Monday morning, 8.30 'o clock. Walking to Don Bosco (almost half an hour). I start working at 9.00 'o clock so I'm right on time.. I have no idea what will I'll be awaiting. At nine 'o clock I walked in the door and there was hardly anybody. Later some children arrived and I presented myself and they accepted me helping them with their homework. Joceleyn this lovely 8-year old girl seemed particulary fond of me and we got along real fine. Later at 12.00 we all went down to the kitchen (gaarkeuken). And this was from a complete different order....Al the children that work as bootblackers (schoenpoetsers) and other workers came to get food. I worked in the kitchen from 12.00 till 14.30 and at least 80 children came to get food. Heavy language, already adults with faces of a child, hard but beautiful features, hunger, pain but laughter too. Later after everybody had eaten, at 14.30 the children that came from school in the morning stay untill 17.30 hours in this project to do their homework. This is more or less the procedure : At 14.30 one of the nons comes down (not from heaven but,) from her office and we all have to pray and sing songs about Maria and Jesus. This is all quite new to me, but hé I know songs about Maria now in Spanish. It is rather funny at times, I can see myself singing these songs and it seems quite natural, like I've been doing this a lifetime already... Anyway, after this we (the volunteers) help with the homework of all of the children (about 55). This is quite a hard job, because there is no disciplin whatsoever, the children are shouting all the time, they don't really want to make their schoolwork. They hit each other, they pull the hair of the one setting next to them. They throw everything on the floor without picking it up, they fight and they fight hard. They steal each others things etc. I doesn't really bother me, I didn't expect real disciplined children, as I knew they are abused, hit, screamed at by alcoholic parents and by, god knows who....It's not an easy job but I like it. At the same time they are very sweet and very small also, to me and to each other. All kinds of behaviour will be shown. They hug and kiss me in the same time as they spit on somebody else. And it's all very natural. I was not apauled nor angry, nor suprised. Sometimes I have to shout or to get really angry as well, because there is just no other way. I know that nothing will change by helping, but that's never a reason not to help. I hope it doesn´t sound to hard, but the lives here won't change just because you decided to be this mother Teresa. Their ways are too different, they don't really wont or really need the help either in this way. Still, we have to, because we have everything and they don't. I doesn't affect me either that it is the way it is and that makes me able to help better than if I would feel sorry all the time or if I would feel proud. I don't. I'm there, I do what I can and that's all their is, nothing more, nothing less and that's just good enough. For now....I have been doing this for a week now and I'm quite tired but satisfied in the same time. I deserve a weekend out of Ambato. Going to Baños.....Tell you all about this later on. Comments on working with the children are very welcom !! If anybody has any other ideas, pleas |
Friday, February 03, 2006
Don Bosco
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3 comments:
No comment yet, shows how very little we dare to say, or better to speak for myself and say I dare not. I remember to have read about a raindrop falling in the ocean, the ocean isn't the same since, the raindrop being a raindrop goes it's natural way, so does everything in nature, aren't we part of it?
Not having written any comment on this beautiful story told by Miriam doen't mean I (or maybe somebody else) doens't dare, I as well think Miriam wrote very beautiful, very touching, just the way it is. A suitable comment to write on her experiences is almost impossible, just as anonymous susjested. And indeed a raindrop fallen in the ocean makes a big difference, just like the drop that falls into a very hot and dry dessert, eventhough fallen in a dessert it seems needed even more, but things can always look different than they are.
We are all part of it indeed.
Love, Margot.
P.S. I wrote the comment just to show how much I also apreciated the stories you write about Miriam, just as anonymous does
:-), and no doubt ALL of us here who are reading this wonderful weblog.
I will never forget the story about the raindrop, it is glued into my mind forever! Thank you for writing it, I just made an extra addit. to it, hope that was okay.
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