Friday, January 26, 2018

Visit January 2018




Fr. Juan and Sr. Susan’s visit Jan. 23 and 24

Sabah decided to have the children’s clothing which we had purchased for them from given in the four pre-schools when we visited. The money not used for food in January was used for these outfits. The children had semester break and so this money was left. Each child received matching shirt and pants or “training” as it is called here. We witnessed firsthand their joy at receiving these outfits.

Each day we visited two schools. We also saw the meals that they were being served and the letters and numbers that they were learning. In November Sabah gave us a list of the needs which each school presented to her. We saw that they were valid needs some children were without a chair, two children shared one little chair, some classrooms did not have enough tables. Others needed rugs for the corners where they played on the floor. None of the schools had electricity at the time we were there. Some classes were very dark. At the Missionaries of Charity, we discovered mats that can be washed easier than rugs so we will try using these mats letting one classroom try them. They are soft, washable and come in pieces.

One school has over 100 children in three classes and many other children are turned away. The children have no space. In this very poor rural area there is no other pre-school. Our dream is to find the financial resources about $15,000 to build a second floor to add classrooms. Hanan the director is a very capable administrator.



We visited three very poor families each of which had one to three mentally disabled children or young adults. Two of these families were living in a room or two without windows, doors, bathrooms and kitchens. You can see the pictures off their homes which tell the story. We had given each two blankets, yet they need much more.