We flew or drove all day Friday and arrived at our property in Guatemala around 4 pm. Gosh it looked good. The big house was all set to receive children as soon as the certification comes from the CNA. All of the nice sheets and blankets that some of you have donated were on the beds and the beds were set up and the cabinets were in place and the donations all organized. This is all of your work and it looked wonderful. The new kitchen/dining /bodega is built and the children from the the tutorial were their waiting for us. They had made lots of cute welcome signs and sang several songs to us. They were sitting at tables and benches that some of you had made.I am trying to learn their names. There is one little chunky boy named Adolfo who is so cute and you can tell he is the trouble maker because the teacher kept saying his name every time he got near me.
The hand dug road is amazing and almost finished. I will tell more about it in another blog. I can't write long as I have limited use of this computer. But suffice it to say, I am so busy and it is so worthwhile. Pedro has accomplished much and we are accompishing more.I will write an email of each day and what is happening. Friday ended early and we went to our rental place and went to bed a 8 Guate time. I did get my cell phone and call home. All my kids were great thanks to the wonderful care they are receiving from the adult sisters.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com
Casa de Sion is a charitable program based in Guatemala, and is part of Safe Homes For Children, a 501(c)(3) non-profit org. We help improve the lives of Guatemala’s least fortunate children with nutritional, educational and medical initiatives. You can help us make an impact in these poor Mayan communities through your donations and volunteerism.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Miracles are already happening
We are on our week long trip to visit our projects and meet with people in Guatemala. It was hard to get off. Wed. we came home to absolutely no water. That is a major thing in a household where eight children and two adults live. I also knew my daughter Erin would not come babysit with her husband and kids if there was no water. So after my husband decided he had no idea what was going on, we called a specialist. He came that night, diagnosed the problem and came the next morning and with my husband and a helper pulled a 300 pound pump from a 300 ft. well that is 8 inches in diameter. New pump, new wiring and much money and we had water. The next night my son's wife had an emergency hospital stay and I had a one month old and a toddler for the day and night. But things smoothed out and we are on our way.
The first miracle is we found out we will be meeting on Sat. with a man who brings in medical and dental and nutrtion teams into Guatemala. He wants to start working with our facility. Then the wonderful couple from Mercy Ships will be with us starting on Weds. I asked Sylvia, a labor and delivery room nurse for 30 years, about doing a mini clinic for the pregnant and lactating and non-lactating women in our community and she graciously agreed. This so exciting for me. She is going to round up supplies for the midwives also. One of my other dream jobs, which will not be pursued in this life, was to be a labor and delivery room nurse or a midwife so just being an attendant at the clinic will be thrilling for me.
I will try and do reports each day and when I get home post pictures.
Thanks to all who are helping make this possible.
Vicki Dalia
http://www.safehomesforchildren.org
20.vicki@gmail.com
The first miracle is we found out we will be meeting on Sat. with a man who brings in medical and dental and nutrtion teams into Guatemala. He wants to start working with our facility. Then the wonderful couple from Mercy Ships will be with us starting on Weds. I asked Sylvia, a labor and delivery room nurse for 30 years, about doing a mini clinic for the pregnant and lactating and non-lactating women in our community and she graciously agreed. This so exciting for me. She is going to round up supplies for the midwives also. One of my other dream jobs, which will not be pursued in this life, was to be a labor and delivery room nurse or a midwife so just being an attendant at the clinic will be thrilling for me.
I will try and do reports each day and when I get home post pictures.
Thanks to all who are helping make this possible.
Vicki Dalia
http://www.safehomesforchildren.org
20.vicki@gmail.com
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Pictures
This is Claudia. She is 14 and in the 6th grade. She has 2 brothers 15 and 7 and 2 sisters 10 and 5. She probably will not get to go to school next year unless she has a sponsor because she will be in the middle school and it is too expensive.
The girl in the blog above is Joselin and also in 6th grade. She also will not go next year without a sponsor. She has one sister and 3 brothers.
Anyone want to sponsor them. probably about $600. for the year will include school supplies and black shoes and transportation.
We are moving forward
If you need to reach me or want to be added to the email group, write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com
Some pretty exciting things are happening. When my husband and I are in Guatemala in a couple of weeks, we are meeting with several groups/families and individuals.
here is a list of most of them:
1] Mercy Ships is meeting with us to discuss how they can help to get construction, dental, and medical teams to us thru 2010. They have very succesfully helped an orphanage and clinic and community programs in Honduras and we hope they will help us.
2] Pan en la Boca is meeting with us to see what we have accomplished since they sent a group of 30 people down in the summer of 2008. They were a tremendous help at that time and we hope they will want to help in the future.
3] An photojournalist for the US Airforce is coming to do a photojounal of what we are doing with our projects and the orphanage. This will be used for fundraising presentations.
4]We have a new full time volunteer for the next month who has many computer skills and also teaches karate. We hope to have him do files on all the families we are helping. Also he will teach karate at our afterschool program.
5] I have appts. with several individuals who live in Guatemala and are helping the poor. I will brainstorm with them on ideas that have been most effective.
6]Hope For Home visited us on Thurs. to look over our property and projects as a possible location for their home for disabled children. They have also promised to help send construction and doctor and dental teams.
7] My husband and I will meet with Anselmo's family whose son Alex is being sponsored by one of our families for a a middle school scholarship. We have been contacted by Anselmo, who has asked for work as he has no way of buying food for his 7 children. We will give the family a hugh food basket as well as some of the clothes and shoes that have been donated. We will also meet with the family of Anna, Diego and Abram, our beloved children from the orphanage. They will be given a hugh food basket as well as donated clothes and shoes. We hope to have them back with us soon.
8] One of the members of our email family has arranged for Luis to possibly come to the states as an exchange student. I will meet with Luis and his mom to see if she will give permission. They will also be given food and clothes.
9] I will hold a meeting with the women again and assess their needs. They now have an official name. It is the Relief Society. I hope to help them to help give relief to their neighbors in need. Our cook will provide food as it is probably the only treat they have had since the last time we met the end of June.
10] We will also have a big community party with lots of food and dedicate the house and dining room/ kitchen. I am sure this does not happen often.
11] Heart 4 children is collecting $30.00 times 56 to give a food basket to every family in our Los Robles community. They will give them out at a Christmas Party in Dec.
We have three groups doing fundraisers between now and Christmas. This is a great time of the year to get folks to do charitable donations.
1] Pan en la Boca is doing a dinner presentation in CA. My daughter Erin, who started the first feeding program back in March, will do the presentation.
2] Another group is putting a dinner presentation together in the Washington, DC area
3] I am initiating our "Pennies para Pan" program at A.B.Combs school. This school has been the leader and the example for Steven Covey's book " The Leader in Me " . This school has embraced the Seven Habits that Mr. Covey is so famous for. They have had wonderful success and been named the top US Elementary school. Part of the program involves them doing charitable work that all the students participate in. The school was named for my grandfather so I am very proud of it. Their 800 plus students will help us collect pennies for our feeding programs. If you want more info on the " Pennies para Pan " program to have schools you know do it, just write me.
that's all for now folks
Vicki
http://www.safehomesforchildren.org
Some pretty exciting things are happening. When my husband and I are in Guatemala in a couple of weeks, we are meeting with several groups/families and individuals.
here is a list of most of them:
1] Mercy Ships is meeting with us to discuss how they can help to get construction, dental, and medical teams to us thru 2010. They have very succesfully helped an orphanage and clinic and community programs in Honduras and we hope they will help us.
2] Pan en la Boca is meeting with us to see what we have accomplished since they sent a group of 30 people down in the summer of 2008. They were a tremendous help at that time and we hope they will want to help in the future.
3] An photojournalist for the US Airforce is coming to do a photojounal of what we are doing with our projects and the orphanage. This will be used for fundraising presentations.
4]We have a new full time volunteer for the next month who has many computer skills and also teaches karate. We hope to have him do files on all the families we are helping. Also he will teach karate at our afterschool program.
5] I have appts. with several individuals who live in Guatemala and are helping the poor. I will brainstorm with them on ideas that have been most effective.
6]Hope For Home visited us on Thurs. to look over our property and projects as a possible location for their home for disabled children. They have also promised to help send construction and doctor and dental teams.
7] My husband and I will meet with Anselmo's family whose son Alex is being sponsored by one of our families for a a middle school scholarship. We have been contacted by Anselmo, who has asked for work as he has no way of buying food for his 7 children. We will give the family a hugh food basket as well as some of the clothes and shoes that have been donated. We will also meet with the family of Anna, Diego and Abram, our beloved children from the orphanage. They will be given a hugh food basket as well as donated clothes and shoes. We hope to have them back with us soon.
8] One of the members of our email family has arranged for Luis to possibly come to the states as an exchange student. I will meet with Luis and his mom to see if she will give permission. They will also be given food and clothes.
9] I will hold a meeting with the women again and assess their needs. They now have an official name. It is the Relief Society. I hope to help them to help give relief to their neighbors in need. Our cook will provide food as it is probably the only treat they have had since the last time we met the end of June.
10] We will also have a big community party with lots of food and dedicate the house and dining room/ kitchen. I am sure this does not happen often.
11] Heart 4 children is collecting $30.00 times 56 to give a food basket to every family in our Los Robles community. They will give them out at a Christmas Party in Dec.
We have three groups doing fundraisers between now and Christmas. This is a great time of the year to get folks to do charitable donations.
1] Pan en la Boca is doing a dinner presentation in CA. My daughter Erin, who started the first feeding program back in March, will do the presentation.
2] Another group is putting a dinner presentation together in the Washington, DC area
3] I am initiating our "Pennies para Pan" program at A.B.Combs school. This school has been the leader and the example for Steven Covey's book " The Leader in Me " . This school has embraced the Seven Habits that Mr. Covey is so famous for. They have had wonderful success and been named the top US Elementary school. Part of the program involves them doing charitable work that all the students participate in. The school was named for my grandfather so I am very proud of it. Their 800 plus students will help us collect pennies for our feeding programs. If you want more info on the " Pennies para Pan " program to have schools you know do it, just write me.
that's all for now folks
Vicki
http://www.safehomesforchildren.org
Friday, September 18, 2009
WE PASSED
I can be reached at 20.vicki@gmail.com if you want to help or be on the email group.
The government finally sent the people to do our final supervision. It was quite a small crew. The head of the Central Salud, a nurse and a restaurant inspection person. They passed everything and liked what we are doing. Now they just send their report to the CNA and then they send it to someone and then we start taking kids. Hope it moves thru the channels fast.
The government finally sent the people to do our final supervision. It was quite a small crew. The head of the Central Salud, a nurse and a restaurant inspection person. They passed everything and liked what we are doing. Now they just send their report to the CNA and then they send it to someone and then we start taking kids. Hope it moves thru the channels fast.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Pictures of the construction of our new road. We were given $2000.00 by Iso Mundo for the construciton of a road to connect the 3 levels of our property. We hired local men to dig it as we got more for our money this way and we gave work to families who desperately needed it. Hope the pictures show up.
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Thursday, September 10, 2009
Starving Children in Guatemala
Many of you have probably seen the news reports on the starvation of people in Guatemala. I could write my own report on it as we witness it first hand in our village of Los Robles. We started out with a feeding/tutorial program for the 70 K thru 6th grade children in the school next to our orphanage building. As we feed and tutored the children, we met their moms and siblings. We learned that these children only got tortillas and maybe some beans or rice once or twice a day , if they were lucky. This program is 3 days a week and we would like to increase it to everyday. The children get a vegetable soup with a little meat and a piece of fruit. We then found out that a baby had died because the mom had no breast milk, so the next time we were in Guatemala, we met with the women of the community. A bunch had infants and no breast milk and no baby will die for lack of formula if I can do anything about it. Now we have 20 infants on formula. And more moms coming to us everyday. Now the moms want to know if we can feed their toddlers, so thru the generous donation of two women who are each giving a $100.00 a month, we have started our toddler feeding program. We need to increase the numbers on all the programs and reach more communities. But we need help. can you give anything? We are traveling to Guate the end of this month and if you send it this week, I will take it down with me. Read the news article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/09/guatemala.calamity/
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/09/guatemala.calamity/
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