Help us win

So here is your chance...

For those of you who wish you could do something to help, but don't feel like you have the have the financial means;

Or for those of you who wish you could do more;

Or for those of you who love us and will do anything for us...

We have entered a GIVEAWAY on Guidestar.com (a place for non-profits), the winner receives $5000.

We really want this money, we really NEED this money. We have so many new women and children that come to us, but no way to feed them...we are turning people away every week and would love for this to stop. If we win we will be able to add 21 new mothers and their children to our feeding program in 2011 (We could feed about 50-70 new people for a whole year!). Help us win this!

How you ask?

Go here OR http://www2.guidestar.org/organizations/06-1699012/safe-homes-children-incorporated.aspx.

Write a review on us.

It must be done in the month of February so do it now, PLEASE!

And, wait, there is more you can do. Ask your spouse, parents, kids old enough to have an email address and write, and any family members/friends that know about us or your involvement with us, to also write a review. One review per person--but this means that some families can give us quite a few reviews. It doesn't need to be anything special, we win based on the number of reviews--not what you write (of course please be nice).

Remember 100% of this money will go to our feeding program because we don't ever take any overhead from donations.

Check back for a giveaway associated with this...

What Do These 3 Pictures Have In Common

The bottom two are of the little twin who has been coming to the formula feeding program. We knew he had something wrong with him and last week we found out what it was. He is down syndrome. I knew instantly why I was so taken with him. It was because of the boy in the top picture. That is my adopted son Seth. Thirteen years ago we received a call from a social worker at a hospital that they had a hisp. down syndrome baby boy they needed a family for. Were we interested? We immediately said yes. We have since discovered that he was not hispanic but Mayan. So my Seth and this new little Mayan downs baby boy have alot in common. But Seth was feed well by a mom [ me ] who made sure he ate every 3 hours and that his lack of suction did not keep him from drinking the amount of milk he needed for good nutrition. Seth also started physical therapy at age 3 months to develop his muscle tone. And it did develop his muscle tone. Seth is the best downs gymnast his teacher has ever seen. He also wins all the special olympics. We had a music and dance festival at Los Robles this week-end and Seth led all the dancing. Kid can dance for hours at a time.
This new little downs baby has access to all the formula he can drink, but the mom does not seem to understand the need to make sure he gets a certain number of ounces in him everyday. He lives in a shack two hours walking distance from our formula program and is forced to breathe smoke from open cook fires in the one room they have to live in. Tuesday when I saw him he had a cold with stuffy nose and drippy eyes. The only way he will get physical therapy is if I can get funding for a therapist to come to our clinic once a week. His life will be so different from my Seth's. But since he has touched my heartstrings in a way I can't forget, I will work to make his life easier. I already pay the families transportation to our porgram so they have no reason to not come.I would like to build a small [ 2 room ] house on our property for his family. His dad has no work, but knows something about gardening. He could be our chicken house guardian and do some gardening. Then the 8 kids could be watched over more closely. We could make sure there was food and money for school and clothes and shoes and school supplies. All the things they don't have now. Now we just need money for the house. $1500 to $2000 would build it. Do you want to be the one who receives the blessings for this donation?
write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com if you want to send a cehck or push the donate button on this site.

thanks
Vicki

Check it out...

My mom is to modest to post this on the blog but I thought that everyone who reads this and helps out in Guatemala should see it.

Click here or copy and paste below

http://www.twittertravel.com/profiles/blogs/casa-de-sion-the-people?xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_url

Thanks Joel, we think you are great too!

Sincerely,

Erin

WHAT MY DAYS ARE LIKE

Thought some of you might be interested in what my days are like. I had to deal with all these issues in the same day. Is it any wonder I go home tired and somewhat depressed. The first 3 pictures are of the newborn twins that we give formula to. The parents have 8 children and walk for 2 hours each way to get formula, incaprina and a meal from us. My first time of seeing the twins, I realized one was very malnourished so we took the family home with us, showed them how and when to feed the babies and gave them extra formula and bottles. Oh did I mention that my 10 [ she will be 11 on the 17th ] year old daughter and I fell in love with the sick one. The next week, we checked on how things were going. The mama had not brought milk or bottles for the babies and does not have enough breast milk so the sick one was crying. We got bottles and formula and Alisa fed him 4 oz. Then he slept. We talked again to the mama about not favoring the healthier one and working to feed the sick one everytime he would eat. Then we took them to the doctors who confirmed how sick the one was and that he had some congenital problems. He told them to take him to the hospital. They said they would. This next week, no one from the family showed up and we don't know where they live. My Alisa was so upset about her baby.
The next picture is the mama who was kicked out of her shack by her husband when he wanted to move another woman in. He also kicked out all 6 kids. She needs food and will soon need housing as her brother gave them emergency housing [ that probably means a floor to sleep on.
The last picture is of Juanito, the 8 year old who walks 3 miles to our programs so he can eat. When we gave out Christmas presents, we could only give him a small one as his alcoholic mama and his abusive papa would sale a bigger one. So he got a big truck with instructions that he can only play withit when he is on our property. And play he does. From the minute he gets there he wants to know where his truck is and shows it off to anyone who will listen.
This is hard and fulfilling work. And I can not tell you how much we need your help. Please donate if is just a one time $10 or better yet $20 every month for a year. I have had to close our mamas program. We now have 80 mamas and 250 tots and infants and no money to add more. Please help me with the money part so I do not have to turn a single mama down or worse yet her malnourished children. Pass this on to anyone who might help.
thanks to all who are already helping.
Vicki


Pictures from Top to Bottom

1. twins who are malnourished. One twin has some health issues
2. the twin who has health issues and is so thin
3. my precious Alisa who has fallen in love with the sick twin and
is as determined as I am to keep him alive.
4. the mama whose husband kicked her out of their shack to move another woman in. He kicked out their 6 children also
5. Juanito with his truck

New Babies

pictures from the bottom
1. me with Victor
2. me with Victor
3. New baby girl
4. same new baby girl
5. my daughter Alisa holding one 8 day old and the mama holding the other one

A week and a half ago, Gil, the teacher at our Los Robles tutorials, called me about a newborn baby. The 18 year old who gave birth to him could not keep him. The woman whose house the 18 year girl was staying in wanted to adopt the baby but did not have the money for formula, diapers, bottles and clothes. Gil wanted to know if we could help. It was night by then and I do not drive after dark, so I met Gil the next morning in Godinez. We went and picked up the midwife who had delivered the baby and then went to the baby's house. It was simple but clean. The adopted mama was so appreciative of all the things I brought. I asked if the baby had a name and she said no, not yet. Well The adopted mama showed up at our Tuesday program for mamas and tots with the baby all decked out in his newborn finery. She was so proud of him. She told me to hold him and then told me she had named him after me. His name is Victor. Isn't he pretty?
Also that Tuesday we had a newborn baby girl. Both babies were 8 days old. When I went up to check her out I was told I had to hold her. I think the women think I give the babies' a special blessing by holding them. It is so fun. Anyway her mama is the woman who almost delivered at our nurses clinic a couple of weeks ago. She was so pretty too. Babies are such fun.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Giving Out Toys In Nueva Victoria and the new tutorial program

A couple of Saturdays ago the USA teachers that are working at a private school in Guate City came out our way again to do a party for the children of Nueva Victoria. It was the same exact party as they had done the week before at Los Robles. Two hugh pinatas, homemade cookies and presents for all the children.My children all attended both parties and loved them. Except my 5 year old had not been in the LR present line. This time in NV she asked if they could have a little present that had Gabby's name on it. She was so funny and got her present. The teachers braved the 20 minutes of treacherous driving on the dirt mountain road leading to Nueva Victoria. The children all came running when we called them. They were noticeably dirtier than the Los Robles children, but water is harder to come by on top of the mountain. To wash clothes or bodies, the women have to walk down the same steep mountain road to the river.It takes my car 10 minutes to get there so it pprobably takes them an hour and then they have to walk back up. Not sure how clean my kids would be if I had to do that. The kids were getting their presents all nice and orderly. I walked off to see something esle and heard people yelling my name to get back over there. It seems there were extra presents and a bunch of the kids dived for them and took off running. Also many hid their presents or their mamas did and then they came back all sweet and innocent for another one. The teachers were upset and commenting on how much more orderly and organized Los Robles was. At that moment I saw the effect our last year of tutoring has had on the Los Robles kids. Because they were like the Nueva Victoria children a year ago. But our teacher in LR, Gil, has worked with the children daily teaching them academics, but also teaching them gratitude and manners, how to have clean hands, faces and teeth and orderliness. It was such a testimony to my husband and I that we have started a tutorial program at Nueva Victoria. The NV lunch program starts again this week. Yesterday we interviewed the teacher for the tutorial program. He will start training with Gil for the next two weeks and then he will tackle working with the elementary children of NV. This year we have 11 children in LR that went on to middle school instead of dropping out. They did this with your financial help and Gil's support. And the support of their families who have seen the progress they have made with our tutorial program. My husband and I met with the head men of NV and discussed the new tutorial program. They are very excited. We asked about how many of the kids who finished 6 grade would go on to middle school. NONE. There were 10 possiblilities and 8 kids interested, but no money. My husband wanted to try and help those 8 and requested report cards and for the comite [ the men who head the community] to meet with the parents. No parents came. So we are postponing this to next year. We feel certain after a year of a caring teacher, the parents will see the benefits of education and we will be asking you for help in getting the NV 6 graders into middle school.
Pictures From the bottom up
1] Teachers from the city who gave the party and my Gabby
2] One of two hugh pinatas
3] the children waiting in line
4] a group of mamas enjoying their children's joy
5] a volunteer with one of the children
6] children with their toy

Vicki 20.vicki@gmail.com