The Children

 

All the new volunteers got their hogar assignments at the end of last week so this is the first week that we have spent consistent time with the same children. For a refresher, a hogar is a home here on the Ranch that houses about 10 – 12 children with caretakers called “Tias” or “Tios”. So they are mini-families. The Ranch has hogars for the younger kids – under 12 – with boys and girls mixed. These are the Casa Suyapa hogars and the hogars have individual names like San Mateo and Divinos Ninos. There are also hogars for the girls over twelve (Casa Tulitakumi) and boys over 12 (Casa Buen Pastor). Plus there are hogars for handicapped children of which there are many here. Allen and I were both assigned hogars in Casa Suyapa: Mine is San Mateo, and Allen’s is Divinos Ninos.  Since families are kept together, especially at the younger age, we both have sets of brothers and sisters so it is kind of like getting whole new sets of grandchildren 😉

The children are here because there was no one to take care of them. Some were orphaned, some have parents that abandoned them either due to drugs, alcohol, or just desperate circumstance. In some cases, the children were under the care of another relative who died, got sick, or otherwise could no longer care for them. The ranch provides a place where they can be safe, housed, fed, educated, but most of all loved. This is a large community where the children belong to a family that cares for them and I am happy to be a part of it. The more I find out about it, the more I am glad to be here.

This first week with my hogar set the routine. I join it from 6pm – 8pm on weekdays and spend most of the day every other Saturday. On weekdays we have dinner together and I mostly just hang out with them afterwards trying out my Spanish. I have a notebook that they can draw in and a deck of cards. They like pictures on the cell phone, but the phone is also a source of conflict so is discouraged.  The kids usually have homework and always have chores so a lot of the time I am with one or two while the rest are putting on their pajamas, brushing their teeth, or even doing their laundry or washing their shoes. The youngest in my hogar is 5 and he can do his own laundry by hand! Allen has several 3-5 year olds, in addition to the older children, who also wash their clothes, sweep and mop the floor. The little ones remind Allen of the keystone cops who get into each other’s way as they are cleaning.

                                           One of the Young Ones Cleaning His Shoes

Yesterday I spent most of the day with the hogar and we cleaned everything from top to bottom in the morning. I followed an 8 year old around and she taught me how to clean the courtyard/laundry room where everything is washed, from dishes to laundry. I thought an escoba (broom) was used to sweep, but it is also used to spread soapy water around like a mop and afterwards to spread clean water around. All of the children had assigned roles and the hogar was clean inside and out by lunchtime. The Tia told me that this is what they do every Saturday morning. We had some time to play on the playground nearby before lunch. I joined them for Mass in the afternoon at 5, for dinner afterwards, and then Zumba in the evening.  

                                        Zumba Using the Small Screen

                                            Kids, Caretakers, Volunteers all doing Zumba.

There are a lot of precautions here about posting information or photos of the kids, so in this blog there will be no real names or specific of the children and also you will see a lot of pictures of the back of the kids’ heads. If you want to see their beautiful faces, you should come and visit!