Dia De Padrinos (Godparents’ Day)

 

Following on the heels of the Olimpiadas was another celebration close to the heart of me and my coworkers: Padrinos Day!  Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day are well known in most countries and, as I found out last September, there is also a Children’s Day celebrated in many parts of the world. I had not previously heard of Padrinos Day and suspect that it is an NPH construct to honor the sponsors that play a very special and crucial role in this organization. Since sponsors are not actually able to come to the celebration, it is up to the children to celebrate in their place 😊

One of 8 Piñatas



Dixiana and Cintia, my bosses, have been busy for several weeks planning games, shopping, and coordinating the day. I helped with the shopping on Wednesday when we went to PriceSmart (Costco for Central America) and bought disposable dishware and snacks for 300. On Thursday the volunteers put together 300 snack bags and organized them into groups for distribution. On Friday our department, which includes several others in addition to us 3 in the Padrinos Office, began after lunch to transport all the items to the school (about a mile from our office) and set up. We decorated the stage and set up areas for the games.

One of 300 Snack Bags


Transporting Padrinos Day Snacks, Games, Decorations, and People to the School

On Saturday morning at 8AM we met for last-minute preparations for the 9AM start which included inflating two swimming pools that would be filled with balls for the youngest and disabled children to play in. This turned out to be a major project with Allen and I walking back to the maintenance building with the deflated pools over our shoulders to use their compressor, then Allen trying to get the compressor working while looking for missing parts and tools. We also found a big hole in the smaller pool that required repair using scotch tape and first aid tape. We were anticipating having to carry the inflated pools back, but fortunately one of Allen’s maintenance coworkers was able to round up transportation for us. We made it by 9:30 which was early enough to catch the start which had been delayed for other reasons.

Allen Inflating One of the Pools
Last Minute Transportation Rounded Up for the Inflated Pools


The plan for the day was as follows:

  • 1.     Bienvenida (Welcome) (9:00am)
  • 2.     Oración (Prayer) (9:10-9:15am)
  • 3.     Foto grupal (Group photo) (9:20-9:30)
  • 4.     Palabras alusivas al acto (Sponsors’ testimonials) (9:30-9:40am)
  • 5.     Merienda (Snack) (9:40- 9:55am)
  • 6.     Indicaciones generales de los juegos (Explain the games) (9:55-10:10am)
  • 7.     Juegos (Games) (10:20am-12:40pm)
  • 8.     Repartir loza (Hand out disposable dishware) (12:40-1:00pm)
  • 9.     Almuerzo y postre: Ice cream (Lunch and ice cream) (1:00-2:00pm)
  • 10.  Piñatas (2:00-2:30pm)
  • 11.  Palabras de despedida (Goodbye speech) (2:40-2:50pm)

The day worked out well. I really liked the games which were relatively simple and did not require much equipment yet gave all the kids a good laugh and a good workout. Like the Olimpiadas, the kids were divided into teams and competed for prizes.

Sack Race with 2 Sacks Tied Together
A Couple of the Games


By the time lunch came around everyone, including the kids, were tired. The mashed potatoes and fried chicken lunch was pretty filling and it was decided to postpone the ice cream and piñatas in favor of going back to the Hogars early and getting ready for the normal Saturday night mass which is held at 5:30.

On a sad note, Cintia´s grandfather passed away unexpectedly Thursday night and she was not able to participate in Dia del Padrino this year. We all missed her, especially Dixi who relies on her very able assistant to help keep things organized and to co-lead.  Our hearts went out to Cintia and her family.

If you read my last blog, you are probably wondering about the results of the Olimpiadas. Or maybe not, but I will tell you anyway. The winners were announced at Wednesday morning mass; the first Wednesday of the month there is a mass held for everyone on the ranch at 7:30 AM which is when the employee bus arrives. They announced the first 6 places in two categories: presentation (Friday night), and games (Saturday morning).  My team (go Manatees!) came in 6th in presentation and 2nd in games while Allen´s team (Go Jaguars!) came in 5th in presentation and 3rd in games. The first three places win a prize, so Allen and I are both “ganadores” (winners)! My team gets movie and popcorn in Tegucigalpa while Allen’s group gets pizza on the ranch.

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