They
grow a lot of produce and are raising pigs and chickens for slaughter
but at times food is scarce and most meals consist of beans, rice and
tortillas. Several volunteers from around the world spend time helping
at CG and are essential because they don’t have money to pay employees.
It was very touching to watch Manza interact with many of the children
as she passed them. They were drawn to her for love and attention and
she shared she gets back much more than she gives. She shared about a
village family who recently had twins and could not keep both so the
wife waited until the husband came home from the field and let him
decide which one they placed in the orphanage. Many of the children
were formerly living on the streets and all appeared to be very happy
and content with very few material possessions. In addition to the 150
residents about 140 village children come each day to attend school at
CG. Teachers live at the orphanage during the week and instruct all of
these students in sparse classrooms. As a retired teacher, it is hard
to imagine instructing without books, supplies, maps, videos, computers
etc. but they are doing the best they can with what they have. We never
once saw one child misbehave or cry. They laughed, played and completed
their assigned tasks. As we watched some of the orphans sort through
the garbage dump, they did it with smiles and enthusiasm. Their eyes
sparkled when you greeted them and it was easy to fall in love with all
of them. It was sad to learn that the older children will probably
never be adopted. We met Angie who has volunteered as director of the
orphanage for the last 25 years. Her energy, courage, dedication and
beautiful spirit deeply impressed all of us. She knows all of the
children by name and would do anything to help them. She is also
currently coordinating a project with a group of Drs. from Chicago who
are coming on March 1st to perform surgery on as many as 60 children
from the surrounding areas with cleft palettes. Even though the Drs.
are generously donating their time and supplies, there are still many
additional costs for medication, transporting the parent and child to
the hospital etc for each surgery which add up to about $300 per child.
There is huge need to have a full time Dr. at the orphanage instead of
relying on medical volunteers from other countries who inconsistently
provide services. For a mere $400 a month, they could pay a
Guatemalan Dr. who could care for the orphans and the hundreds of
residents in surrounding villages but, financial resources are very
limited. One of the Sharing the Dream scholars named Diego who is a
bright and shining star wants to be a Dr. and we learned that the cost
of medical school would be about $2,000 a year for 7 years. It would be
wonderful if he could live his dream! Our lives have been intensely
touched by what we have experienced in just 3 days; it is hard to
imagine that we have six days left on our relationship building trip
around Guatemala. We all agree we feel very blessed to be part of this
incredible experience!
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