MISSION MEXICO NEWS

Aug/Sept 2007
Albergue, Mision Mexico Dando Amor, Vida y Esperanza AC

 

Hola a todos,

 

We started this newsletter a month ago but only got the first paragraph done! But, what is written here is still of interest we hope.

It is hard to believe it is August already, the year has flown.

At the moment we have the children home on school vacations.  It has been hard work keeping them occupied during this time.  This break, we haven’t had our usual camp at the beach so it has been difficult trying to entertain the children on a daily basis. 

Fortunately, we have had some wonderful volunteers from all over the world who work very hard in this area.  Kirrily from Canberra, Aust. was the youngest we have had and she did an incredible job for her 17 yrs. Thanks so much to all of you.  You do make a difference!

 

During the vacations the children have done projects on Ireland and Hawaii, doing research on the computers, colouring-in and making flags etc.  The Hawaiian theme ended in a party complete with homemade leis and grass skirts.  After watching Lilo and Stitch for the umteenth time, Maria 14yrs, choreographed and led a lovely Hawaiian dance that we all enjoyed watching. Everyone had a fantastic night. 

Because of the large number of children, we have groups doing different activities at different times such as, aerobics, English, yoga, sewing and cooking classes.  We have also been trying to revise last years school work.

 

We are getting help with our administration work at the moment which is such a blessing.  Deborah Grossman, a native of Scotland but who has been living in Australia, is doing a wonderful job helping in so many areas from applying for grants to organising rosters.  This work is quite stressful as there is no head space.  Every couple of minutes you are interrupted for one thing or another regarding the children.  34 children constantly needing attention, it’s hard work.

We met Deborah in Sydney where we attended a fundraiser that she had organised to raise money for the new refuge.  

 

Alan is in Australia at the moment visiting his seriously ill mother in hospital.  Alan and I have been so blessed as we both still have our parents, all in their 80’s.  They are wonderful people who have been a fine example of what love is; for us, our children and grandchildren.

  

Sept.

The children have all started back at school now so the routine here has changed again. They do not all go to school at the same time, some start at 6.40am, the next group starts at 7.30am, then another group at 8am, then 8.30am, another at 1.40pm, then 2pm.  But, collecting the kids starts at 1pm and continues right up until 8pm!  There are also swimming classes to attend.  So, there is a lot of organization required.  This also means that homework needs to be scheduled according to the school timetable.  There are always children doing homework and needing assistance with their revision.

 

With Alan away, running the children to all the various schools and dealing with so many other projects was too much, so we managed to get our eldest boy Moacir, 18 yrs, his licence and after a short time driving with me he is managing to do all the necessary runs to and from school.  What an amazing young man he is, so capable and so very responsible.

 

We have recently found out that it is now law that all children must do 3 years of kindergarten. This means that the youngest children here, Sammy, Ali and Alex, who are 3, 4 and 5 respectively, now attend school as well.

The school we have enrolled them in is a good school with a very high educational standard where they also teach English. Five of the older children are also enrolled there. These children are on scholarships and now we have Ali there on a scholarship as well.  We have secured sponsorship for Alex and Sammy so that all three preschoolers are together.  Thank you to those people who have generously taken on this responsibility. We hope to be able to continue these sponsorships throughout the children’s schooling.

 

We are also so very grateful for the generous support of six of our older children in an open learning school.  These young adults now have a chance to advance at a much faster rate to get to their correct level for their age.  Many of the children that we receive have not had the opportunity to attend school and when they arrive they are usually years behind others of the same age.  Moacir is an exception as he is in this school because of his nationality.  The others, Jose, Daniel Hans, Cecilia, Narcisa and Leonardo are enjoying the new style of learning and advancing very quickly. Muchas Gracias.

Providing an education for the children is of utmost importance to us.  Dreaming for the children is a daily event as we are here to provide these kids with a chance at building a successful life for themselves. An education fund has been established to ensure we have the means to support the children during their continuing years of schooling i.e. providing uniforms, school books and school shoes.  More information will be available on our website soon about this fund and how to help.

 

The building process for the new refuge is continuing and it is so good to see the changes.  Paul Callegari, (from Noosa), has worked extremely hard, cleaning, removing trees, digging trenches (often having to break through cement first!), knocking walls down and doing the plumbing.  Everything here is done by hand and the process to get things done takes a long time.  It has been hard, backbreaking work and the heat is enough to knock anybody. 

During the holidays, Paul had the help of a few of the older boys who enjoyed getting out of the house and earning some pocket money.  Now Bruno, who is 16, is enjoying the companionship of working alongside Paul in the mornings before school, learning all the ‘ins and outs’ of the building trade. 

For Paul, it must be frustrating work being in a foreign country dealing with the slow process of everything, but, he is achieving amazing results regardless.

 

One of our children, Uri, whom we spoke about in the last newsletter, recently celebrated his 12th birthday.  Marion, Paul’s wife, made a birthday cake for him and we gave him a gift; spiderman pyjamas and a spiderman cap.  He was so thrilled with his gift, it wasn’t much but he was thrilled. 

When Marion and Paul invited him to a restaurant for lunch, he couldn’t hide his excitement.  He quickly showered and put on clean clothes.  When he appeared ready to go, he was dressed in school pants with his new pyjama shirt and cap!              

This was the first present he had ever had, his first cake, the first birthday he had ever celebrated.  He gave us the biggest hugs and repeatedly said, ‘Thank you’. 

 

Volunteer assistance is required over Dec & Jan.  If anyone out there is thinking of coming over/down to Mexico to help then we invite you to read the web page, volunteer section  http://www.lovelifehope.com/pages/volunteer.htm and to get in touch.

 

We now have sixteen children in swimming training.  The Club Aquarius of Tapachula is giving all sixteen free sessions.  How amazing is that!!  This is a wonderful gift that will benefit these kids forever.

We also have a dentist who is treating many of our children free of charge.  Mary Ellen has also been helping in the area of trying to get donations of materials for the new refuge.  In the last couple of days, two more dentists have offered their help and next week Lupita who is approx. 11 yrs, will be having braces fitted.

Medilab continues to support us with free analyses when necessary.  Recently we had an incident where one of our little ones threw a tantrum and bit a volunteer.  Obviously the volunteer was very concerned as to the health of the child but according to his analysis he is clear of any serious diseases, a relief for the volunteer.

 

We have a new girl, who is 13 yrs.  She is a beautiful girl with a lovely quiet nature.  Both her parents have died of HIV.  After the death of her mother she went to live with relatives who exploited her by making her go out and beg for money.  All the money she got went to the relatives and she received nothing, other than the basic food.

Recently we went to the relatives’ house to collect her few belongings and the hostility was so intense that I actually felt scared and when we got back into the car the young girl broke down and started sobbing.

These poor kids suffer so much and carry such huge burdens.  Please keep this girl and all the others in our care in your prayers. 

 

Love from us all at Mision Mexico,

God Bless,

 

Pam and Alan Skuse