Those were extremely emotional moments. And even though I didn't understand anything, I had to cry along with them. I also received a "mama thank you" from my goddaughter Yosseli, because we don't know her real mum.
Honduras
Since Tata and Tat (Patricia's parents) were also visiting the home and we spent our time together at the dining table, Patricia and her partner told us a lot about the country, the people and the mentality of Honduras. Many things are still incomprehensible and unimaginable to me. A few examples from Honduran life.
- The public hospitals are free of charge for everyone. But to remove a kidney stone, you have to wait 2.5 years. Can you imagine that? 2.5 years! For the surgery, the patient must bring the gloves and, for example, the CT images himself. Or do you need an extra bed? Then get it at the mortuary.
- If you park in the city center, your car will most likely be towed because there is no public parking. The mafia will tow your car and you will have to pay a ransom, or you will not get your car back.
- In one year, 25 people were shot around the children’s home. This shows that not even one human life has any value here.
The Foundation
Did you know that the foundation embodies not only the children's home but many more projects? One which is currently in the making resolve around a housing project. The foundation is planning to build 100 houses, including a park and later on a school, near a large factory. After finding suitable development land, it is in consultation with the district and the landowner. The council is willing to support the project and the landowner is willing to sell. To realize such projects, you need the right contacts in Honduras, without contacts such a project is impossible. The 100 houses will be given to families who lost all their "belongings" in last year's hurricanes. It is hard to imagine, but even 7 months after the hurricanes, there are still families who live under the bridge. Their home consists only of wooden poles covered with plastic walls.
Unforgettable
I must have been warmly embraced 100 times a day. What a great feeling. I thank you for the wonderful encounters and the wonderful time I was able to spend here. I will carry it in my heart forever.
I would like to thank Patricia for her spontaneous and heartfelt hospitality.
I already miss you all very much.
Luana