Charlie and Jordie January 22, 2015
As many of you know, Bruce and I volunteered at Safe Passage for 2 months in the fall of 2011. Safe Passage is an after-school project that serves the children and families who live in the extremely impoverished area of the Guatemala City dump. It was begun by Hanley Denning, a young woman from Maine, who wanted to help these young children stay out of the dangerous and toxic dump where many of their mothers make a living by picking through the trash. From its very humble beginnings on the edge of the dump, the program has grown in the last 15 years to serve nearly 550 children, preschool through high school. Since local schools last for only a half day, Safe Passage provides after school services, such as enrichment classes, help with homework, mentoring, English classes, nutritious meals, social worker services, etc., as well as funding to buy the uniforms and school supplies needed to attend school. In the last 3 years, Safe Passage has initiated their own school where instruction can be delivered in a progressive manner. At this point, grades K-3 are offered, with a new grade being added each year.
Last year, our church, First Parish UCC of Gorham, decided to sponsor a child at Safe Passage by contributing to the support of his schooling. At the same time, Bruce and I decided to sponsor a child ourselves. First Parish's child is Jordie, age 10, and our child is Charley, age 8. Well, last Thursday we got to meet these two boys! At noon, Safe Passage staffer, Sabrina, a Guatalmateca, drove us from the Antigua office to Guatemala City, a distance of about 25 miles. We were relieved to have her with us for the whole afternoon, as she is bilingual, well acquainted with the boys, and familiar with Guatemala City. It was a bit nostalgic to drive over the familiar highway that I had traveled every day on the big yellow SP school bus three years ago. Traffic moved along quickly on the modern divided highway, descending down, down into the valley of 2 million people. All manner of commercial and non-commercial establishments lined the highway - car washes, gas stations, Christian Academies, fast food joints, new car showrooms, gated condo projects, and small, rusty, tin-sided structures with smoke leaking out of the eaves. As we neared the school, the streets became narrow and shabby, crowded with kids in neat uniforms returning home from school, vendors selling produce, dogs sniffing for tidbits of food, people buying groceries from small tiendas or just hanging out with friends. At the door to Safe Passage, mothers clustered around the entrance, waiting for their children to emerge. Guards flanked the doorway. Their uniforms lent an air of security.
Upstairs, outside of his classroom, Charley was waiting for us. He is a friendly, warm, easy-going kid whose face lit up as he saw us. Since he is in third grade, he attends school all day at Safe Passage. Jordie, being a bit older, had spent the morning at another school, but soon arrived to join us. He is very slight and more reserved but just as warm. His mother had come along with him, and she greeted us with a kiss on the cheek, as is the custom. Since Charley is in the same grade as the kids that I worked with in kindergarten at Safe Passage when I was here 3 years ago, I recognized some of the other kids. It was so satisfying to see them having grown and looking well and more mature - and to know that they are still involved in the program.
The boys were given a choice of where we would eat lunch. Sabrina had alerted us to the fact that, like kids most everywhere, it would be either McDonald's or Pollo Campero, Guate's answer to Colonel Sanders. Jordie let Charlie decide. Mickey D's it was!
Bruce, Charley, Jordie, & Sabrina order at McDonald's
Lunch out with the boys!
Lunch and the car ride gave us a chance to chat with the boys and learn a little more about them. Both boys are learning musical instruments, which are available at Safe Passage. Jordie is learning to play the guitar and the piano, while Charley is learning the drums, fitting choices for their personalities, it seemed. When Bruce shared his fiddle playing experience and then the boys asked me what I play, I began to feel like a slacker! I was forced to reveal my sad little attempt to play the penny whistle, loosely translated as "flauta", a much more elegant-sounding instrument.
We also learned that both boys enjoy "futbol" (American soccer) and have their favorite teams - Argentina and Barcelona. Bruce and I had been in Spain last year during some of the big matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid and could understand the futbol passion, which makes America's devotion to football pale by comparison!
Neither boy could finish their big Big Mac's and so wrapped them up for later. We presented the boys with small gifts. Charley donned his New England Patriots cap right away. Next stop was the Aurora Zoo, which is located near the airport. I had seen it as we passed by, just after our arrival the previous week. I'm not a big fan of zoos, usually, as I find it quite sad to see animals confined in small spaces. This one was surprisingly nice. Our first encounter was with the giraffes, which were amazingly tall and elegant. From a high viewing platform, we were nearly face to face as one of them walked right over to us. I had never been this close to the grand creatures. Bruce and I were as excited as the boys!
Other animals included a lion and a tiger, each in their own grassy enclave at a distance from us. The llama and goats, by contrast, came right up to a fence where we could have touched them. Bruce reminded us that llamas spit, which kept us moving along.
Exotic, fierce-looking porcupines munched on cabbages, with their needles raising our own hackles.
The penguins were a big hit and were so lively, swimming in a glass-sided aquarium, that they made us all happy.
It was after 4pm by the time that we headed back to Safe Passage. We were all a bit tired and it was a quiet ride. The mom's were waiting for us at the school. Charley's younger sister and brother were all excited smiles and big eyes. We went into the foyer to make introductions and to take a couple of group photos - and then to say our thank you's and our good-byes. Jordie gave Bruce a big hug and asked when he would return. Luckily we could say at the end of February. Jordie's mom told us the story of Jordie having received a bunch of cards from the Sunday School kids at First Parish and being so touched that he had wept and said that now he knew he was loved by lots of people far away. We left with lumps in our throats.
It felt like a very successful trip, thanks to both the superb organization and kindness of the Safe Passage staff but also to the nice kids and families that have been assigned to us.
Last year, our church, First Parish UCC of Gorham, decided to sponsor a child at Safe Passage by contributing to the support of his schooling. At the same time, Bruce and I decided to sponsor a child ourselves. First Parish's child is Jordie, age 10, and our child is Charley, age 8. Well, last Thursday we got to meet these two boys! At noon, Safe Passage staffer, Sabrina, a Guatalmateca, drove us from the Antigua office to Guatemala City, a distance of about 25 miles. We were relieved to have her with us for the whole afternoon, as she is bilingual, well acquainted with the boys, and familiar with Guatemala City. It was a bit nostalgic to drive over the familiar highway that I had traveled every day on the big yellow SP school bus three years ago. Traffic moved along quickly on the modern divided highway, descending down, down into the valley of 2 million people. All manner of commercial and non-commercial establishments lined the highway - car washes, gas stations, Christian Academies, fast food joints, new car showrooms, gated condo projects, and small, rusty, tin-sided structures with smoke leaking out of the eaves. As we neared the school, the streets became narrow and shabby, crowded with kids in neat uniforms returning home from school, vendors selling produce, dogs sniffing for tidbits of food, people buying groceries from small tiendas or just hanging out with friends. At the door to Safe Passage, mothers clustered around the entrance, waiting for their children to emerge. Guards flanked the doorway. Their uniforms lent an air of security.
Upstairs, outside of his classroom, Charley was waiting for us. He is a friendly, warm, easy-going kid whose face lit up as he saw us. Since he is in third grade, he attends school all day at Safe Passage. Jordie, being a bit older, had spent the morning at another school, but soon arrived to join us. He is very slight and more reserved but just as warm. His mother had come along with him, and she greeted us with a kiss on the cheek, as is the custom. Since Charley is in the same grade as the kids that I worked with in kindergarten at Safe Passage when I was here 3 years ago, I recognized some of the other kids. It was so satisfying to see them having grown and looking well and more mature - and to know that they are still involved in the program.
The boys were given a choice of where we would eat lunch. Sabrina had alerted us to the fact that, like kids most everywhere, it would be either McDonald's or Pollo Campero, Guate's answer to Colonel Sanders. Jordie let Charlie decide. Mickey D's it was!
Lunch and the car ride gave us a chance to chat with the boys and learn a little more about them. Both boys are learning musical instruments, which are available at Safe Passage. Jordie is learning to play the guitar and the piano, while Charley is learning the drums, fitting choices for their personalities, it seemed. When Bruce shared his fiddle playing experience and then the boys asked me what I play, I began to feel like a slacker! I was forced to reveal my sad little attempt to play the penny whistle, loosely translated as "flauta", a much more elegant-sounding instrument.
We also learned that both boys enjoy "futbol" (American soccer) and have their favorite teams - Argentina and Barcelona. Bruce and I had been in Spain last year during some of the big matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid and could understand the futbol passion, which makes America's devotion to football pale by comparison!
Neither boy could finish their big Big Mac's and so wrapped them up for later. We presented the boys with small gifts. Charley donned his New England Patriots cap right away. Next stop was the Aurora Zoo, which is located near the airport. I had seen it as we passed by, just after our arrival the previous week. I'm not a big fan of zoos, usually, as I find it quite sad to see animals confined in small spaces. This one was surprisingly nice. Our first encounter was with the giraffes, which were amazingly tall and elegant. From a high viewing platform, we were nearly face to face as one of them walked right over to us. I had never been this close to the grand creatures. Bruce and I were as excited as the boys!
Other animals included a lion and a tiger, each in their own grassy enclave at a distance from us. The llama and goats, by contrast, came right up to a fence where we could have touched them. Bruce reminded us that llamas spit, which kept us moving along.
The penguins were a big hit and were so lively, swimming in a glass-sided aquarium, that they made us all happy.
It was after 4pm by the time that we headed back to Safe Passage. We were all a bit tired and it was a quiet ride. The mom's were waiting for us at the school. Charley's younger sister and brother were all excited smiles and big eyes. We went into the foyer to make introductions and to take a couple of group photos - and then to say our thank you's and our good-byes. Jordie gave Bruce a big hug and asked when he would return. Luckily we could say at the end of February. Jordie's mom told us the story of Jordie having received a bunch of cards from the Sunday School kids at First Parish and being so touched that he had wept and said that now he knew he was loved by lots of people far away. We left with lumps in our throats.
It felt like a very successful trip, thanks to both the superb organization and kindness of the Safe Passage staff but also to the nice kids and families that have been assigned to us.
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