Last Friday, Don George, one of our sponsors from the Netherlands, celebrated his 80th birthday. On Friday morning we entered the primary school Nueva Esperanza with two freshly baked cakes and several big bottles of Fanta. About a hundred kids were waiting for us at the school gates, each of them with the same twinkling eyes and a big smile on their faces.
While the rest of the team was setting things up, Donald - our volunteer coordinator - tried to entertain the kids. Pauline got them all shouting 'Feliz Cumpleaños' at the camera, after which they all got a slice of cake and a large drink. A true feast for these kids, because they are used to a different reality. Once a day they get a meal at school: rice and beans, and sometimes a banana. Most of these kids do not get any food at home, but today they have a reason to celebrate!
To thank Don George for this wonderful surprise, we send him this short movie below. In just a couple of images you get an idea of what life is like in San Ignacio. People living in situations of extreme poverty, kids starting to work at a very young age, many of them will be leaving school soon to start caring for their family, but just for a little while they got to enjoy something very beautiful, something we have become completely unaware of - for a little while they got to experience the joy of being a child.
