Safe Homes For Children

Nutributter extravaganza and Blog Days 25,26,27,28 29, 30

2012-02-09T08:56:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures from the Saturday meeting of the nutributter people. We had 35 members from our community workers show up. We had to pay transport which added up to $70.00 , but they are distributing the nutributter for free and never get to enjoy this kind of hoopderah so any that wanted to come came.

Dominga and Mario are in the picture with Peter Rololf, the pediatrician from Boston. MA who got the USAID grant for the program. Mario and Dominga surveyed and are working the most communities of any of the NGOs who participated and did the most thorough surveys. We did 24 communities. It was Dominga's first claim to fame and she was so excited.

The program consisted of lots of nutritional info comparing nutributter to mother's milk and incaparina. Of course mother's milk is the best, but if it is not available it is not available. Nutributter won out over incaprina with the vitamin and mineral and calorie count. Plus it requires no water so eliminates the poison water factor.

Then the community workers were showed how to train the parents in giving the butter to their babies.

Then the heads of the NGOs all signed a contract agreeing to certain things. So there is a pciture of me signing and then Dominga and then Mario.

Finally we got to eat lunch in a beautiful location overlooking Lake Atitlan. There were probably 250 to 300 people there.

our table

our view of the Lake from our table.

All in all i think everyone enjoyed themselves and got motivated to do a good job. We received the first of our nutributter last week and started distributing it this week. Mario is having to go with all the community workers in each pueblo and show them exactly what to do so it is still a lot of work and a lot of gas money.

The next day Sunday was our usual, church in Spanish, teach the kids at home in English, rest, go for a walk and watch Ben-Hur.

Monday, Jan. 30 turned out to be pretty exciting. I drove my 17 dau. and 15 year old son to Pana. I dropped the son at school and took the daughter to the Thai rest. where she is doing a culinary arts internship. I wanted to be there when she started because the owner was not going to be and my daughter does not speak Spanish and the regular cooks do not speak English. Soon after we arrived and I had ordered fresh orange juice and blue corn pancakes my son called. All the schools in Pana were canceled as the vigilantes and the police were in a battle. The main bridge was blocked by vigilantes with hugh rocks and fires and they were there with their machetes and what guns they had and the police were there with their guns drawn. I told Caleb to get to where I was asap and Scotia that we would start her internship another day, called the owner, collected the two kids and headed home. We were nervous they had closed off the yellow bridge we have to cross to get home as they had closed of the road from Pana to Solola. There were no cars on the roads and the kids and I were speeding as fast as the Mitsubishi would go. The yellow bridge was being kept open by 35 police officers ready to fight. We made it across and raced home. We heard later that they were fighting because the vigilantes wanted to partol their own neighborhoods at night as the police were not arresting the criminals. The police were instead arresting the patroling vigilantes and the vigilantes were at the end of their tolerance.

Tuesday was calm and we worked all day with our homeschooling kids and getting the 38 student scholarships straightened out. It is a lot of work.

Wednesday Scotia started her internship and and she loves it and the Mayan women love her. She does the waiting on the gringoes and prepares liquidos and breakfasts and everyone is happy.

Thurs. Jan. 30 , was our day off and after much work with the programs[ getting the scholarships worked out and paid for 38 kids is a lot of work.] and the kids we were ready for it.

Life in a third world country with 7 kids still at home.Blog Days 17, 18, 19, 20,21,22, 23, 24

2012-01-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

Trying today to get caught up with my blogs. Everything except yesterday's nutributter program. Last Fri. I mostly caught up with emails and paperwork in the am and took a Friday date with my husband. By the time we have both done all this "mission" work all week [ mostly my responsibility } and homeschooled the 5 youngest kids [ mostly his repsonsibility ] , we feel we deeply deserve time off starting Fri. afternnon. So we left around 2, Juana had cooking kid's dinner [ and then leaving until Tues. am ], and we headed for the weekly hour massage. It is also a medical massage as I have neck and shoulder issues and Jody has back issues. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner at an Italian Bistro that makes it 's own noodles. Then we came home, waved at the kids and went back in our bedroom , made a fire in the fireplace and watched a movie. Friday Date nights are usually pretty much the same down here excpet the restaurant changes and sometimes we can take in a music show. The best part is having time alone and away from the stress.
The next day is Sat. cleanup. It is mostly a hugh trial of my patience as I struggle to get work done and not yell at the kids who try hard to not get work done. Having a new IPOD that has my favorite songs on it and drowns out the kids help a lot. Sunday is a walk into San Andres for church. The 3 pictures of kids above are my kids ready for church. Alisa and Tony will soon be 10 and 12 and feel ripped off they have to celebrate their birthdays in a third world country with crappy plastic toys. This time I remembered to bring them each a second hand but working DSI [ think that is right}. They each want one really bad and I think we found a decent hotel, economical hotel on the lake with swimming pool and trampoline to spend a night at sometime between the 13th and 17th. Then we can rent a video and have a dinner and ice cream. They will think that is pretty special. Church is in Spanish so we stay for the first part and then go home and have a family Sunday School lesson.
Monday, Jody and I and kids go to Los Robles while Jody meets the new carpenter who will finish the guardian house and get it ready for the new family to move into. I go with Dominga to get a picture of the kids in the elementary school next door that will be in our feeding program this year. That is the bottom picture.
Tuesday, I go into town to get Scotia set up to do a culinary arts internship. She is in culinary arts in 11th grade in the states and has brought her book with her to study, but needed some practical cooking experience. So she starts tomorrow at our favorite Thai rest. Ling, the owner, cooks the lunches for the 20 kids at the private school Scotia and Caleb go to. Scotia will help cook the lunches. We are all excited for her to learn and cook at home. With Bethany an Italian cook expert from her 1.5 year mission there and now Scotia with Thai food, things are looking better and better for family reunions.
Wednesday we are back up to Los Robles for me to have a meeting with Mario and Dominga to discuss many things concerning future operations. I have Roy translating and it goes well. Jody checks the progress of the guardian house.
Thurs. is more of the same. Everyday we have emails and phone calls to do concerning the family and the for-profit business. Much time is taken with blogs and meetings with staff. Juan comes everyday to receive translations to give Mario and Dominga and to continue work on the never ending problems dealing with student sponsorships, medically fragile kids and nutritionally deprived kids. And did I mention budget that never seems to be enough. I can't download pictures here at the house so picture blogs require I got into San Andres, sip a liminoda and write blogs at the pizza rest.
Finally Fri. is here again. I am sick again with my first Guatemalan cold and a horrible cough and fever. The massage I am hoping with get me well enough to make the nutributter extravaganza the next day and Jody is plain exhausted. He is a wonderful teacher, but 3 of the kids he teaches are special ed and he is 61. We leave at 2 excited agian to have a few hours of free time and stress relief.. I do not sleep well that night due to 2 hours of coughing, but make Peter's nutributter program. I will wirte about it the next time I go to the pizzeria as I have a bunch of pictures. I come home exhausted and sleep from 8 pm to 8 am. Today Sun. is a rest day. Alisa is making a pasta dish she learned from her sister Bethany .TTL.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com
http://www.safehomesforchildren.org/
http://www.casadesion.blogspot.com/

Look For Us on the USA New With Our Nutributter Program

2012-01-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

Last week I decided to follow Mario and Dominga around while they finished up the 24 communities we were assigned to assess for the new nutributter grant form UDAID. I met them in San Andres where they were working. They had a community worker who helped them find the 6 to 24 month olds from the Central Salud list. They had to walk a million miles to find the 48 babies in this community as no one knew where they lived. Once found, they explained the program and then measured the child's length on a board they carried with them and weighed her from a hanging scale they also carried with them. Baby was not too happy.
And first time I have ever seen Dominga in pants.
Sat. is the big.... meeting before we start distributing the nutributter and begin the program. Casa De Sion did the best of all the NGOs so they will train the others. There will be USA news reporters at the meeting. Then the next week these same reporters will go with Mario, Dominga and I to some of our communities to film. Praying it gives help to these communities and that my 62 year old body can keep up.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Our New Pueblo: Chuti-Estancia

2012-01-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

Last Weds., I went to Chuti-Estancia with Evelyn who is bringing a volunteer team here in April to do work. This is one of our new pueblos. Very large with many poor people. We already have about 25 mamas and their 75 tots in our feeding program and 35 students in our scholarship program from here. The top picture is of the inside of the first house we went to. Single mom with 2 little ones and her parents live here in one room and lots of smoke.

This is a picture is of the dad who is almost dead. Can not breathe, can not lift his head. I was going to pay for a doctor, but the daughter told me he was dying of alcohol poisoning and there was nothing anyone could do.

Here is the next family. Married mom whose husband works in the fields for about $100 a month when there is work. There are 4 children there [ the 4 month old is on her back ] and 3 more who were not there. One of them is a crippled boy [ sounds like clubfeet ] who works in the fields with his dad. They live in one room with a leaky roof and the kids looked so malnourished. Evelyn had blankets for the kids.

Here is another project. This is a kitchen for a commmunity of 5 or 6 families. It is falling down and the picture shows how bad the smoke is. How would you all like to cook your meals in this everyday. Just a little smokey.

A family of 9 lives in this one room with the pink bed.. The kids all sleep on this bed. The parents sleep on a bed behind a nasty dirty ripped up tarp. I would be so claustrophobic if I slept there. My bedroom right now is not finished. The new quarry tile has not completely dried nor have the new plaster walls, but it is big with a lot of natural wood and skylights and a big bathtub. Every time I get upset about the wet stuff, I try to remember this place and how there but for fortune I could be sleeping here.

We went to other houses, too many to name. the last I will mention has a single mom and her 14 year old son in a small room in the middle of a cornfield. Dirt floor, leaky roof, one single bed. They take turns sleeping on the floor.

This last picture is of the elementary school here. 376 kids, all poor, all want us to start our after school feeding program. We also need to start our mama/tot program in this community as right now we spend $50 a month transporting the 25 mamas and their 75 tots who come twice a month. But if we did we would have 125 mamas and 400 tots. We need money or Kids Against Hunger meals to be able to help.
Write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com

TWO NEW EMPLOYEES AND GANGS AND HURRICANE STAN. Blog day 14

2012-01-25T09:53:00.000-08:00

We recently hired two new employees. Mario and Juan. Mario will be in charge of the nutrition programs and Juan will be in charge of the educational programs. Both are growing by leaps and bounds. Both have an interesting history that is so Guatemalan.
Mario is close to 40 and grew up in Godinez. He is a very active evangelical. He has been woroking for a trucking company in Guatemala City and his job is to bargain with the gangs. In other words how large a bribe do we have to pay you to keep you from robbing us.? Talk about a stressful job. He wanted to move back to his homeplace and away from the big city stress. He is a friend of Domingas and they work well together. He is not afraid to be a boss.
Juan is 26 and grew up in Santiago on Lake Atitlan. He is a very active Latter Day Saint. We first heard about him back in 2005, right after Hurricane Stan. The mudslide outside Santiago took out his family home and all the money he had saved to go on a mission. His brother was head of the Mormon church in that area at the time. It had rained for 4 days straaight, not hard but steady. At 2am some mud slide. Juan's brother recruited everyone with a vehicle to go with him to this vulnerable area and get the people out. Juan and the rest of his family left then. His mom did not want to leave her belongings and the dad carried her to the car and put her in. Many people did not leave. At 5 am, the big mud slide and 54 of Juan's relatives died. No one knows how many died, but Juan thinks it was around 800 who were buried alive. He lost all his possessions. His brother asked us back in 2005 if we could help him with his missionary expenses. We agreed. Juan had graduated from diversicado by working and his parents selling some land. They lost the rest of their land in the mudslide. He went to Arisona on a mission and now speaks and writes perfect English as well as Spanish and 2 Indian dialects. He came by last July to thank us for his mission support and let us know if we ever needed a bilingual employee he was available. He will work a lot with the teams.
Last Tuesday, my husband got started with the 5 youngest homeschooling. It is a lot of work and he is dedicated and I love him for it.

Days 10, 11, 12 and 13 of 2012 blog

2012-01-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

Friday was such a fun day. Erin and husband Mark were visiting and we rented a boat and had 4 adults and 10 kids on the Lake for a beautiful, sunny, warm, peaceful day. I am going to let Erin do the blog with pictures of that day so I have a chance to catch up with the other days. Sat. was a Home Sweet Home Day. Erin and family left early that morning to fly back to the USA and I was sick. But it was our first day at our new house and so we tried to settle in. We unpacked and put things away and felt not quite so homesick at the end. We also were looking for a big terrible looking dog for safety issues for the kids, but also wanted him to be sweet and lovable. We found him in the Pensa Libre a cute black lab. Only problem was he was in the city, but our wonderful shuttle driver, Jorge, said he would bring him to us next trip out to the Lake.
Sunday we went to church and tried to pay attention to the Spanish sermons we did not understand. Then we came home and taught the kids some of our own church lessons. In English. Then rested and then more settling in. We have decided to only have a maid Tues thru Fri. so it will not be such a shock having to do our own chores when we return to the states in April. So no maid, so we do our own cooking and cleaning.
Monday we spent time processing issues with our two new employees,. Also took our two oldest to Pana to start them in the private school they will attend while here. PCI. The teachers will help Scotia and Caleb with their books from the states. It worked well last year and the schools in the states were pleased. Our new employees are Mario and Juan. Mario will supervise the nutritional programs and Juan the educational. They both have interesting stories and I will tell them in hte next blog.

Jan. is Trafficking Prevention Month

2012-01-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine who has a lot of blog exposure has asked me for a while to tell my story. So the first part of it came out today. Since this is trafficking prevention month and since safe homes for children is going to add a partner organization called safe homes for trafficked children, I thought I would do my story on this blog also. It is the reason I am down here: working to make safer homes for as many children as we can.

From Child Prostitute to Child Advocate: Introduction

This story has been a long time coming, primarily because we have had to mature and gain perspective on something so out of the ordinary that it boggles the mind. This is a synopsis of a struggle it has taken years to digest and then comprehend and finally gain the understanding that we presently have. And this perspective, too, may change further over time.

To be used as a child prostitute at the tender age of 9 and 10 and in kiddie porn throughout your childhood does something to the brain that is hard to undo. I, Vicki, thought the rest of the world was living a “Brady Bunch” type life while I was caught in a hell that was mostly “how am I going to survive this next hour?” My parents presented as normal functioning people. They were both college educated and my dad was a military man. We lived in middle to upper middle class homes and spent summer afternoons at the pool. I was a Girl Scout and an honor roll student by day, but at night and on many weekends I was taken by my father to his little “parties” with his friends. The PTSD I suffer now from what I went thru is difficult on a day to day basis. For instance, most pictures of me show the haunted, terrified look in my eye of the little child who is being photographed in a porn show.

I hope by telling this story that three things will be accomplished. One, I know it will help my personal healing to speak out to a general audience. This produces a certain kind of validation that is cleansing. Two, I want to help people, who live in the USA, understand that between 200,000 and 300,000 children domestically are being used in the commercial child sex trade each year. This is a national tragedy and sadly not a well-known one. We all lose when this amount of innocence is robbed from our children. And I can’t help but think that we are all accountable—if only by our ignorance or inaction. And third, I would like for my own children to better understand what’s behind my PTSD and to more graciously accept it and forgive the lack of normalcy it created in their lives. And maybe—just maybe—they might even understand that they, like myself, have developed a greater capacity for compassion because of their experience.

This is “Human Trafficking Awareness” month. Our story is meant to aid in understanding the dynamics of this kind of child abuse—both victim and perpetrator—and especially to give insight into the violence of this particular kind of abuse. In the process of writing this—as you will see—it became obvious that sexual trafficking is one of the most violence of crimes against children. It creates shame and darkens the soul more than almost any other type of human desecration.

It should be understood that I, Jody, am telling the bulk of this story from my perspective. Vicki is actively engaged with the writing and you will see her hand in italics. She is much more of a talker than writer. We both think the story is more understandable when narrated by someone with one foot inside her world and the other in everyone else’s world. And I have one additional purpose: to tell the story for its own sake. It’s an incredible story that I entitle “The Long Shadow of Darkness” because it invites you into an understanding of evil and its effects that I am sure is beyond your present ken.

If you would like to see the work we are involved with in Guatemala, visit our website at www.safehomesforchildren.org . Our child advocacy work there is designed to keep families together which is the foremost deterrent to exploitation of children. Vicki does public speaking on child trafficking in the States, and if you would like to support that work, you can make donations to Safe Homes and note its purpose.

Little Humanitarian(s)

2012-01-20T05:48:00.000-08:00

Three years ago I took my then 2 1/2 year old daughter, Katie, to Guatemala to start the after-school tutoring and feeding program. Ever since then she has been saving her pennies to help the kids in Guatemala. Every time she found/received money she was more likely to put it in her 'Guatemala bank' then in her own penny bank. She had a grand plan of buying each little girl a doll and each little boy a car, but since we don't have much change laying around the house, and there were going to be 250+ kids there, she had to settle on lollipops, bubble and tattoos.

Katie 2009 with the local kids

We had a party with all the moms and toddlers in our Tues and Thurs programs, on the Thurs I was there. I went with my little family and then Vicki and all my little siblings came. Vicki is super popular, EVERYONE was so excited to see her. It was really fun to meet and see everyone we are helping.

My husband quickly started a soccer game with the little kids, he was really holding an interview trying to see which little girl he could steal and bring home.

Katie pulled out the lollipops and within seconds she was surrounded.

That is my brother Seth in the background acting as a bodyguard.

We were a little worried about her getting trampled so we had everyone form a line--for a lollipop. And Katie and my other kids (and Samuel who decided he was part our little group) handed out all the lollipops.

Katie and Marcus and Addy (my 3 year old twins)

Samuel and Katie--he had some serious medical issues back when we first started working in the area and we were able to help him. He now thinks he is part of an elite group whenever someone comes to visit. We love him.

Next Katie and the other kids pulled out the bubbles. They are a little bit of a novelty there. Everyone had a lot of fun blowing and chasing them.

Last Katie and my little sisters set up a tattoo booth and put tattoos on all the kids that wanted them.

We had some great people send some stuffed animals, formula, shoes and backpacks (THANK YOU!!!) for us to take down. So before lunch we handed out a toy to each child.


Some great young women knitted these hats and mittens. We handed these out to all the babies. It was perfect timing, because right now it gets pretty cold at night.

Vicki has written before about the two down syndrome kids in our group. My little brother Seth spent a lot of his time hanging out with them.

As with most things in life, kids are the best example, may we all be like Katie (all our other little humanitarians) and put others needs before our wants.

Mamas are the Same everywhere

2012-01-18T07:44:00.000-08:00

(I am writing this for Vicki bc her internet is acting up)

Word got out that we had helped the kids in our little area of Los Robles last year with scholarships for Basico (which is our equivalent of middle school). The kids in Guatemala have to pay an enrollment fee, as well as pay for uniforms, shoes, back packs and all the other things kids need for school. This may not seem like much for us, but when you put in terms of the enrollment each month costing more then they make, and then on top of the that, the other necessities cost the same as they do here in the states, you can see why so many people in Guatemala only have an elementary education. Problem is...without education they can not break the poverty cycle.

IF THESE KIDS ARE NOT EDUCATED THEN THEY WILL STILL NEED OUR HELP WHEN THEY HAVE KIDS YEARS FROM NOW! But if they can get an education then they can help themselves and their families.

While I was in Guatemala last week Vicki held a meeting with all the kids that were hoping to receive scholarships. Some of them had to travel pretty far to get there. We let them get there on their own because we wanted to see who was really serious about school. As you can see from the pictures below, they are all serious. We had a large crowd. I had to explain to them that we do not have the money for all of them to go to school right now. I took all of their pictures and got some information on them and told them I would ask YOU if you would help them go to school.

And, least you think we are giving them something for nothing...we aren't. Those that receive scholarships have to give back through community service. Those that live in our community come weekly to clean up our property and to help in the garden. Those that live to far away to travel to us will clean up their own streets and churches. We have someone who tracks their service; we want to make sure they are learning to be self-sufficient.

1st yr Basico (12-13yrs)

2nd Basico (13-15yrs)

3rd Basico (14-16yrs)

Diversication (highschool-15+) Notice some of the moms stanidng in.

The moms

The funniest part about the whole meeting was the moms. There were quiet a few there. Some came to represent their child who was working or sick (said child had to show up the next day to talk to me to make it on our list). Others came with their child and worked hard to make sure their child stood out of the crowd. Before each picture they would primp their child, or tell them where to stand or sit. And since I speak Spanish, almost every mom pulled me aside to talk about their child and how well they do in school and how special they are. Think about it, if you couldn't pay for your child to go to school, what would you do to make sure your child got an education.

It cost $350/year to send each child to school. That comes out to about $30/month. So pick a kid, I will send you their picture and info and a letter from them.

Email me at erin.casadesion@gmail.com for more info.

Traveling with 7 kids to the third World

2012-01-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

It has taken this long to get the internet up and running so I will catch up with my 365 blogs for 2012.

We left early Sunday with the 15 passenger van all packed up. Eleven check-ins, 8 little black suitcases and 9 bookbags for carry-ons. Oh did I also say 7 kids. We had a 7 hour drive to Atlanta where we were to catch our flight. on the way we stopped in Charlotte to go to church with daughter Sarah's family. I got to publicly thank the woman there who has been collecting formula for us for the last year.

Then on the road again. Got to Atlanta airport hotel at 7 pm, unloaded all of the above,kissed our son Bryan [ who had driven us down and was going back to Charlotte to spend the night at Sarah's house] and checked in the hotel.

We were up by 6am the next morning for the 7 am shuttle. By the time we got everything together at the airport and got to our gate it was time to load the plane. Jorge who we use for shuttles in Guate picked us up at 1 and took us to Pricesmart, the Guate equivalent of Sam's club, where I spent money loading up on cheeses and meats from the states and other neccessities of American life that can not be found out here at the Lake. Then on to our new house. Boy was I tired by then, both physically and emotionally. I kept asking myself " Why am I doing this?" Do I really care whether kids get fed, or are malnourished. Why don't I just stay in the states and be a wife, mom and grandma?" Hopefully it was just culture shock. But needless to say, there was too much to do to hang onto those thoughts for long.

My daughter Erin and her husband and 3 little ones were in Guate for the week. We had rented them a small vacation rental for the time in the same gated community that our newly bought house is in. When we got to our house at dark, they were just leaving and turned around to help us unload. Our old time maid Juana was there also. The house is about 20 years old and had this funky stucco thing that we hated so we had the construction guy who added our master bedroom to redo the walls inside. They now look nice, but apparently take time to dry so are wet some of the time. Because the house had been closed up they were very wet when we arrived and the sheets and blankets were damp. We started a fire in the fireplace and it smoked up the whole bedroom. So much for a new master bedroom. Luckily I was too tired to care about anything and crashed on the bed. Did manage to get some dry sheets on before and the smoke out of the room.

The next day was spent working with the builder to get the fireplace working, airing the house out, drying out the sheets, putting away some things and spending time with our visiting family.
We finally made it down to Pana and dinner at Chanitas. Time to just enojoy the grandkids and kick back for some great Thai food.

Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Kids Against Hunger

2012-01-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Well 11 bags to be checked are packed; 9 carry on black suitcases are packed; and 9 carry on book bags are packed so the kids can continue their schooling while we are gone.

Yesterday I got a wonderful answer to prayer. I have been praying for a way to help the children in the 24 NEW communities that we will be doing the nutributter program in. A friend emailed me a connection to a man who looks very promising for a bunch of KAH meals. We will meet with him on Fri. This would mean we could start our elementary and mama/tot feeding programs in many more communities. Please send positive spiritual energy , like prayer, our way so this happens.

Several of our adult kids gave us a going away pizza party last night. Thanks Joey and Crystal for thinking of it and Flossie and Chris and bethany and Erin and all the granadkids for coming. Will post pictures as soon as I have time to download them.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Erin's family makes it to Guatemala

2012-01-07T04:08:00.000-08:00

Many of you know my daughter Erin as she helps keep Safe Homes For Children and Casa de Sion organized. She and her family flew to Guate yesterday so Erin can see first hand the things we are doing and meet the Mayan ppeople we love. Their Delta flight had some trouble. Just as they were getting ready to take off, the pilot announced that the plane was not ready to fly. They had to find another plane to take them there. Kind of scary. Not the kind of thing you want to hear. better to hear it on the ground tho instead of in the air. For me today includes more packing. Thanks for the formula, shoes, clothes, and pack backs we have received. I am busy stuffing them in suitcases.My family here will meet them there in a couple of days.

2012-01-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

The pictures are of some of the grandkids I will be leaving. The little blond is my daughter Flossie's. The one in the football shirt is the one I take a lot of care of.

The left picture is off my 26 year old son and his two boys.

The top picture is off my oldest son, the one who gave me the gift of songs.

They are the ones I wrote about yesterday.

For my hubby's and mine last hot Friday night date night in the states, we had a stroll down memory lane. For Christmas the kids got us an IPOD and speaker system. My oldest son loaded up a bunch [ over a 1000] songs and I downloaded from my computer another bunch so we were good to go for a music night. My oldest is only 19 years younger than I am and went to many music festivals with me as a toddler so we kind of like the same music. He had collected tons of the music we listened to at the festivals and taken a few hours to put them all on a couple of cds i could load onto my IPOD.

Hubby and I reflected on 35 years of marriage and the blessings that come with so many memories. We were playing songs from our hippie days and it's hard not to see all the changes that have occurred over those years. Like 18 kids and soon to be 21 grandkids. These are things we would have never dreamed of in our wildest imagination all those years ago. And now we have also nine years in Guatemala which has been a learning curve to top all of the others, but it has been very rewarding. Funny how we could sit in our bedroom [ only place we can get any privacy] amidst total packing chaos and be taken back to a younger time where worries seemed much less. We both relished our most memorable song of the time we met was "Wildfire" by Michael Murphy. Very apt considering where our life has gone.

Commitment

2012-01-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made a public commitment on facebook to write a blog everyday for the next year. And then I forgot to write. So much for resolutions. But I am of the belief that if at first you don't succeed, try again, so here I am. Some days will be delayed as we are traveling to Guatemala for the next 3 months and nothing is certain there esp. internet connections, but I will write on paper and then later transcribe it to here. Also Sunday is my family blog day so will not write then.
Well how do I describe packing for 9 people, 7 of which are children, to go spend 3 months in Guate.? Frustrating as all get out. At first I tried to be perfect and make sure they have everything they need and all their little hearts will desire. Now I just am making sure they will not have to go naked. In guate where we are, you can not buy much esp. if you care about quality.
My biggest problem tho is leaving grandkids. Most of them have 2 great parents and I know their lives will run smoothly and easily until I return. But there are two precious boys ages 2 and 3 that I am finding it so hard to leave. I have taken care of them a lot since they were born. Their mother has had a prescription drug problem for years and at times could not care for them. So they lived with us. My son recently got full custody and now they live with him and with us. He is building a house for a man and has worked long hours so every other week they stay at my house and then the rest of the weeks at their house. They love my son and he loves them, but my son seems so young to have total care of a 2 and 3 year old. He is 26. I was 18 when my first was born and I was basically a single parent. My son has several sisters who will take them for a night or two to give him a break . But I know he is not a perfect parent and I am beginning to be a helicopter grandma. I was and am not a perfect parent so why is so hard to leave these tw for 3 months. Why do I go to bed crying about it and wake up crying about it.
Well there is my blog for today. if you have the answers, let me know.

Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

2011 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2011-12-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

This has been a year of growth for us. Not hard to grow in Guatemala when you are helping the poor. As a matter of fact the it is hard to keep up.

A. Mother's program. We went to 168 mamas at our last Dec. meeting. That means about 400 plus toddlers and infants. That is how many we feed lunch to once a week and give formula and incaparina to twice a month. We pay transportation for many of them. In 2012 we hope to increase to 200 mamas. There are over 1000 on the waiting list.

B. Elementary feeding program. We now feed 200 plus elementary students 3 times a week. We give all of them 3 hours of tutorial help with a staff of 3 hired teachers.

C. Middle school student scholarships. We now have 100 children in line to get scholarships. We hope tohave the funds to do at least 50 of them. That is about $350.00 per kid.

D. Clothing, shoes and school supplies distributed to hundreds of children. Last year we sent down part of a container that cost $2100.00 in shipping. We just dropped off twice that much to go a container and arrive in Feb.

E. Chosen to participate in a USAID nutributter program. 24 NEW communities are being assessed as to how many infants between the ages of 6-24 months will receive the nutributter. Casa De Sion has done such a good job, it is being used as the model for everyone esle to follow. We hope as our support grows to add all of the above programs to these new communities.

F. Clinic. Always available for OTC meds if we have them. Had several sessions of doctors doing general clinics. We helped many children have the necessary medical care they needed from lab work to major operations.

G. We now have permanent volunteer accommodations in a safe location about 15 minutes from Casa de Sion. Our family will be staying there Jan. thru Mar. and then it is available to other teams. All proceeds from it go to the projects.

TO KEEP HELPING WE NEED YOUR HELP. PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING.
20.vicki@gmail.com
www.casadesion.blogspot.com

Doing Something Beautiful For God

2011-12-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

I am reading a book about Mother Teresa. The title of this blog was one of her favorite quotes . Nice thought, huh.

Something has been weighing so heavy on my mind for the last month or two. When I was down there in Oct. , I went to the mama/tot distribution like I usually do. Like usual there were moms waiting to talk with me about various challenges (problems) in their lives. Don't get me wrong. I do not mind them coming to me with their problems. If I were in their shoes, having lots of kids and zero resources, I would go to me too--a white women who seems to have resources and their only option. I would beg, plead or throw fits to make sure my kids were fed nutritiously and received the medical care they need. I have been poor with tons of kids and I have begged, pleaded and thrown fits to get my kids what they needed. So I have no problem with them coming to me. This particular meeting I had a line of six women with six medically fragile children. Not just a little sick either, seriously sick. They wanted help. We gave what we could; not perfect but better than what they had.

So here is my problem: I have no problem with moms or dads coming to us for help when they really need it. We even ask the parents to help us in return so they feel like they are giving to. The problem I have is saying NO.

No, I do not have the money to feed your malnourished child.

No I do not have the money to give you a can of formula even tho you have no breast milk and the baby will die.

No, I can not pay for your child to go to the hospital even tho she is turning blue.

No, I am sorry your child can not go to school next year because you have no money but that is life.

You get my gist. I can not even imagine saying NO to any of these crisis situations and they come up all the time

Helping folks in these kinds of desperate situations is very challenging. We always ask ourselves "How can we help without creating a dependency?" Because when folks have their hand out and you put something in it, guess what happens when another crisis strikes? Hence we try to create programs with certain guidelines and then we ask for these folks to do something for us in return. Keeping our giving within this framework keeps us from getting strung out with the awesome and perpetual need that surrounds us. Here are a few categories that you can help through.

Emergency medical fund: giving here will allow us to help when a child's (or adult's) life is on the line and we have a reasonably good chance for success.

Feeding programs: The nutributter program will put us in 20 new communities. All children between 6 mo. and 24 mo. will benefit, but what about the infants under 6 months and over 2 years. If you can help with formula for the newborns or incaprina for the under school age children, that would help. We have become aware of a program call "Kids against Hunger" which can easily raise low-cost, nutritious meals. .... For $.25 a meal [ that includes food ingredients and shipping and packaging ] you can help feed these kids. With 24 NEW communities in the nutributter program, we expect tons of requests for much needed feeding programs. This can help us supply that need. read more about it by googling Kids Against Hunger. If you want to help with this email me.

Scholarship programs: If a child can get through high school in Guatemala, then they can make enough money to move into the middle class. While the primary grades are "somewhat free," middle and high school are not. But for just a few hundred dollars a year you can give a child, literally, the opportunity of a lifetime. If you supported a student last year, please do it again and see if a friend will do another one.

Please help us to be able to help these children and receive the good feelings of being someone who wants to "Do Something Beautiful for God".

thanks

Vicki

who will be living in Guate for Jan., Feb., and Mar.

20.vicki@gmail.com

Sharing Our Abundances

2011-12-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

I want to offer each of you an opportunity. To be the right hand of God. To feel your soul enlarged. To have your spirits soar. You see I get this opportunity alot and it is an awesome feeling. I want to share it with you.

Our nutributter program is being extremely successful. We have received many compliments from Jose Cali, the incountry director for Peter Roholf [ the USA pediatrician in charge of the Nutributter program]. Our first part of this program is sending employees, at our expense, to the communities we are assigned to. We are to find all the community leaders and have them work with us enough to give us their emotional support. Then we find all the 0-5 month olds in the community and all the 6-24 month olds. We get names and ages, etc. We also are getting mush more family info like no. of kids in family, no. of elderly or handicapped living in the home, dirt or cement floors, kids 2-5, ages of all kids, grades in school of all kids, grades that parents went thru, family income, etc. As we do this we find out all the problems that the family has. We do not ask their problems but if you were a parent and had a kid near death because of starvation, or your kid was going to have to drop out of school in 6th grade because you had no money or your kid was so sick you feared death and could not afford medical doctors or medicine, wouldn't you tell us you need help. Because we are doing such a good job of getting the info Jose and Peter need, we have been told we are doing the best of anyone in the program and have been given 24 communities. Along with those communities come many, many more needs. Many miracles and many feelings of soul enlargement and being spiritually full. I want you to share those with you. Be part of helping us save the baby who is almost dead from malnutrition . Feel how much more rewarding it is than the new purse, the candy bars, the eatting out all the time. Or help pay the hospital for the next one we have to send. Give this as a Christmas present to yourself. Give yourself the highest high you can remember. We will help you find it.

In January, 2012, we will begin distributing the nutributter monthly to all the kids 6 mo. to 24 mo. At the same time we would like to give the infants up to 6 months formula. That runs about $20/month. Consider helping with that. Or remember the numerous other children in these new communities that will need scholarships to continue into middle or high school.

Also, remember our Christmas cards that are for sale. All of that money goes into Safe Homes. And with any donation remember we or anyone in the US takes anything nothing out of Safe Homes. We pay all of our own expenses.

The pictures are from the community of Chuti-Estancia. Here are some of the stats from that community. 130 plus babies 6-24 months will be in our nutributter program, 125 children ages 2-5 who need a nutritional program of their own, 400 plus elementary children who need a lunch/tutorial program, tons of kids who won't go to school next year because there is no money to send them. Out of 265 parents, 5 finished high school, 16 went to middle school , 165 went to Primary school [ most went to 1st or 2nd grade and that was it ] and 81 had no schooling. Half of their houses have dirt floors, the others are cement. If they can find work, the most they make is $100 a month. When they list their job, it is rancher of their small piece of land or maid for their small house. One house had an inside bathroom, the rest did not. All cooked over open fires. They can not afford to make the change that needs to be made. Most of you can help here. Help us to help the babies and little ones have enough nutrition to have brain power. Help us to educate them so they can break this cycle of poverty. And in return, you will receive a fullness of spirit.

Write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com

http://www.safehomesforchildren.com

Christmas Cards

2011-11-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Sending out Christmas cards?
Kill two birds with one stone this year: buy ours cards and and help feed a starving/malnourished child. Our Christmas cards are adorable. Many with pictures of the Mayan children and families in our feeding programs and an appropriate Christmas scripture or quote.

Please buy from us and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. "It is more blessed to give than to receive".

Cards are 20 for $25
or
50 for $50
$5 flat rate shipping and handling
100% goes directly to programs.

You may mix and match the cards. To order or for further info contact Erin at erin.casadesion@gmail.com

Malnutrition and Nutributter

2011-11-01T08:39:00.000-07:00

"What is Malnutrition?: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malnutrition essentially means “bad nourishment”. It concerns not enough as well as too much food, or the wrong types. There are two types of malnutrition that we typically see in the developing world: acute and chronic. Severe acute malnutrition , as is seen in Haiti, is defined by a very low weight for height, by visible severe wasting, or by the presence of nutritional oedema. In other words, these kids ‘look sick’. They look like they are wasting away.

Although acute malnutrition does occur in Guatemala, it is chronic malnutrition that is absolutely pervasive. Children who suffer from chronic malnutrition fail to grow to their full genetic potential, both mentally and physically. The main symptom of this condition is stunting - shortness in height compared to others of the same age group - and takes a relatively long time to develop.

Okay, so what? Why is it so important to prevent stunting in babies and toddlers? According to the World Bank, growth failure before the age of two can have profound and irreversible effects on a child’s ability to learn, and produce income over their lifetimes. It can result in permanently impaired IQ and social development, and makes a child more susceptible to chronic disease. These children start school later, quit earlier and miss more days in between. Furthermore, women who are stunted are far more likely to have stunted children. And, all of this is determined in the first 24 months of life. (read more)"

How do we fix this...Our infant and toddler feeding program of which nutributter will play a part

What is Nutributter?

Nutributter is a complementary food supplement that has been tailored to the nutritional needs of infants and young children (6 to 24 months old). It is a peanut and milk-based paste that has essential fatty acids and appropriate levels of vitamins & minerals to promote growth, motor development and aid in the prevention of undernutrition in young children.

"Nutributter supplementation for children 6-24 months of age is therefore ideally suited to prevent stunting. By introducing a high quality food and micronutrient supplement at 6 months, when infants should be transitioning to complementary foods, we can provide food security to the kids and prevent the decline in their length/height-for-age.

Another environmental feature which aggravates the onset of stunting in this age range is the exposure to contaminated water and food products, and the development of frequent bouts of diarrhea. Importantly, Nutributter delivers a daily dose of zinc, which has been shown in clinical trials to reduce the incidence and severity of diarrheal illness. Therefore, we anticipate that Nutributter supplementation will also impact diarrheal illness and interrupt the infection-malnutrition cycle. (read more)"

Why are we telling you about this?

Peter the wonderful pediatrician that sees our kids applied for a grant with USAID. He is bringing Nutributter to Guatemala and 350 of our kids get to participate in the program.

The Special Ones

2011-10-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

I was privileged to be in Guate from Oct. 2 until the 14th. Seems my heart is always in more than one place. Here in the states are my kids and grandkids. Also my house that we built and our gardens and orgainic food that we grow. Eighteen grandkids, soon to be 20. And safety and security issues are so much easier. I can drive at night. I don't look over my shoulder 6 times a day.

But there in Guate, I partner with the Lord. Helping to take care of the poorest of the poor. Helping to watch over His little ones and know that if I were not there their lives would be so much harder. Below is 18 mamas and their assorted children from the aldea of Chuti-estancia. They stopped as I was leaving the mama/tot program that day and told me with tears in their eyes how much the mama/tot nutrition program meant to them. Then I started crying. Such humility. Here at home in the good ole USA, my kids or grandkids never cryingly tell me how much they appreciate what I do. It was nice for a couple of minutes.

That day at the mama/tot feeding program had been rough. We had 6 special kids who needed help. I have pictures of some and then it got so busy talking and translating with mamas and kids that we forgot the pictures. One was Jeremias, the little downs baby we have helped since he was a couple of months old. He is a twin. His twin is the baby being held and the downs baby is the one laying on the scale. The healthy one weighs 18 pounds and is developmentally on target. Jeremias wieghs 11 pounds and does not sit or hold his head up.

Next was a beautiful 5 pound little girl. Big problem was she is 7 months old. Can not sit or hold her head up. We started both underweights on more formula and wrote and asked Peter [our USA pediatrician who sees them from time to time] what to do.

Next was a 2.5 year old who as you can see from the picture could not hold his head up or sit much less walk. His mama's back was horribly twisted. She could hardly walk. We will start giving her money to take him once a week to therapy in Pana. We need money for a physical therapist to come to our clinic once a week. We also gave her a stroller. Thanks so much Karen with Kid to Kid for the donation so we had it to give.

That day we had 3 more sick or malnourished kids. We gave money for doctor visits.

We now have over 100 mamas and over 250 kids in our mama/tot program and many 100s more who want to join asap.

We have 50 kids who won't be able to go to middle school next year unless we have help.

We have 20 mamas in our pregnancy prograam that need a doctor or midwife once a week to come to our clinic.

We have 200 children in our elementary feeding and tutorial program and 1000s more who want this program in their community.

We need an emergency fund for the sicky who come to us and need money for a doctor or an ambulance or medsmmediately.

So if you can give or even if you can't and have to sacrifice soda or chips or whatever please do and give. I won't ask you to give up chocolate. I perfectly understand how that would be too hard. But the others, could be enough to feed one more child.

We will have Christmas cards for sale next week. Please order from us and help us take more people.

Pass this blog to everyone you know and ask them to help. Call us to schedule a presentation to family or friends. Ask them to pass their Christmas charity money our way. Ask them to order their Christmas cards form us.

100% will go to one of these programs. If you feel strongly about one, just mention it and it will go there.

Many. many thanks to those of you who already give. You can see from the pictures the ones you are already helping. If you have a scholarship child, you will be getting a letter soon and know that because of you they made it thru one more grade. Please help them with the next grade. If you support a mama and her children , know they live better because of you.

We travel to Guate the first part of Jan. to live for 3 months and can take donations of shoes and formula and school supplies with us when we go if you send it. Money can be donated thru the donate button or wirte me at 20.vicki@gmail.com and I will give you an address.

Next blog I will tell you about an exciting new nutritional program we will be part of thru Peter the Pediatricina and USAID.

Medical Emergencies

2011-10-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

I want to start this blog by saying "thank you" to all those that donated to help Maria. She spent some time in the hospital where the doctors where able to put a membrane over the hole in her foot. She is going to need major physical therapy (which she needed as a child but never received because of her family's circumstances), but she is recently back home in a wheel chair that we (you) bought her and healthy. (read more about Maria here)

Maria with one of her many siblings in her home before her hospital stay

Maria coming home

If you have been following Joel's blog you will see that we seem to be having lots of medical emergencies coming our way. We had another baby struggling to breath. Joel quickly called an ambulance and paid the $6.00 to have the infant taken to the hospital. Pneumonia is so common among these small children who spend all day inside with their mothers who are cooking over an open fire.

Mom and baby on the way to the hospital

We would like to set up a fund to have available when these emergencies come to us. These children are so precious, and their parents do not have the means to help them in emergency situations. Let me know if you would like to donate to help us set up an emergency fund.

Also, the ONIL stove would stop the pneumonia problem in the babies if anyone is interested in buying one--this would make a great Christmas present for that person that has everything.

ONIL STOVES

2011-09-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago on the exact same day that we were trying to get medical help for Maria who had such a bad foot infection we were afraid she would die, we had to deal with another medical emergency. Maria is in Nueva Victoria where we have a feeding program for 120 children. The baby girl in the picture at the top lives across the street from our community buildings in Los Robles. Her parents came to Joel wanting a ride to the hospital an hour away. For $6.00 they could get the ambulance to come, but did not have the money. We paid for the ambulance. The baby was turing blue from breathing problems and we did not want to take any chances. After a couple of days we got a diagnosis. Pneumonia. I told Joel to take pictures of the stove the mom uses to cook all the family meals as I was betting it was an open one that put horrendous amounts of smoke into the single room the family cooked and lived and slept in. I was right. The next picture shows what they cook on. Many little ones live like this and get sick and burned from these open fires. Some die because of them. The last picture is of an ONIL stoves. For about $125.00 a team can buy a stove. It will be delivered and the team instructed how to put it together. It is smokeless and uses in one week the same amount of wood that the open fire uses in a day. We want to start helping get these installed for people. The one in this picture was paid for by a donor and installed in the classroom in Nueva Victoria for the student's mothers to cook the lunch we provide for them. Before they had to cook over an open fire. If you want to buy one or two or three, we have a team coming in two weeks who could install them . Let us know.

thanks for all you do

Vicki

20.vicki@gmail.com

How to Donate

2011-09-28T08:12:00.000-07:00

I am doing this post because many of you have asked about having monthly donations set up. I talked to our bank about having a bank draft attached to our website, but after some research I have found that at this time the fees associated with this are not worth the convenience.

We decided to continue with paypal. Our regular donate button (to the right on every page) allows you to donate any amount one time. You can do this with your paypal account or with a credit card without an account.

On our "please help" page--see tab on top to find page--there are 7 options of monthly amounts (it is fixed). When you click on this you can sign up to have that amount put on your credit card every month. You must sign up for a paypal account (which is super easy). If you would like to give a monthly donation that is not listed please let me know and I can ad that button.

Paypal does take a small fee for processing this--but since this is the only overhead taken out of your donation we are ok with this. And if this makes it so you don't forget one month then it is worth it to us and to those you are helping.

The other option you have is to ask your bank to send out a check for you every month. I don't believe they charge a fee, and you can sign up so they will do it for you monthly without you having to remind them.

If you do this or just want to mail a check. Please make it out to Safe homes for Children and mail it to Erin Dalia-Sanofsky 3001 Clemson Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

If you are donating monthly and it is working well for you then don't feel like you need to change anything. This is for those of you that have asked me about getting it set up monthly so that you don't forget.

As always, we are so grateful for all of your help.

Summertime....And the living is easy

2011-09-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

Summertime....And the living is easy........................

One of my favorite songs. But this was not the case around our house this summer.
We arrived in the USA on April 17th after 3 months in Guatemala. We had a 14 hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale, FL where we flew from and saved about $4000.00, and the time in the car helped us decompress because life in Guatemala is so different---so much slower.
We needed this time because we were immediately immersed in the pressure cooker.While we were gone, our son Bryan had many , many problems between him and his wife and they split up. He needed help with his 1.5 and 3 year old sons.[ see a picture of them and 2 more grandkids sitting on the steps} We took the boys for a month the day after we arrived. They are fun boys and we love them, but needed extra care because they are normal tot boys.

Then the first of May, our daughter Hannah[ she is the pretty girl in pink with the bride] came home from college for the summer. She had cold turkeyed off an anti-depressant and was having a hard time. I took her to an alternative doctor I had been hearing really good things about. He started her right off on neurofeedback and after a couple of months and 20 treatments she became her old fiesty, mostly happy self. It was fantastic. I also had him do an extensive physical on me and he found some arterial blockage so I started on chelation therapy. I need 25 sessions. They take 6 hours of time each time I do one. I am half way thru. I am also doing the neurofeedback for my PTSD. They are using it with many war vets.

Our first weekend home was Easter and many of the kids and grandkids[ see the 3 pictures of couples and their kids] that live close came up . We had a picnic and, of course, the boys were playing football--even sixty year old Jody. Making a monumental play [ Jody wrote this] he was pushed out of bounds and cracked a rib, tore his hand to pieces and got reacquainted with hemorrhoids. It took 3 months to repair.

Somewhere in here Gabby had a birthday [ now 6 and in the pic with her new bike ], Scotia turned 17 and Johnny 19 and Emmie 12 , Madeline 8, Katie 5,and Karleigh 7. That is just the kid birthdays. There were also many adult kid birthdays: Jenn, Sarah, Erin, Flossie, Crystal, Rhonda and I am sure I forgot some.

We then helped our 19 year old graduate from high school and get ready for his mission. It was enough to drive us crazy and put a strain on our wallets with all the current dental and medical requirements. He finally got his call to OK City, OK. [ he is in the picture by himself and a suit on].

In mid-June we went North to MN for the baptism of our oldest grandchild [ Madeline turned 8 ][ picture of her and her family of 6 on the couch]. She has the most wonderful singing voice, perfect pitch, rhythm, good memory and played a perfect violin solo at her baptism.

Less than 2 weeks after returning we were off to Guate. Hannah burned out babysitting the 2 weeks we were gone. While there we found a house to buy giving us and other volunteers a permanent place to stay. Makes going down so much easier. Flossie, daughter no. 4 [ in picture with her hubby and 2 boys]refinanced a loan on her property that she had bought from us. The money from this allowed us to buy this house. It is 15 minutes from our projects and 15 minutes from Panajachel in a safe, gated community. All the profits from volunteer visits here will go directly to our projects.

Two weeks later we were in Washington, DC for the wedding of daughter no. 5, Bethany. More fun and stress. She is in the pictures of the bride and groom, duh. bethany and new hubby eric spent part of their honeymoon in Guate working in our projects there. And there is one of our 11 daughters all together and all but 5 of our grandchildren next to the bride and groom. Along with the wedding went bridal parties and kids and grandkids staying at our house. You can see a picture of the homemade water slide all the grandkids and our younger kids loved.

When we got home, school was starting. We homeschool our 5 youngest so we can live in Guate part-time, but it consumes time and persistance.

And those are just the highlights. We are currently getting ready for a couple of more weeks in Guatemala. We want to start the renovations on the house we bought and give some more supervision to our programs. And that's what we wanted to talk about. The school year is winding down in Guate and we have many more students who need scholarships--at least 30 more. And the infant and tots formula program is turning away mothers [ at least 60 in the last 2 months ]. We would like to add 100 more mothers and their babies. Erin will soon be posting the photos and bios of the students who are asking for help. Think and pray about how you can help. And with the formula program, the formula itself is the major cost. Thanks to WIC there are many loose cans of dried formula in this country. If you can collect it, we will figure out a way to get it down.

Remember all your donations are tax deductible and 100% goes to our programs. We pay our own travel and living expenses. The house was bought with our personal money. There is literally no overhead. We are planning our expansion for the coming year. Let us know how you want to help.

The final picture is of my daughter Erin who many of you communicate with. She is with her oldest daughter Katie.

Vicki and Jody and family

http://www.safehomesforchildren.org

20.vicki@gmail.com

Emergency help for Maria

2011-09-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

A few days ago friend was visiting the village of Nueva Victoria and found a little girl named Maria. She has not be brought to any of our feeding programs so we did not know she was there. She was born without the use of her legs and she crawls where ever she goes. The friend gave her a wheelchair. They went to check on her yesterday and found her very sick. I am pasting some of the email we were sent...
"she needs medical assistance urgently in Guatemala City, her condition can make her loose her foot or her life, she is just 11 years old, she is taking some antibiotic from their clinic, but this wont be enough, I don't have a car able to reach the community, actually yesterday we got there on a chicken bus, so we need to pay somebody to provide transportation, so we need some kind of help to get that service and the expenses for Maria and her mum, who is a widow, to go to the city where my friend got the professional medical assistance for free."

See pictures below.

We want to help her, we need to get her medical care tomorrow. Anyway that feels like they can help please donate.

Your challenge

2011-09-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Vicki and Jody head to Guatemala in a few weeks. Your challenge is to fill the 4 suitcases they are taking down. Right now, Casa de Sion is badly in need of 2 things

1. Infant formula.

Remember this formula is for babies whose mothers CANNOT breastfeed them. So if they do not get formula they do not eat.

2. School supplies.

We need anything and everything. (except, go light on the notebooks because the schools there require special notebooks, so our notebooks only get used in our tutoring sessions.) But we need pencils, colored pencils, rulers, sharpeners, calculators, protractors, markers, crayons (if your kid needed it we need it). And BACKPACKS! We really need backpacks. Used ones are fine as long as they are is good condition.

Please mail everything to Vicki Dalia @ 3303 Pond Mtn Ln, Whitetop, VA 24292
BY
Sept 30, 2011

If you can afford something big--go big

If you can afford something small--go grab some crayons and pencils and put them in the mail

If you don't have time to shop or mail-- then donate the money and tell me what to buy and I will go shopping for you.

And just so you can see who you are helping...

Some of our students

AND

Some of our babies

AND

Some of both

Thank you for caring and much as we do and helping us help these amazing people!

Manuel's family

2011-08-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

We first met Manuel and his his younger sister Rosa and his two younger brothers Rolando and Carlos, when they were 6, 8, 9 and 14. They came with their parents who could not afford to feed or educate them and their younger sibs. The parents put them in our orphanage. The kids were great. Manuel won art awards and Rosa was top in her classes at the school. Carlos and Rolando were just 6 and 8 year old boys. Then the orphanage closed and the kids went back to their parents. We rediscovered them last year and haved tried to help with food, etc. since then. These pictures are where they have been living. The lamina and beds were donated by the LDS church. The floors are dirt and there is a stream of sewage that runs thru their house. There are 4 younger children now. Carolina,8, Victor, 6, a 4 year old boy whose name slips me and the baby Joseph, 2. The last time I visited these children, I knew we needed to take better care of them. I fear for the girls, Rosa and Carolina, as they are so vulnerable to sexual predators. I want all the children educated and other simple things like fed. Rosa cries every time she sees me. So you get the picture. Anyway, I talked the boss [ my husband] into letting me move the whole family, dad, mom and 8 kids into the new chicken guardian house and the dad being the guardian there. We will move them in Oct. when their school gets out. In the meantime, the dad and Manuel are fixing the house up for them to live in and since they are getting paid, the family now has food. I am thrilled to have this sweet family back in our lives. I love those kids and will enjoy seeing them more and knowing they are being taken care of. The mom has major disabilities, the result of stunting as a child. [caused by malnutrition ]. The dad was an alcholic who is supposed to not be drinking. Joel has supervised him for 3 weeks now and it seems to be true. Both parents have no education and the kids are seriously behind with their schooling. Anyone who wants to help and be part of this families life, just let me know. They need everything. If you notice on the right hand side of our blog there is a link to twitter travel. Joel's blog. Click on it and you can see Manuel and his dad Tomas working on their new house. Has a cement floor, bathroom, and no sewage running thru. Has plenty of fresh air and grass for the children to play in and , of course, they will be able to be in all our feeding and tutorial programs.

Vicki

20.vicki@gmail.com

http://www.safehomesforchildren.org

More Mothers and Toddlers

2011-08-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

This week we had a great family from Utah come visit. They decided to do an one-time infant and formula distribution at Nueva Victoria. Right now because of lack of funding the only program we have going on in Nueva Victoria is the tutoring/student lunch program. When the Chase family showed up with formula for the infants and encaperina for the toddlers/preschoolers they were greeted by 38 moms, almost all of whom had 3-4 kids under the age of 5. The mom's were so grateful to have something to feed their kids.

THANK YOU CHASE FAMILY!

We would love to be able to start the mother/toddler program in Nueva Victoria. We just need more help to be able to do so.

Our program in Los Robles is going so well. Every Tues we have 66 moms and 111 kids 5 and under and on Thurs we have 41 moms and 76 kids 5 and under.

The moms are doing a great job helping Dominga in the kitchen and really trying to make the program less about charity and more about self reliance.

For class this week they had someone show them how to make handmade beaded belts to sell. Everyone was pretty excited.

But for everyone that we are helping, there is someone else who needs help. We had to turn away more moms this week. We have 20 moms from Chuti-Estancia that come every week and this week we had 5 more; we also have 15 moms from a pueblo called Pacaman ask to be part of the program. We had to turn away all these 20 new moms and their 50+ kids.

All these women are great people, just trying to feed their children. Unfortunately they did not have the same resources and opportunities we do.

If you want to help these mothers feed their children please let us know. It only takes $20/month to feed one mom and provide the formula/encaparina for her children. I will send you a picture and some details on the family you are supporting.

(Pictures courtesy of Joel-thanks!)

School kids

2011-07-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to show you some pictures of some of our school kids.
When school lets out everyday they run to visit us. As you might know, we tutor them everyday after their few hours of regular school and 3 days a week we provide a healthy and hearty lunch since many of these kids have so little to eat.

It is important to us that the kids know they need to work for what they have in life. So we have them help out. They take turns helping cook.

They also all help wash their dishes. The greatest thing is they are happy doing it.

I thought this picture was funny. Joel pulled the washing machine out of storage to wash a pile of clothes. The kids were so intrigued.

Enjoying dessert after their lessons

Last week, following the advice of the doctor in Guatemala City, Joel took our two Down Syndrome kids into Panajachel to have their TSH tested. TSH refers to one part of the thyroid. Making sure we have their thyroid under control will be a major step in helping these sweeties live a healthy life. We should have the results in a couple days.

Here they are with their moms, 8 mths (one of the twins) and 4 1/2 yrs old.

Let us know if you would like to help with feeding our school kids or help with the medical bills of our sweet babies.

Vicki and Jody are in Guatemala right now. A big thank you to everyone who provided formula for them to take down. The babies are drinking it now.

(Note: Pictures courtesy of Joel)

Mama/Tot program, Rain and New Veggie Garden and Guardian House

2011-07-06T05:03:00.001-07:00

Joel is in Guatemala right now doing a great job of making things happen. He writes a wonderful blog everyday with great pictures so if you go to http://casadesion.blogpsot.com and click on the twitter travel link on the right you can see them all. I pulled off a few pictures to show you what is happening.

At the top are our new guardian house and new veggie gardens. Thanks to an awesome team, we now have a guardian house and will soon have a guardian in it. Joel is interviewing candidates now. Then we will have chickens . Now we have raised beds planted of all kinds of veggies. All this will help us feed the children we now feed [ over 400 plus 100 mamas ] and enable us to add more. In the picture is our guardian Juan. He is also in the picture of the rocks. He is the one making the rock enclosed structures called gaviones. They hopefully will protect our land from the mudslides that come thru every rainy season. It is quite an art to make a gavione and Juan seems to have it. We took in Juan because he and his boys [ 8 and 12 ] were homeless. So we gave him the job of guardian and they live on the property. We think Juan is autistic, but he sure makes a great gavione and raised bed garden.

The last picture makes me cry every time I see it. For they are all my mamas and all my children. These women had to walk a long way to get there and a long way back. But they get formula, incaparina and a meal and it is all they can do to make sure their kids get food as they have no education and can not make the money to provide it. This picture is of 38 mamas and 75 children. We now have a total of 90 mamas and over 200 children.I cry because we have 1000s more children who need to be in our programs that we can not take as we do not have the funding. PLease help us with this. For $20.00 a month, you can sponsor one mama and her children and we can take one more into our program.

thanks

Vicki

20.vicki@gmail.com

SO MUCH GOING ON

2011-06-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not written in so long. Excuses are poor health for me. I had a physical and had some minor heart blockage so am devoting a day each week to do chelation. Then we had some personal family problems that needed attention and our house that we abandoned for 4 months needed our help. Plus we raise a lot of our food here in the states.Then Joel has not been there and I lost enthusiasm. But thanks to Dominga and Gil the porgrams kept going. We have tons more mamas and infants and tots who want to join our programs. Their kids are starving and they do what all mamas do when their kids are hurting. Anything they can to help. We have more and more handicapped kids who need us to help with their medicals. And then a bunch more kids who can't go to school next year without sponsors. They have finished 6th grade, but want to move further than that and break the poverty cycle. SO THESE ARE ALL THE PROGRAMS WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH AND THE ONES YOUR DONATIONS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE WITH. My enthusiasm is back and I will be in Guate in July to take more pictures.

Now for the things we are making progress with.Kent and Jeff and their team have almost finished the guardian house for the middle land. It is right next to the chicken house and as soon as we move in a guardian we can buy chickens and not have them stolen. Juan, our community building guardian has been working on our gardens and soon we will have chickens and veggies for our programs. Debbie and Daniel and Richard have negotiated with the men from Nueva Victoria and Los Robles. In exchange for these 50 men clearing the 14 cuardas[ 3.5 to 4 acres ] on our third level property and preparing it for the planting of black beans, Nueva Victoria will get $1000.00 worth of fertilizer for their corn and and Los Robles will get $500.00 to pay off their electric bill so the school will have electricity. They were helped by a team of 14 college girls who make it a summer habit to go from country to country doing good. This will definitely increase our ability to be self-sufficient. Pictures will follow soon.

We have finished updating our website so take a look. www.safehomesforchildren.org

thanks

Vicki

Realities

2011-05-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

I stole this blog from Joel (our Twitter Travel guy), I felt like everyone should read it.

"Reality: 56% of Guatemalans live below the poverty line; 80% of the Maya population are below that line

Reality: Guatemala suffers the highest rate of malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere; 55% of Maya children

Reality: Guatemala has the highest murder rate in the Western Hemisphere; 53 per 100K compared to 17 in Mexico and 35 in Colombia

Reality: Most of the indigenous poor in Guatemala earn less than $1 per day

Reality: 38% of the Maya population receive no education while another 50% attend less than 6 years

Reality: In Guatemala, 1.8% GDP goes to health care, 1.8% towards health care compared to 7.1% and 6.7% in US

Reality: 50% of Guatemalans have piped drinking water and fully 98% of all water sources are contaminated

Reality: Over 50% of Maya children experience growth stunting as a result of malnutrition

Reality: Less than 20% of the Maya population will ever see a doctor resulting in high infant mortality. One in 5 won't make it to their 5th birthday."

2011-05-06T03:36:00.000-07:00

We have had lots going on in Guatemala

even tho I have been in the states for the last two weeks. Joel has been there supervising. We have had two medical teams. One a group of opticians who helped correct everyone's eyes and then a group of dentists who helped get people"s teeth in order. Check out Joel's blog at twitter travel to see pictures of all this. One of the older women we gave glasses to is in the pictures above.

And then a really big thing for us is our new guardian building being built down near the chickens coop. Twitter travel has a bunch of pictures on this. Kent , the man in the above picture, has a physical therapy clinic in Guate City. He collected a group who paid for the materials and donated their labor. And much labor it was. We will be so helped by this as it will give a family a home, give us a guardian so we can finally buy our chickens and start using the eggs and eventually chickens in our programs to eat and get our veggie gardens going and even some fruit trees.

While we are talking about medical stuff, here is one of the children we need money for to do further testing. He can not talk or hear and something wrong with his eyes. A sweet little 2 year old.

To see Joel's blog and all the wonderful pictures and stories, go to www.casadesion.blogspot.com and click on the Twiiter trale link on the right hand side.

Vicki

20.vicki@gmail.com

In honor of mother's--giveaway

2011-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

As I am sure you notice, we have a new look!

Thanks Jane (and Meredith), you are both amazing!!!

In honor of our new look and Mother's Day we are going to have a little fun.

First we have a great gift idea...

Give the women in your life the best "Mother's Day" present you can give them. For $20 a month, you can give them the gift of life. Your loved one will be assigned a mother and her little children. This family will be provided with life giving food and nutrients. For many of these children it will mean the difference between growth and development or stunting and malnourishment. The person you are honoring will receive a picture of the women and children they are supporting as well as updates and a e-card telling them how you have honored them.
Write Erin at erin.casadesion@gmail.com to sign up for Mother's day.

One of our mom's that needs a sponsor; Aura with her 2 kids Kedi 1 and Cindi 3

Also, we are going to do a Mother's Day giveaway.
Your chance to win a handmade purse from Guatemala. It is the perfect gift (other then sponsoring one of our mom's)!

Modeled by my beautiful sister Emmie

There are several ways you can enter our giveaway:
1. Follow us
2. Link this post to your facebook
3. Tweet about us and this giveaway
4. Blog about us and the giveaway
5. Sponsor one of our mom's

Rules: You may enter up to 5 times (one of each listed above), for each item, leave a comment below (if you already follow us, or sponsor a mom, leave a comment below) with a link and your email address.

Giveaway ends Sunday-Mother's Day, May 8th, 2011. If you are the winner and you want to give it as a gift, I can send an email with a picture to that special 'mom' in your life.

Visiting the Twins

2011-04-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

We decided to visit one of our families that receives formula and incaparina so we would have a better idea of where they and their 8 kids live. here are some of the pictures of their home. This is the home of my little downs baby and the dad made them hanging bassinets. There are 8 children and the family struggles to feed them.

Nine new Mamas and 21 new Children From Chipop

2011-04-07T09:06:00.001-07:00

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Our mama/toddler program is growing like crazy. Way too mant starving people in this country and what mama wants to see her little one starve. last Tuesday on distribution day we had 47 mamas and 88 children 1 to 5, 20 0 to 1 and 35 over 5. On Thurs. at the same program just for another group of woman and kids we had 37 mamas and did not count the kids. I added 4 more mamas and kids two days ago. Precious. A 5 year boy with CP who is being raised by his grandma and can't walk or talk , but he sure can do a pretty smile. Another women who is blind, has 5 kids and was pregnant with no. 6.
These nine women and their 21 assorted kids are all from the pueblo of Chipop. it was a difficult decision about whether to take them as they are known as a community of bandits. But they were there and the children's faces are sweet and you can't blame the kids for the parents, so we took them. Hopefully it gave us a measure of protection. From the bottom up , here are the women, some of the kids and the number of children they have.
1. Estela Dias 2 children
2. Ismelda Chavez. 5 children one of which is Wendy who has Juvenile Rheumatory Arthritis. Thanks to a medical student we were able to give her Prednizone to help control this for Wendy.
3. Juana Perez 5 children
4. Rosenda Martin 2 children
5. Vidalia Sicay 1 child
6. Gloria Sancales 1 child
7. Maria Keju 2 children
8. Estela Lopez 1 child
9. Candelaria Martines 2 children

2011-03-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well Joel has gone home until the end of April and the blogs are back to me. i have some great pictures and great news, but first thought you might like to see what happens to missionary type families when family members come to visit. So here are some pictures and a little bit of story on what our family does down here with family visitors.
The pictures are numbered from the bottom down.
1. a picture of my husband and I with our grandchild Jake. We are redoing our blogspot and this picture will be on the about us page. The blog will be shut down for a few days while it is being redone. Thanks to Erin and Meredith for all their work on this.
2. next is a picture of Joel and his wife Carol when Carol came to see where Joel will be spending half his time.
3. three of my kids on an excursion trip to find an organic gardner to get our gardens going in Los Robles so we can provide food for more people. Gardens should go in in May. We are also building a guardian small house to safe guard the veggies and the chickens from being stolen. Third world reality.
4. my future sil Will [ connected to my daughter Hannah ] working on fixing the child's walker we have at Los Robles for the many disabled kids we work with. Will had come to officially meet us and fell in love with some of the kids and gave out glasses to some of the old ladies. He made a walker for Angel to take home with him.
5. My daughter Hannah holding our newest downs boy to join our program. He is almost 4 and does not walk, talk or see very well. He needs specialty glasses. Hannah was watching him so his mother could participate in the women's program. He held on so tight to her that she had scratches all over her neck by the time her babysitting job ended.
6. My daughter Flossie holding her son and my grandson Carson. Carson is 3 and loved going to Los Robles to visit our programs while his mother worked there.
7. Flossie's littlest boy, Cooper, holding one of my twins. This is Lilli froom the boy.girl twin set who were born back in May and adopted by the local midwife. Flossie would adopt one of these beautiful little girls in a heartbeat if adoptions every opened back up
8. the soon to be wed couple on a family outing to the lake. All 9 of us living here, Flossie and Chris and their two and Hannah and Will in a 12 passenger van. Luckily in Guatemala, no one cares
9. One of the stops we made on our way to the lake. Quite the juxtaposition. Stopping to see a family we help with food, clothes and school on our way to see the beautiful lake and have a family dinner at a nice restaurant in Santiago. This family has no electric, no clean water and sewage running thru the teeny, tiny yard 3 feet from the beds they sleep in on their dirt floor.
We enjoyed our family visitng as the hardest part here, besides the safety issues, is missing the kids and grandkids. We loved showing them the work we are doing. What we do here is a family venture and all my kids contribute to it in their own way. Flossie's husband Chris, who is a barber, cut all our hair while here.

2000 Children Die in Guatemala in 2010

2011-03-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Over 2000 Guatemalan children died of hunger in 2010

According to a report presented Friday by the national Ombudsman office, more than 2,000 children under 5 died in Guatemala during the first 10 months of 2010 as a consequence of illnesses caused by malnutrition.

The report is based on statistics from the Epidemiology Center of the Public Health Ministry covering the period from Jan. 1-Oct. 31, 2010.

“It’s worrying that mortality from hunger is double that of deaths from violence. Thousands of children are estimated to be at risk and there is no sufficient effort being made to save them from this grave situation,” Ombudsman Sergio Morales told the media.

The report also noted that eighty-four percent of the children died at home, without any kind of medical care and that most of the deaths were due to respiratory infections and diarrhea, ailments caused by high levels of malnutrition.

Ministry figures show that one in every two Guatemalan children under 5 suffer from malnutrition, as a consequence of the poverty and extreme poverty in which more than 52 percent of the country’s 14.4 million inhabitants live.

Most of the children who died were concentrated in provinces that make up Guatemala’s “dry corridor,” a strip that runs through the country from east to northeast, which during the last two years has suffered intense droughts blamed on climate change.

Important Info from a Haitian Missionary's Blog

2011-03-17T08:35:00.001-07:00

Thinking through STM
STM = Short Term Missions/Missionaries
LTM = Long Term Missions/Missionaries

Below are random (but true) examples:

A.) Team comes to visit. They go on a walk through the small village they are visiting. One boy speaks English. Everyone migrates to him because he can be communicated with easily. He asks for a bike. One man in the group tells the boy offhandedly that he can have a bike. STM gets to be the hero and make promises. For two years the boy asks the LTM why the bike has not arrived. He does not forget that the white guy said he could have it. The LTM has to field the requests for delivery on the STM promise.

B.) A bike arrives for one kid in a village of 700 kids. A well meaning STM sent it because they really love their child they sponsor in the feeding/school program and they want him to have a bike. The LTM begs the ministry partners in America not to force them to give that bike. The LTM fears the trouble it will cause. The ministry wants to make the donor of the bike happy. They say the LTM must give the bike and take photos. The boy gets the bike. The donor gets the photos. The donor is happy. The boy gets beat up and his bike gets stolen by bigger older boys that are angry that the mission did not give them bikes.

C.) A STM group comes in wanting to help build houses. The LTM suggests they work with Haitians and get their input. The LTM makes many suggestions based on the years in country and the things they have learned about the culture and its building practices. The STM wants to build the house according to their practices and styles of building. They force their way of building onto the group of Haitians they are building the house for and refuse to believe that the Haitians way of doing it has any merit. They finish the house and take many photos of their good work to go home and show their church proudly. The following Sunday the group is sharing their photos at church and the Haitians are tearing off the roof of the house and re-doing the way that they prefer.

D.) A STM group focused on medical care come to offer a one-day free clinic. Word gets out that the team will give out peanut butter if you say that you have a child at home that is anemic. Suddenly every child in the village is anemic.

E.) STM group comes in to host a VBS not having any cultural context or awareness. Gifts are given all week. The kids continue to come to see what gift they will get. Songs are sung and taught in English. The kids speak Creole. A large number of children are "saved" the group does not know that four other STM groups have come through that year and the kids now know that praying for Jesus to come into your heart equals a congratulatory gift.

F.) A STM comes to distribute food. They don't have relationships in the area they are distributing. They don't know what is needed. They don't know who else has worked in that area prior to them. They hand out food for two hours only to realize that there are 300 people that did not get food waiting outside. Fighting starts between those that got food and those that didn't. The group is forced to tuck tail and run before they get stuck in the middle of a fight.

These are just a few examples among dozens and dozens. Haiti is close and easy to visit from the USA. More STM trips happen here than any other country in the world. Since the earthquake teams have increased. Every week - all year long - team after team visits Haiti. Some come to "save" and tell and some come informed and ready to learn and observe. Some come thinking that relationship doesn't matter and they walk around handing out $5 bills and gospel tracts and some come to sit and listen and learn. Some come trying to be aware of what others before and after them will do and others come thinking that what they do matters more to Haiti than any single thing that ever happened here.

A while back we went to a conference where one of the speakers was the author of "When Helping Hurts - How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself". If you are coming to Haiti or Africa or Asia or Guatemala or Timbuktu we think it is wise to read it.

I don't believe the man who offered the bike ever meant to cause so much trouble for the LTM or the kid. I don't believe the VBS group meant to pay kids with gifts to become Christians. I am fairly certain that many groups have not considered that they are one of thousands of STM groups that will come to Haiti this year. I don't think groups come here wanting to foster dependency and send a message that Haitians cannot do things for themselves. Sadly, for many many years we've been doing just this. Not because we wanted to - but just because we came in with the wrong attitude.

Many people, ourselves included, come with good intentions. It is important for us to recognize where we have failed and attempt to learn from our mistakes. We need to realize that good intentions are often times not enough and in the end we might do more harm than good. All of our pride needs to be laid down. Short or long term, we need to be completely open to learning from those that have been here even longer.

WE JUST FINISHED READING THE BOOK AND ARE READING IT A SECOND TIME TAKING NOTE. IT IS A REALLY GOOD READ FOR ANYONE SERIOUS ABOUT HELPING IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES. NAME OF THE BOOK IS 'WHEN HELPING HURTS".. CAN BE ORDERED FROM AMAZON.

Odds and Ends

2011-03-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the students that a few of you are paying for their schooling. Look at these kids and realize that except for you they would have been able to only go to school thru 6th grade. Now they are in 7th, taking typing classes and going to school with an elite group of kids. Kids who are trying to have a better education and better job possibilities. Our teacher, Gil, at Los Robles has tried his best to maake sure that the kids want to continue on into middle school. Gil knows alot of parents can not afford it and so the kids will quit. Now that money is not the factor , these select few will keep going. This is an added benefit to our after school tutoring program. Nueva Victoria told us they had 10 students graduate from 6th grade last year and that none of them were going to middle school because of funding. We told them we would try and help, but they could not generate enough interest among the parents for them to even come to a meeting. Next year tho will be different. After a year of having two dedicated teachers working with the kids every afternoon and stressing the importance of education, Nueva Victoria will be ready to have some of their kids go on to middle school. They will then need funding. All the LR students are required to help in our programs in trade for the help we give them. The girls wash dishes or laundry. The boys work in our gardens.
The other pictures are of two girls who need medical help. The picture with two little girls is a sweet one , huh. Both girls had been helping in the kitchen after the elementary feeding program. They love washing the dishes and cleaning up and were so proud of themselves. The one on the left has one leg that is several inches shorter than the other. She needs elevated shoes or her spine will eventually give her much trouble. I figure the cost will be $150.00 as it will require a trip to the city and specialized shoes. Angelina is a sweetheart if you want to help her.
Wendy is the girl in the picture by herself. She is 7. She has juvenile rheumatory arthritis. The picture of the swollen knees are of her also. Her elbows and neck and every other joint is swollen too. If you want to help Wendy, she will be grateful . Her meds are quite expensive. We had a doctor and med student visit last week who left us with prednizone for Wendy. they also left us with many bottles of high calori preemie formula. I took it yesterday to Jeremias, our little downs twin. His mama will feed it to him to help him with weight gain. I am happy to report that he is already looking heavier and better since he now has all the formula he needs. After this special formula, maybe he will be gordo [ spanish for fat ] Keep in mind, there is no WIC program or free health care that will supply htese kids with their meds and special shoes. Their families make less than $2.00 A DAY SO UNLESS WE HELP, THEY DO WITHOUT.

thanks
Vicki

The Happenings at Nueva Victoria

2011-03-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Nueva Victoria is moving up in the world. When we were out there 3 weeks ago , we had a meeting with the committee [ the governing group of the aldea ] or in other words the men of power for the community. Usually it is men. We were talking to them about starting our elementary school children's feeding program and the possibility of starting a tutorial program. Our meeting was successful. They were very interested in starting both programs. We promised the feeding program would start right away. The children up there looked terrible. Not just dirty. Weepy eyes and noses oozing infection. Children dragging around imploring you with their eyes to feed them. The tutorials meant we had to hire a teacher.
We had a coincidental meeting there when we met the new Guatemalan director of Pencils of Promise. Noah's group is planning to build a new school there. We are hoping to work in partnership with them where they build the school including a kitchen. We come in afterwords and start our programs. First the elementary feeding program, then the elementary tutorial program and then the mama/tot feeding program. By following Noah's group, we save the $25,000.00 that we would need to put into the buildings for our programs and can use the money for more programs.
We have hired a teacher for the tutorials up there. His name is Manuel Alfredo. He came to Los Robles and trained with Gil for a week learning to teach the kids about basic hygiene and manners as well as academics. He has started at Nueva Victoria. We have over 100 children in the elementary feeding program up there 3 days a week and that many in the tutorial program each day. Today we are hiring a helper for Manuel. When we were up there last Weds., the children were already looking healthier. I have pictures of all this that will go on a later blog. And we met another group that is building part of the school. The Sienna Foundation is building the first 3 rooms and Noah's group is building the kindergarten and the kitchen. All of this will help us with our programs. Next step in Nueva Victoria is funding for the mama/tot program. Gosh is it needed. Right now we need school supplies bad and shoes.
Pictures are of the committee, my husband sitting in the committee meeting and part of Noah's group checking out the places to build.
thanks for helping us.

Help us win

2011-02-22T06:35:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-22T06:34:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

Malnutrition in Guatemala

2011-01-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Here is an article Jody and I just read from the "Economist" magazine. http://www.economist.com/node/14313735. Please copy and paste and read. It is so true. I saw many children this week with all the signs of malnutrition. First was at our mama/tot group. The 3 month old twins showed up with their parents, 10 year and 2 year old sisters. I brought the family to my house to make sure the mother was mixing the bottles right. She wasn't. The veins were showing on the younger twin and he was nothing but skin and bones. The two girls did not crack a smile or move a muscle. It was hard to even get them to eat the cookie we gave them. I sent the parents home with cans of tuna [ thanks to those of you who sent canned meats for me to bring down ] and formula and newborn packets [ thanks to LDS humanitarian services and Joel who brought them ] . I will take the babies to a clinic being held this next Tues. to have a doc check them out and to weigh them. Also at the program was the woman with the 6 kids whose husband kicked her out for a new woman. [ Lucky woman huh. wonder how long she will last ] The mama at our program was begging for food. Rice, beans, etc. Her baby looked like he had been picked up out of the local dump he was so dirty and his clothes were so ragged. But she had put about 10 rags on him to make sure he was warm. She needs a home. And then there were all the stories I did not hear on Tuesday from the other 65 mamas who were there. Then there was our trip yesterday to Nueva Victoria, but that is another blog. The final baby story this week came in the form of a call last night. There was a newborn in our community whose mother was not keeping him. Another woman was willing to raise him , but she was very poor and had grandchildren of her own who were starving. But she would do the work part if we would help with formula, bottles and clothes. So this morning, I went to visit with two cans of formula [ thanks to Ian and his Eagle Scout project ] and bottles [ thanks to Karen P ] and newborn clothes [ thanks again Karen and Joel. Everything was so needed there. One of the little granddaughters had the blond hair that speaks of malnourishment.
As you can see, I can only do this because you help me. So thanks for all the help you are giving. And read the article so you have two witnesses.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Clinic Pictures

2011-01-26T15:05:00.001-08:00

Answer to formula question. We want the powdered kind as the ready to feed weighs too much. thannks

Pictures from the bottom up

The clinic at the Morman church in San Andres
The man with diabetes and lung infection. He is 78 and the custodian at this church
A mother who came for help
A child we helped
Another child we helped

A question was asked of what kind of formula we need. Powdered please as the ready to feed weighs too much.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Five new Mothers added to Our Program

2011-01-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Our mama/tot program in Los Robles is very popular. One of the only places that moms can get formula nd incaparina for their hungry children and a meal for themselves. Last Monday we had 4 new mamas join. Here are their pictures. Yesterday we had two more join. I do not have pictures of them yet. One of them was a mom with 6 children ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years. The infant who was with her was one of the most ragged looking infants I have seen. Her husband kicked her and the 6 children out of the shack they were living in so he could move in a new girlfriend. Her 14 year old son is working to provide the only money coming in. This family needs your help. Can someone please sponsor them? We also need many more sponsors as we now have 69 [ not including these ] mamas and their kids. My husband whoo believes in a budget says no more until we have sponsors. I, who have to look in their hungry eyes, say they can join. Not good for my marriage. Please think about commiting to $20 a month to help one mama and her family. Ask your relatives to help. You will receive a picture and a short bio. Another family that was at the program yesterday Joel wrote about and did a blog on when he was here. They walk for 2 hours to come to the program. They have 3 month old twin boys, the cutest 2 year old girl, a 4 year old, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 14 year olds. The dad was hurt in an accident and can not work long hours doing physical labor. He grows some corn and beans to feed his family. They have no school supplies for the 5 in 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 grade. One of the twins is severely malnourished. I paid their transport for them to come to my house yesterday to go over in detail what they were eating. The tiny one was only getting 3 ounces a day of nourishment. I fed him a 4 oz. bottle and he drank the whole thing. I sent them home with formula, bottles, newborn kits and tuna fish for the older children. They were so grateful. They desperately need a family sponsor. And I need advice from you medical people on what to feed the twins to put weight on them.
Lots of suffering down here and lots of work
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Pictures

2011-01-26T08:14:00.001-08:00

Starting from the bottom

1. Our teachers from the city getting ready to party at Los Robles
2. Amy, one of the teachers, falling in love with Ivana, who she now sponsors.
3. Getting ready to hit the pinata
4. The whole Los Robles party group

Finally a Blog

2011-01-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well we have been in the country for almost 2 weeks and what a hectic two weeks it has been. Joel has gone back to the states for a while. And gosh we all miss his blogs. We have had some great teams in the last week and a half. American teachers from a fancy school in Guatemala City put a ton of time and love into two Saturdays of parties for over 300 children. They had pinatas and homemade cookies and presents for everyone. The presents were all donated by the parents of the Guate City children. The first Sat. the party was in Los Robles for all the children we serve. The next Sat. it was in Nueva victoria for the children we do a lunch program for. The teachers commented of how much better behaved the Los Robles children were in terms of orderliness and gratitutde. I realized the difference was we have worked the last year to teach the Los Robles children to respect the people who are giving them something and to have an attitude of gratitude. Realizing this we want to start a tutorial program for the Nueva Victoria children to help them understand gratitude and respect.
We had a wonderful team of nurses Monday of last week that saw over 200 people. We almost delivered a baby at that clinic. We did not have alot of medicines but did discover alot of need for medicine. One is an older man with diabetes who can not afford the $25 a month his medicine cost. I bought it this month. Does anyone esle want to buy it next month? We also have a child with many cognitive disabilities who needs $35 a month for seizure meds. Any takers?
Then we had a great team from the St. George, Utah/Las Vegas, Nevada area that provided much service and much needed supplies to several communities and families. They bought two energy efficient stoves for Nahuala, the community we helped in Aug. after they were totally displaced by Hurricane Agatha. If you remember, we set up 8 Shelter box tents in this area. They bought $1000.00 worth of much needed food as the people were basically starving. They bought 30 pairs of school shoes for the community of Chutinimit here in San Andres. They were another community we did Shelter Box tents for. They bought supplies for a very poor family in Los Robles who needed things for their newborn and milk for their 3 year old. And at Los Robles they paid for the typing classes and materials for 11 middle school students we are sponsoring in school which is allowing us to cover the school expenses for a couple of more kids who needed help to continue in their schooling.
On a personal note, we have enrolled our oldest two here in a private school in Pana. Jody and I are homeschooling our youngest 5 with him taking most of the responsibility for it. Two of our boys are great gymnasts and we have never been in a position to give them lessons. We found out yesterday that there is a Olympic gymnast in Panajachel who will teach our two boys. He also is a piano teacher and will teach our two girls.
We have the computer working with a cellular stick but I can not upload pictures with it so I will go tomorrow to a better location for uploading pictures and try and get some pictures of what we are doing.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

The Eyes of Hunger

2011-01-10T03:32:00.000-08:00

As I get ready to return to Guatemala, these are some of the children I will see and relate to. I will actually look in their eyes, not just see them from these pictures. They are real people suffering the real pain of not enough to eat. I need your help to help them. Please look in their eyes and see if they are telling you to help. I know when I see them again, that is what they will say to me.
Below are a couple of news articles on hunger and Guatemala.
To help you can push the donate button or write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com for an address to send a check. 100% goes to these and other children. We still need more sponsors for our mama/tot program. $20 a month for a year feeds and gives supplements to one mama and her infant and toddler children.

2011 to Bring a Hungrier Latin America
David Schreiner
January 7, 2011

Image by tpmartins.
A slew of natural disasters and climbing global food prices in 2010 have experts worried about the threats to food security 2011 could bring to Latin America. Fears of this kind are not new to the region, but one of the worst years for natural disasters in decades has made food security a more immediate concern for the many millions of people across Latin America vulnerable to variations in supplies of basic foods.

In the Western Hemisphere, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, and Venezuela top the list of countries confronting food scarcity problems. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that over the past 20 years more than one-fifth of both Bolivia’s and Guatemala’s population has suffered from undernourishment. In Haiti, more than half go with less food than they should, and exacerbating this problem are Haitian rice farmers, now leaving crops unharvested in areas thought to be effected by the recent cholera outbreak, despite efforts to educate growers about ensuring a safe harvest.

Meanwhile, the 2010 la niña climactic cycle brought heavy rains to Central America as well as Colombia and Venezuela, destroying crops and damaging agricultural infrastructure. This aggravated the food shortage in Guatemala, and flooding in Colombia and Venezuela created a shortage of rice and some vegetable products. With heavy la niña rains expected to continue into 2011, experts warn that acute food insecurity will increase in 2011, especially in Guatemala.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a seminar in November 2010 on rural poverty and climate change. It concluded that rural populations in tropical regions “are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change on agriculture.” A meeting on rural and agricultural development held in conjunction with the COP 16 in Cancun found that: “There is no climate security without food security and no food security without climate security.” However, a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests that the share of Latin Americans suffering from food insecurity is getting smaller. To continue improving food supplies, the paper argues, international coordination must help the poorest countries increase crop yields. A stronger export sector, argues a similar report, will help prop up food supplies, as could responsible compensatory social policies.

Learn More:

HERE IS ANOTHER ARTICLE. THE MAYANS ARE THE PEOPLE WE HELP

Guatemala Food Security Outlook October 2010 through March 2011
Source: Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET)

Date: 30 Dec 2010

Full_Report (pdf* format - 342.8 Kbytes)

Key Messages

• Currently, the poorest households in the country's highlands suffer moderate food insecurity due to the spread of the annual lean season, as well as the consequences of this year's heavy rainy season. Poor households in the rest of the country suffer moderate insecurity, as some still depend on external help to fill their food requirements, after the impact of the heavy rains received during these last months.

• Levels of acute food insecurity in households located in the highlands will be moderate during the last quarter of the year, as they depend on external help to compensate a harvest 30 percent below normal and damages caused by the rainy season. This assistance will not be enough to cover food needs between January and March, so they will suffer high acute food insecurity.

• The poorest households in the east and in the coasts will face moderate food insecurity during the entire period of this outlook. A smaller first harvest in September/October, and with important losses during the second harvest in December, will considerably reduce their stocks. The start of the highest demand season for unskilled labor will improve their income, but they will still be insufficient to fill their food needs. They will depend on external assistance.

• Hurricane season ends in November, so there is still the possibility of a cyclonic event affecting the country.
Full_Report (pdf* format - 342.8 Kbytes)
(*) Get Adobe Acrobat Viewer (free) With the exception of public UN sources, reproduction or redistribution of the above text, in whole, part or in any form, requires the prior consent of the original source. The opinions expressed in the documents carried by this site are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by UN OCHA or ReliefWeb.
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Packing For Nine

2011-01-05T09:29:00.001-08:00

My days have been consumed with packing for 9 and going to Walmart [ yuk I hate to go there] to buy whatever we may need while in Guate for 3.5 months.
Is not fun. And I have to do it all as my dear husband does not pack. If he packed we would each get 2 outfits and they would not match. Plus since we are flying Spirit Air and have to pay $30 for each piece of checked luggage, Jody would make sure there was no luggage.So since we are staying with 7 children 5 to 16 for 3.5 months, I get to do the packing. I also get to pack all the wonderful donations you all sent. BTW, thanks Tom I got your package and the clothes and formula were great. There will be one suitcase per person and 3 for donations. I also have to keep Jody out of the packing room as he takes out things. He thinks everyone should have 1 Sunday outfit. Like I am going to wear the same dress every Sunday for 14 weeks. And I have to have my books and my music. The kids have to have at least one toy plus their books for school. Then to add to the chaos, there is the 14 year old boy and 16 year old girl who are freaking out about leaving their friends. And my husband has to get all our tax stuff done before we go. And there is a BIG snow storm coming sometime around when we are supposed to pull off this mountain and the 15 passenger which has to carry us all the way to FL. does not like snow. And bad things are happening like Pedro emailing us and my husband having some health problems.
So please pray for us. For peace and safety and a non-turbulent flight. Have I ever mentioned I hate to fly or rather I am afraid of flying. [ wasn't that the name of a book] .We need continued praying while we are down there. Pray also that I can do blogs half as good and often as joel's. Gosg pray that Joel stays and does all the blogs. For more money to expand the programs and for good health both physically and mentally.
Also want to mention again that our family air tickets and living expenses come out of our personal money. All your donations to Safe Homes goes to the programs.

thanks for your support and prayers.
Oh yeah the pictures are of the Guatemala 7[ in other words the kids who will doing this adventure with us ]

Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

2010-12-28T03:20:00.000-08:00

Pictures at the beach from bottom up
My big strong football all Va state son sleeping on the way home from the beach next to my second youngest grandson
my kids- all the as yet unmarrieds
the Nags Head beach we were on- almost isolated this time of year
Bethany [ who just got back from a mission ] with Eric [ who just got back from a mission]; they are almost engaged
Christmas morning and the littles waiting to come up
big ones just hanging out
Erin with her son Marcus- Erin is our new fundraising coordinator and my daughter.
My kids at the Virginia Dare festival Park

We are on our way home from our every other year family Christmas reunion at the beach. We had 16 of our kids, 5 of the spouses of said kids and 11 grandkids making 12 kids under 5. We will miss them while we are in Guate for the next 3.5 months. My heart always seems to be in two places. Guess that's better than in no place. Anyway thought you might want to get to know us better before all my blogs are about the poor and desperate and end with asking for your help and money. Sometimes I think we get so involved with needed charitable work we forget our families need to grow too, just in different ways. Grandkids need to know grandparents. and siblings need to reconnect as do parents and children. It was fun and sometimes hard this last week. And it made me appreciate family and the affluence I have. I think about the poverty among the Mayans every time I spend money on me and mine. All of us in this country are so wealthy compared to these people we are working with. You never get used to the fact of looking inside a one room house and seeing no possessions. We did not spend much on Christmas materialism[ gifts] but did enjoy our beach houses, each other and good food. Hope you had a nice Christmas and we appreciate all you do to help us help the Mayans.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

an interesting blog about Lake Atitlan

http://globetrottergirls.com/2010/12/lake-atitlan-guatemala-villages/

FAMILY REUNIONS AND GUATEMALA

2010-12-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

Every other year our family rents two big beach cottages. All the married kids and grandkids that can, come and spend a week together. The next year, they go to their in-laws. This year we had 15 children, 4 spouses of the married kids and 11 grandkids and one almost fiancee. It has been wild with 12 kids under 5 and lots of fun.
No. 18 of the grandkids was born on Monday while we were here. His parents live here. He is the cute little baby. Eleven of my kids are in the picture looking at the ocean.
Two things have happened here that made me think of Guate. One was yesterday when we went to Manteo. We are at the beach at Nags Head, NC on the Outer Banks. It is very close to Manteo where the first English child, Virginia Dare was born in the US in 1587. She was born on Roanoke Island where Manteo is located. We went to Roanoke Island festival park. It has an excellent interactive museum, a settlement village, an accurate reporduction of the Queen Elizabeth II ship they came over on and an Indian village. The long houses the Indians lived in were so much like many of the houses the Mayans in Guate live in now. The ones with the corn cob walls. They ate the same things too. Corn, beans, and squash. They had no cows but made a milk from walnuts and added squash. I have always thought the Mayans were about 100 years behind the US civilization, but now I wonder if it is 400 years. And is it behind or just simpler.? One picture is of my 3 year old grandson in full pirate gear after our festival adventure.
Today my husband I wondered down to the end of Nags Head before it heads into Hatteras. There were probably 10 or more beach houses sitting in the ocean at high tide. They are ruined but still perfectly good houses with good windows and wood and deck rails, etc. Why they are being allowed to fall into the ocean instead of being moved and used is beyond me. Only in the USA can we afford such waste. In Guate, they would have been dismantled and every piece of wood, etc. used. I like that part of Guatemala and dislike the US attitude of affluence that has no bounds.
Well back to my vacation. We head to Guate in a couple of weeks. After a month or two, I will appreciate the USA more.
Have a wonderful Christmas from my family to yours and remember how blessed you are. A picture of my whole group that is here with us now.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Our Christmas Story

2010-12-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

We have come up with a way of letting you help us to take more mamas and toddlers. I think you are going to like it . You commit to $20.00 a month for a year. For every $20.00 you sponsor one mama and her children in the program. They get the weekly lunch, child development class, children's playgroup, formula and incaparina as needed. You get a picture emailed to you of your little family and a short bio on the circumstances of their lives that make them need your help so much. So come on, everyone in the USA can afford $20.00 a month. On the day that I thought of this program, we had our own real Christmas story in Los Robles. Joel, with twitter travel, tells it better than I do and with pictures. Just click on the right hand side of the blog and scroll down until you reach Friday's entry. The one about the kidney thing. Anyway, Joel had had a very productive, tiring, get up at 3 in the morning and start working kind of day. The kind we love to give our volunteers. So that afternoon he is relaxing and up walks a man anad woman each carrying a week old baby. They walked for 2.5 hours to get to us because they heard we had formula. TTL we did have formula. The woman did not know she was having twins. She gave birth, her husband is unemployed and they are poor. She only has enough milk for one baby and they need formula. We give it to her and enroll her in the program. And now get this, she only had one baby outfit. Can you even imagine? The other little babe was wrapped in her only old sweater. Just like the Christ child. We gave her clothes and told her to come back. Join our mama/toddler program and give as many $20.00 monthly sponsorships as you can so we always have formula for these babies.
thanks
Vicki
www.casadesion.blogspot.com
20.vicki@gmail.com

Our Clinic Blessing

2010-12-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

We had a major clinic blessing today. Joel, our volunteer, went into the city today with a big truck and Juan, our guardian. They were going to pick up the 140 rubbermade buAckets of clothes, shoes, etc. that my husband and I had shipped down backin Sept.Also we had been told by a wonderful medical group that they would be receiving exam tables and we could get a couple. I gave him my wish list of other things we needed and we got them all. Two beautiful nice exam tables, 3 stethoscopes, an electric machine that checks eyes, ears and nose and a baby scale. We were told they had all come in last night and we were the first to get the opportunity to take them. What a blessing to our clinic.

Made It To 34

2010-12-10T11:51:00.001-08:00

Today is my 34th wedding anniversary. Maybe there are some of you out there where your 34th is full of nothing but fond memories and your marriage has been a total success. Mine has been a success, especially if you think about how abusive the upper middle class homes Jody and I grew up in were. But we have our ups and downs. I have my moments where I wish I could redo things. You see when Jody met me I was in law school and had one child by my first marriage. Said child went to a "free" school where Jody volunteered at. He used to ask Jody to come home with him and play ball. That went on for a year until a mutual friend set Jody and I up. Our first date I told him I was not the mothering kind and Mattie would be my only child. Jody has told me later he thought that was a bunch of malarky and paid no attention. We went quickly from dating to marriage to having 5 kids in 6 years. Quess he was right on that one. Then we went to having 10 bio kids and 8 adopted. Youngest now is 5 and oldest is 42. And 18 grandkids. Then all the kids in Guate. We have shared kids, a for-profit buiness and a non-profit. And my PTSD and his thyroid disease.. It has made for a sometimes bumpy road and a great friendship. We always have something to talk about or argue about if we so choose. I recently got a blessing for a sinus infection and the first thing that came out was "have patience with your husband". But we made it to 34. Took a night off with the help of daughter Sarah and her hubby and kids and went to Raleigh, stayed in a motel, ate out and had fun. I am so grateful to have him as a companion to share this wild adventure of a life we are on. just wish he wasn't so tight with money.
thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Pics I promised

2010-12-06T05:43:00.001-08:00

I have not been able to upload pictures from my home, that is on top of a mountain and only has satellite connections, for months. So I go to my library which has dsl to do it. Sounds like Guatemala, huh, but it is my home in the Appalachia mountains of the USA. Anyway today we have 12 inches of snow on the ground with 6 more coming down and my pictures are uploading. Go figure. So the last four pictures are of the children in Nueva Victoria who are now eating 3 meals a week for the next 6 months thanks to Pauline and Sherman. The last picture is of the mama and toddler program. They are the 100 that get to come and eat lunch, have a child development and prenatal class and receive formula and incaparina. They are financed in part by a wonderful Utah group. If you remember from past blogs, we started this program after in infant in our community died because the mama had no breast milk. It is hard to produce milk when you don't eat. Formula costs $30.00 a month. When you live on a dollar a day, you can not afford formula. Come visit us for a week and we will show you all the children suffering from the effects of malnutrition.
On Tuesday my wonderful volunteer Joel,gets to tell the extra 100 mamas and toddlers that came last week we can not afford to do this for them until we have more funds. We only have budget for the 100 we are currently helping. These women and children have faces and desperate eyes when you see them up close and personal and it is heartbreaking to turn them away.So far we have pledges of about $100.00 a month for the next 100. Per 100 women and children,it is $250.00 a month for the lunch and programs, $250.00 a month for the formula and $150 a month for the incaparina. And $60.00 a month to transport the mamas from afar. I need more as i can't take new mamas unless I can also give them formula and incaparina if they need it.So please pass this on. Donate in someone's name for Christmas and we will send a card and pictures of the women and their children they are feeding and educating. Push this donate button or write me and I will send you my address to send a check to.
My family and I [ we paid our tickets and our living expenses out of our personal family fund ] are going to live in Guate for the first 4 months of the year. Send me formula and I will take it down.

thanks for all you do.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

OUR NEW FEEDING PROGRAM IN NUEVA VICTORIA

2010-12-04T06:28:00.000-08:00

While my husband and I were in Guate a couple of weeks ago, we visited Nueva Victoria. Joel, who is running things in Guate now for a couple of months, went with us. We were there to check out things esp. among the children and to measure for the benches and tables that a Eagle Scout team are going to make in Jan. While the men were measuring, I went,camera in hand, to find children. It did not take long before I had 25 following me and laughing with anticipation. I guess I am kind of stupid because it took me a while to realize their looks of anticipation probably had something to do with the candy/food they were going to get. Candy/food that I had forgotten to buy. My next thoughts were "oh my gosh, what am I going to do?". I always have food in my car as I have blood sugar problems [ don't worry Joel , they are getting better] and in Guate when you leave for a normal 2 hour trip it can take all day. So we head to my car, me and my 25 tag alongs that is fast approaching 50 tag alongs. I am praying the whole time reminding Jesus of the fish and loaves that He multiplied for his own crowd of tag alongs. I knew I had one and a half small whole wheat french bread loaves I had brought for sandwiches. So I pulled them out and starting dividing them. The kids swallowed them whole and it only took care of about 15 of them. I had a hugh gallon bag of raw food bars my husband makes for him and I. They are made from dried fruit and nuts and we love them but our kids hate them. But it was all I had. So I start handing them out and the kids swallow them whole. Pretty soon the whole bag is gone as mamas are bringing their toddlers for food. I realize then the kids are literally starving. So then and there we start our Nueva Victoria feeding program.WE COULD DO IT BECAUSE A WONDERFUL COUPLE BY THE NAMES OF SHERMAN AND PAULINE HAD SENT $5000.00 RIGHT BEFORE I LEFT TO USE ON FOOD.The program feeds 120 elementary kids ages 4 to 13 3 times a week. It costs $800.00 a month. The mamas cook the food and the teachers hand it out during school. They get rice, beans, tortillas and an egg. And i don't worry about them as much. Not sure I can upload pictures as it is snowing and my satelittle is crappy. If not i will go to the library on monday and do it.
Joel , our volunteer, has written two great blogs since he arrived two days ago. here are the links for them
http://www.twittertravel.com/profiles/blogs/back-in-guatemala?xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_url
http://www.twittertravel.com/profiles/blogs/the-saga-of-the-well?xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_url

OUR MAMA/TODDLER PROGRAM NEEDS YOUR HELP

2010-11-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

". Dominga said that an additional 15 new people showed up for the food program this week. She had to turn them away; she feels that the people do not understand that it is a question of set funds - that they feel she is wielding her power and that she chooses not to allow them. These new people are angry at "her". Starting at 80 people four months ago, they are now feeding 140; she has had to reduce portion size to make extend the food for so many additional people"

I got the above message in an email this morning from our accountant. It made me cry. I was already in an about to cry mood as last night I dreamed that Juanito [ the boy in yellow in the pictures] was begging me too feed the children. That they were hungry. So I have this dream and I get this email and I cry. The mamas we are turning down have a good likelihood of being pregnant or nursing and that 15 we turned down did not include the children with them. Please consider supporting our feeding program so we can start it in more communities and not have to turn down women and children in the communities we already have a program in. Consider giving a loved one a $50 gift card [ or a $10.00 one] that will enable us to feed that many more children. We will send a card with a picture of the children they are helping. You can mail us a check [ write 20.vicki@gmail.com for the address ] or do the donate button on http://www.casadesion.blogspot.com.

Now let me tell you about Juanito. Two Tuesdays ago I brought 2 big cakes for the mamas/toddlers program. This little boy followed me to the kitchen with them and just stood there salivating and making sure he was first in line. Not too bad a plan since there were 50 mamas and 100 kids there. As he stood in the door longer and longer without a mama to come collect him, I started asking questions. Here is what I learned. He was 8 years old. His name was Juanito. He walked 3 miles by himself to come to our feeding program as his pregnant mama is drunk all the time and never watches him. Neither does his dad who beats him and the mom. So I became his mama. I invited him to come any day of the week he wanted to for food. I promised him he would have the first peice of cake as I was the one handing it out. And I hugged on him as much as I could. Remember Juanito in your prayers. He needs them. just one of many sad stories of the kids we help.

Merry Christmas
Vicki 20.vicki@gmail.com

Pics From Our trip

2010-11-23T13:07:00.003-08:00

We spent alot of our time getting the new volunteer house ready for teams.It is awesome. First is on San Andres side of the Cerro Lec bridge so it is only 15 minutes to our Los Robles property. Second they are going to close the road from San Andres to Pana in a month or two to "fix" the bridge. They expect it to stay closed for several months so if we were in Pana it would be close to an hour and a half to the projects. But volunteer teams can still do the footbridge and ride a pick up to Pana which will only take about 15 minutes. It is a short walk to San Andres which has a nice market and great cultural experiences. Here are some pics of the master bedroom, the living room and dining gathering area and the house from the backyard. It comes with a cook and guardian [ who also speaks English ] . Cost will be $30 a night and that includes your meals. It has a great commercial kitchen.Plus two fireplaces and a terrarium. If you have a team coming after April or in December, let me know so we can book it for you.
The other picture is of Samuel. He is so funny. He has gotten so when he is told to come say hola to me, he naturally lifts his pants leg to show me his braces. I laughingly told he does not have to do that anymore. He walks completely normal and if you did not know he had braces , you would never quess. He has two sisters who need financial support to continue in school. Some of you that fell in love with the family, let me know if you want to be the ones.
Also we are getting ready to send out our 2010 Christmas card. If you would like to receive one, write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com with your address. Or do the same to donate to our projects.

Joel's Next Great Blog

2010-11-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

Let me do a little more explanation on Joel's pictures. BTW, Joel will be managing our programs for the month of Dec. and half of Jan. so we can expect many more great pictures. The first one is the market where we buy our food and where the Mayans' make their living. Food is more costly. For exam. tomatoes have doubled in the last two months. Second there are many less tourists and since the Mayans can not afford much of the food, the vendors are suffering.
Our mama/preschooler program continues to grow. We are now averaging 45 to 50 mamas and over 100 children. You can see the line of the women waiting to get their incaparina or formula. Also the children really enjoy the weekly movie. I need more dvds for them in Spanish and would like some of the Nest videos or some Christian ones or ones that teach some character values. If oyu have some , please send. Also need a cd player and another dvd player. I need money to take more mamas/ children in the program so if oyu can help we would appreciate it.
The man and the two boys are Juan, Juan Carlos[12] and Erwin[8]. They are the sweetest family. So humble and hardworking. The mother left when Erwin was 3 months old. How a mama can do this, I don't know. Juan took care of the boys until Erwin was 5 and then they went into an orphanage. We had them to dinner last night and the boys told me of many beatings with wooden sticks at the orphanage. Four months ago
they begged their dad to take them back. He did , but he was living with them on the steets until we took them in. He has legal papers for both boys. He is now the guardian at Los Robles. The boys just hugged and hugged me last night. How I hate to leave them. They need clothes, both regular week clothes and Sunday clothes. They go to church and the boys will be baptized in January when my family moves down there. Erwin is the exact same age as my Tony, just one day different. If you want to send them anything for me to take when I go, please do. Erwin needs a tie. He is too big for the little ones and too small for the big ones. We also need a financial sponsor for the family. We want to build them a small little house of their own.
Well we are on our way to the airport to return to our children who I have missed terribly. We have a new volunteer house that is so nice. Brand new with good water pressure and only 15 minutes from our facility in Los Robles. We hired a guardian there named Samuel who is bilingual and can translate for your groups.
Please pass this to as many facebook and other groups as you can. We need much more help. Also keep oyur eye out for grants we may qualify for. We took a census of the 3 maain villages we help and I have all the stats. And remember 100% of what you give goes to the programs and the families.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

http://www.twittertravel.com/profiles/blogs/the-programs-of-casa-de-sion

How the School Year works in Guatemala

2010-11-13T13:42:00.000-08:00

My sil thought it would be a good idea to explain the Guatemalan school year so you would know why we are asking for money at this time. And I agree.

It is really quite simple. They start the new school year sometime in Jan. and end the last of October. The inscription , or registration, fees are due now. Plus they have to buy their uniforms and books and everything esle they need ahead of time.
Hope this helps.

Vicki

Help them stay in school

2010-11-12T16:51:00.000-08:00

While here in Guatemala we have many people come to us for needs they can not have met any other way. On Tuesday I had 7 delightful 12 and 13 year olds come to me and ask me to help them stay in school. You see they just finished primario or 6th grade. Their parents have been able to pay that as it is only about $120 a year. But in basico and 7th grade they enter a new financial world. A world where they have to have uniforms and black shoes and pay a higher inscription fee and buy all their books and pay for all their supplies and bring 4 rolls of toilet paper for the bathroom. Most parents can not afford this and the kids just drop out. These kids and their parents don't want them to drop out so they are asking me and I am asking you for help. For $350.00 a year , you can keep a kid in school and help them break the cycle of poverty. Here are the kids. One of the girls is Samuel's older sister. Michele. You can get a picture and a twice a year letter from your student.Write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com and let me know if you can help.

2010-10-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

After the tent pics are the ones we took when we were giving out food, shoes and clothes in Nueva Victoria . When we return, we will be checking out what they have now for a school for the 120 elementary kids starting in Jan. I guess what they don't have will be more outstanding. We need bookbags with school supplies for about 500 children.

More PICTURES

2010-10-25T10:52:00.003-07:00

The bottom picture is of a new family we were trying to help. The woman is pregnant and had no food so we hired the man to be a gardener. According to community rumor he was one of the people involved in our robbery. Oh well. No good turn goes unpunished. Altho I don't really believe that it seems a good saying for this picture.
Next is a picture of our fearless, loyal cook, Dominga, and her mom and son. They all live in one clean room with no private bath.
Next pictures are of tents. Inside and out. In all we have done 160 Shelter Box tents. We know there are 2300 more families that need them. Checking out all our tents will certainly be part of what we do.

PICTURES

2010-10-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to upload pictures at my home now for over a month. It is very frustrating. But my downs son is now receiving home tutoring as the new school he was supposed to go to was a daily 3 hours bus ride.. Too much for a child who is developmentally about 5 and mimics every cuss word he hears. So he receives home tutoring and will be homeschooled when we live in Guatemala. The homeschooling is happening at the library so the lady does not have to climb my 1.5 miles of unmaaintained dirt road. The plus side is I can upload pictures at the library that my stupid satellite will not do.
The pictures will be of what we will be dealing with when we go down in a couple of weeks.
The bottom one is the children. So many are starving. Look in her eyes and see if you can pledge $10 to help me buy her family a bag of corn.
Next is the land that the people of Nueva Victoria went together on and took out a loan to buy when there land and house for all 400 plus people was destroyed by TS Agatha. We bought them a 100 pound bag of corn and 10 pounds of black beans per 63 families. Can you contribute so we can buy mmore while we are there?
This group of people in the Dept. of Nahuala had nothing. thanks to Shelter Box and the Rotariians, we were able to set up tents for each family . Safe Homes bought each of these 13 families 100 pounds of corn and 10 pounds of beans. They have been cut off from help as the main road oyu had to travel to get to them was so covered with mudslides it was unusable. over 100 people killed on it from the slides.
Some of the people of Nahuala.If you want to give for food for the over 1000 people we know of who are starving here are the costs
100 lb bag of corn is $28US. This will supply a family of five with tortillas for two weeks.
A 100lb bag of black beans is $95 US.
A 100 lb bag of rice is $80 US.
A carton of 30 eggs is $5 US.
A basket of food with a cooked chicken is $35 US.
A water filter providing a family clean drinking water costs $50
Next picture is of me with my twins. I take terrible pictures and am really more beautiful than this.LOL
Next picture; One of 3 little boys all 6 years of age that we are helping because they can't walk. We need funds to bring a physical therapist to our clinic to work with them. We have one available for $10.00 a session. There are 15 children who would come and receive services.

Food needs For 2011.

2010-10-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

Bad Omens for 2011 – FOOD-GUATEMALA
Bad Omens for 2011
By Danilo Valladares

GUATEMALA CITY, Oct 16, 2010 (IPS) - Guatemala needs to take steps to prepare for even worse problems of hunger in 2011, caused by climate change and farmers' heavy dependence on a few basic crops like corn and beans, experts warned on the occasion of World Food Day, celebrated Saturday.

"The phenomenon of La Niña is expected to last through 2011, bringing extremely heavy rains," Eddy Sánchez, director of the National Institute of Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology, told IPS. "Extreme climate conditions will continue to be seen over the next few years."

La Niña is characterised by cooler than normal sea surface temperatures and unusually strong trade winds in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, which often bring torrential rains.

El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of a Pacific Ocean cycle that affects temperatures in the ocean and the atmosphere above it. They repeat every three or four years on average, and are the extremes in what is known as the Southern Oscillation.

The proportion of malnourished people in Guatemala rose from 15 percent (1.4 million people) in the 1990-1992 period to 21 percent (2.7 million people) in the 2005-2007 period, according to the "Panorama de la Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en América Latina y el Caribe" 2010 (Overview of Food and Nutritional Security in Latin America and the Caribbean).

Honduras and Nicaragua, meanwhile, reduced their malnutrition rates from 19 to 12 percent and from 50 to 19 percent respectively, in the same lapse of time, the report adds.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study released this week warns that the food security situation in Guatemala, as well as Bolivia and Haiti, is serious.

The production of corn, the main subsistence crop in this Central American country, has declined due to the impact of climate change. The projected harvest for the May 2010 to May 2011 period is 28 million quintals, while average annual consumption is 40 million quintals, according to the United Nations agency's office in Guatemala.

Sánchez said that in order to counteract this situation, the country must adopt measures to adapt to global warming, using flood- and drought-resistant seeds, and diversifying crops, for example.

The situation has not been easy for Central America, especially Guatemala, one of the poorest countries in the region. Half of the population in this country of 14 million people lives below the poverty line and 17 percent of Guatemalans are extremely poor, according to U.N. figures.

Tropical storms Agatha, in May, and Alex, in June, and torrential rains in this year's rainy season left more than 100,000 people homeless and caused serious damages to roads and other infrastructure.

Paradoxically, the main problem in the region last year was drought, which caused severe losses in grain crops, and even the malnutrition-related deaths of at least 54 children in Guatemala.

Furthermore, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala are still feeling the effects of the devastation caused by hurricanes Stan, in 2005, and Mitch, in 1998.

"We are entering a more alarming stage," Roberto Cabrera, with Action Against Hunger, told IPS. "We have had three years of virtually continuous shocks since the 2008 global economic crisis, the drought caused by El Niño last year, and the excessive rains this year."

The expert said small farmers have not had "a single successful harvest season" due to the erratic climate conditions, which "this country is not prepared for."

This year's heavy rains caused crop losses mainly in the south and the west, while the so-called "dry corridor" in the centre and east of the country continued to suffer the effects of drought and the food crisis, although there was less crop damage, Cabrera said.

Guatemala needs "an integral government policy that creates alternatives which would free farmers from having to grow corn and beans, their main sources of livelihood," he said.

Sucely Girón, with the Food Security Observatory, told IPS that it would be very important to "put a priority on food and nutritional security" when the government budget for 2011 is being discussed.

She called for strengthening the Secretariat of Food and Nutritional Security information system in order to map out where the hungry are located, and for the earmarking of funds for the institutions that make up the National System of Food and Nutritional Security.

These institutions were created by law in 2005 to promote policies and mechanisms specifically designed to fight hunger. However, they have not yet had tangible results.

Girón also said it is necessary to invest in studies to explore other possibilities of subsistence for people in rural areas, such as tourism. "People cannot continue to depend on the cultivation of corn," she argued.

In addition, "crop diversification must be promoted, as well as the use of agro-forestry systems," or the combination of agriculture with the planting of trees, to optimise production, she added.

Gustavo García with FAO Guatemala also commented to IPS that alternative sources of income in rural areas must be explored. But he stressed that access to credit must be improved in order to do this, because "many farmers would like to diversify their crops, but don't have the means to do so." (END)

Save A Life

Push the Donate

2010-10-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

As we get ready to leave for two weeks in Guatemala, I am anxious to see what has moved forward or ,sadly, backwards since we were there the last time. I know the posts sticking up out of the ground for the school in Nueva Victoria,have had lamina but around them. No windows to see out of of or to provide ventilation, but lamina on the sides and roof to protect from the downpours that continue to make life miserable for the people. I an excited to tell the people of Nueva Victoria that soon, in Jan., a team will be coming down to build the tables and benches they need to school their 2011 , 120 elementary students. I am thrilled that thru the help of a Utah man that came as a volunteer a few months ago, they will get the water they need to wash and bath. He is also providing the cement for the floor of the school. He also plans to help them buy the materials they need to build permanent houses. I am worried that they have not had enough beans and corn to maintain even the most basics of health. So many are starving in Guatemala because of all the crops destroyed by the rains and the mudslides destroying their homes. They are in survival mode. I am even more concerned about the people of Nahuela. Can not wait to talk to our contacts there to see how this aldea is faring. They have been unreachable since we were there as you had to go on the international highway that was closed because of all the mudslides and resulting deaths.
I want to see our facility that was damaged by slides and banditoes. We have to build a retaining wall. We are in the process of putting bars on all our windows and doors so they can not be broken into. We have rebuilt the septic tank that fell in .We are interviewing people to work security at night. I am excited to work with the employees on our ongoing programs. We continue to have more and more pregnant women come for the eggs and lunch and help. I want to start the same program at Nueva Victoria and will be looking at the logistics of doing that. Feeding programs for the kids and tutorials.
I am wondering the status of the bridge between San Andres and Panajachel as I have no desire to cross the foot bridge. I will be taking possession of a new house on the San Andres side of the bridge that will be used for our family while we live there after the New Year and for volunteers when we are not there. It is hugh and I think everyone will enjoy it.
None of my pictures will load , probably because of the storm and I need to go do a conference call with my management staff of our for -profit business.
Please give $$$$$ for us to buy food for the needy while we are there. You will be saving a life. Also if you want to send needed items for me to take, do it now. Thanks to everyone who has already sent items.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

2010-10-14T07:32:00.001-07:00

CHILDREN'S DAY

2010-10-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Children's Day in Guatemala. We bought cakes and had about 60 kids at our lunch and Cake Party for the afternoon. They played all kinds of games and had a ball. I was in Guatemala last children's day and remember how fun it was for the kids.
We will be living down there for Jan., Feb., Mar., and April with our kids. We plan on organizing baseball teams for the kids as it is my husband's favorite sport plus it is one I can play. If you have any baseball equipment, get it to me and I will take it down. My husband and I are also going down either the end of Nov. or beginning of Dec. I will take any Christmas gifts you send for the kids at that time.
Still need Skyline Miles really bad.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Teams For 2010 AND 2011

2010-10-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

In order to plan our volunteer schedule for the rest of 2010 and 2011, I need to know if you alone or with a team are contemplating coming down to help and when. Yes I am moving forward; never thought of quitting. Thanks for the encouragement and let me know asap.

Vicki

We need Encouragement

2010-09-24T07:59:00.001-07:00

I have fiinished reading a book called "People Raising". One of the ideas it talks about is that donors do more than give money. They give encouragement. We need some of that now. Let me whine for a few minutes about all the crap going on down in Los Robles, Guatemala and maybe you can say something that will inspire me to move forward. First, we were burglarized two weeks ago. They broke into the kitchen and stole our microwave and big pots and pans and our submersible pump out of our well. So our poor cook and intern are hauling water from the school to make sure the kids still get their lunch. We are having to spend $500.00 a month more for 24/7 night time security. Who did it? Not sure. Maybe an employee or maybe a group of community men who were mad we did not give them enough food when the mudslides happened. We have heard both rumors. Next a rumor went around that an employee had hired a hit man to beat up our new directors. Some people in the community were upset with them. The new directors left that day. The intern stayed as she was not afraid and things have been fine so far. So now we are trying to hire a new director. A Guatemalan [ actually he is Tzutihil] who used to work for us. Then there has been a string of kidnappings in our area of San Andres. Let me first say before anyone panics.
THEY DO NOT KIDNAP AMERICANS BECAUSE THE FBI COMES IN AND IT GETS STICKY. Much easier to do express kidnappings of a Guatemalan, demand $2000 , get the money or bargain on the money and then return the person. Well so we heard there were a string of them. One was a family of 6, the youngest being 8 months. They wanted $25,000.00 to free them. Safe Homes contributed some as the dad in the family was the brother of our worker Arturo. Friends and family raised the money and two days later the family was thrown over the side of the mountain. The dad was hurt and required hospitalization, but everyone esle is okay. The next day in the same town a stupid kidnapper tried to snatch a boy. Boy yealed. 100s of people with tremendous anger towards kidnappers surrounded him and beat him to death. Things will be safer now and even tho I am an American and belive what I told you about them not taking gringoes, it is scary. My friend Nancy who has lived in the country for 20 years confirmed she has not know gringoes to be taken and that the high ransom must mean the kidnappers were doing a revenge thing on the dad.
Okay so I get past the kidnappers. The Mayan justice does not really bother me as they keep things safer and I wish there had been vigilante justice when I was a kid. Plus i really like the song "Whisky For My Men and Beer For MY Horses". No I do not dirnk, but it is about vigilante justice.
Then our guardian decided to quit. Okay, well there had been trouble surrounding him anyway, so we look to replace him. He decided to stay and we say "sorry", we have other plans. He leaves. goes to the Guatemalan Labor Union and comes back with a piece of paper saying we owe him $3000. So now we have to pay our attorney to get this straigtened out. And we hear thru the grapewine that he is making up false charges against us and is going into cohoots with Pedro to try and get more money out of us. Pedro who has done so many illegal things. Gosh it makes me mad.
Oh yeah our septic system fell in and we have to build another one. That is from the rains. Our well needs a retaining wall from the rains. Poor well. The lid is off where they stole the pump and it is starting to lean from needing the retaining wall. Okay there is all my whining.
I need to be down there and need your prayers for safety, for money, for positive things happening and for the negatives to stop.
There are positive things happening. I just do not feel like writing about them today. Maybe tomorrow.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Patzaj

2010-09-24T07:22:00.001-07:00

Here is another aldea near us that was washed out by the mudslides. They did not have much to begin with and now they have even less. I was not in the country at the time, but a couple of our volunteers were. They along with our employees set up 3 shelter box tents for them, gave them food and took clothes. Our stock of clothing is limited and the stock of shoes is gone. They took pajamas and the mothers put them on the kids right away for warmth. I can't wait until our 140 buckets on the container arrive at our place. Then we will have tons of clothes and shoes and some school supplies and shampoo and kitchen items.
One of the pictures shows a woman overcome by the loss and despair at the amount of clean up work.
One shows the muddy road you have to take to get into Patzaj. Many are of the tents and the people. All over Guatemala people are suffering. Thousands have lost their homes. Many have lost loved ones. And several hundred thousand have lost their food supplies of corn and beans.
Help us to help them. Push the donate button.
Thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Risking my life to take your Donations to PA

2010-09-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

All last week my family worked to sort donations, buy more 18 gallon rubber maid buckets and pack them all with your donations. We packed 140 buckets or about 3500 pounds of donations. All that had been stored in my house and shed. We rented a 6 by 12 foot uhaul it and put a hitch on the back of our 15 passenger van. Then Sunday we took all the seats out and loaded all 140 buckets in the van and the uhaul it. My daughter came to babysit the kids at home and at 8 monday morning Jody and I took off for PA., an 8 hour drive under normal conditions. But nothing is ever normal in my life. As soon as we hit the major highway, the uhaul started wobbling. At one point, my husband pulled too sharp to pass a big truck and went 65 miles an hour doing it. The uhaul went nuts shaking back and forth and he could not control the van. I thought we were dead. I have wondered many times whether I would die doing work for the Mayans of Guatemala. Maybe by a bandito, a kidnapper, a crazy driver on the crazy roads, a mudslide, but never did I think it would be taking a load of donations up to PA. Until then.!!!! I seriously thought we were gone and I wondered if my at home kids would go into foster care. but after much screaming [ until Jody told me to be quiet ; it was not that nice] , then much prayer, Jody figured out how to pull us out of the death throes we were in. The rest of the way was nerve wracking with me watching the speed [ never again over 60], and reminding him a million times to stay slow and in the right hand lane. We did manage to meet my 20 year old for lunch as we came within 5 minutes of her school. That part was fun.
Finally we arrived at Orphan Resources in Epharata, PA were happy to unload all 140 buckets just because it meant we were alive. The container will go out in 2 weeks and should be in Guatemala in 3 more weeks. Lots of great kids clothes [ thank you Karen ] and shoes [ thank you to many of you ] and soccer uniforms and equipment [ thanks again] and some school supplies and kitchen equipment and some warm adult clothing. Thanks everybody. The people of Guate will love you.
We enjoyed our time visiting with Sarah and Rod of Orphan Resources. They are a large interracial family like us with the same crazy hearts we have for Guatemala. Then on to a great B and B in a house built in 1763 in an Amish coommunity. Jody crashed and slept the rest of the night, but the next morning we had a good breakfast and toured the country side before heading home for the next 8 hours. This trip we traveled fine as the trailer had no weight.

Info for buying books

2010-09-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

We are holding an Usborne on-line Book Fair (eFair) to benefit Safe Homes for Children! Usborne is a leading publisher of children's books, offering high-quality commercial-free books.

For total Book Fair sales of $200-$499, Safe Homes for Children will receive an additional 25% in free books. For total sales of $500+, Safe Homes for Children will receive an additional 50% in free books! For example, if total Book Fair sales reach $800, Safe Homes for Children will get an additional $400 in FREE books!

There are two ways to shop... both Wishlist sales and personal use sales count towards this total.

Please go to the website below, then click on "Safe Homes for Children" under Active e-Fairs. There is a Spanish book wish list for you to choose from. Once you get to the check-out, choose "Ship to Organization – Safes Homes for Children", and the shipping will be free. Also, there is no sales tax.

Or, if you would like to shop for your family, while benefiting this Book Fair, just
click on "Safe Homes for Children" under Active e-Fairs and begin your shopping. Once you get to check-out, choose ship to your home and your order will ship immediately.

The Book Fair will be open until Sept. 15th. At the close of the Book fair, the Spanish books will be mailed to Vickie Dalia, then make their way to Guatemala.

Thank you for considering supporting this Book Fair!

www.OrderGreatBooks.com

Please buy books for you and help us get more for the library

2010-09-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

A report from one of our volunteers on the success of the library.
The library: One of the biggest successes is the library. Children
love coming around or staying after class to read a book or two. The
access pass: their parents’ permission. The principal from the school
told me that there is a difference of day and night between the kids
that stay in the program and the ones that don’t, she also told me
that they have improved their reading speed and reading quality by
tons. We are going to send you the list we made with Russell. One of
the programs that I was going to start on the Wednesday of the
burglary was the reading contest. I left the poster ready on the side
of the closet that has the TV on the main central room. It is ready to
have names posted on it and how many books were read in the period of
two weeks. I also left the prices in the same closet drawer. I left
Laura with all that info and exact location of the things. Children
were reading between 2 and 5 books a day! They also learned silent
reading. The kids loved lying down on the petates or sharing a chair
and reading. We have some pictures that we are going to send, I am not
sure if Russ sent those to you already. They would come with me after
reading and before leaving and they would tell me how much they loved
the stories and what were they all about.

Two containers going down in a week/Need School Supplies

2010-09-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

My last blog reported on Nueva Victoria. When I visited there 3 weeks ago, it was to assess needs and give out food, sweatshirts and work gloves so the men could work out in the rain. One of the major needs I saw was the school. They lost their last school building to the mudslides. They had to change departmnts when they moved to new land. The new department is San Andres. That is where our facility is located, so the muni of San Andres came to us for help. They had no money in the budget to hire the 3 teachers needed for 100 children so we paid their salaries and trained them. We even did a week of traiining on the Seven Habits to provide some character training for the kids. Their school "building" consisted of tree posts sticking up in the ground. The men had cut these trees and probably paid for them. Richard, a volunteer there last week, has bought the cement for the floor.I had my new intern go up there yesterday to give me a report on the progress of the school.
Here is her report.

"hey vicki,

in nueva victoria we talked to the community, daniel was there on
richards behalf discussing the water situation and i was there to see
about the school. the temporary school is pretty bad, and
unfortunately we got there too late to see a class in session and the
teachers had left for the day. i took pictures of the school and some
with the kids standing in front. i was able to get the names and
numbers of all 3 teachers and i met the directorat a road crossing to
give her the money to buy a snack on independence day. when i talked
to the directora, she said that they have 82 children, and nothing
else. they dont have a floor (but richard provided money for this
already). they need books, paper, pencils, black or white boards (at
least 3), desks, notebooks, anything you can think of. all they have
now is a few benches and a few pieces of paper...it is truly
incredible that they can even continue like that. the information for
the teachers is as follows:

Maria Morales 5992 5176 (directora)
Telma Quino 4554 6345
Diego Xon 4621 6913"

We have two containers going down in the next two weeks. One from Utah and one from PA. We live in VA and will be traveling hwy 81 with a big turck load of stuff for the PA contaner. If you live in Utah write me and I will give you the number for the family handling the UTah contaner. We need desks, school supplies, shoes, books, medical equipment, dental equipment, farm equipment including shovels, rakes and hoes,toys, household furnishings, kitchen pots and pans and blenders and microwaves. If you can help with any of it, let me know. If you want to donate cash , push the button. Thanks to all of you who have already responded to this disaster.
I do not have Laura's pics yet, but here are a few I took. One of the "school" location with the posts and two of the children you will be helping. There are a total of about 200 children in this community, 100 are elementary age. All would love a simple Christmas party with a small present.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Nueva Victoria

2010-09-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

The following pictures are of the community of Nueva Victoria. They are a community of about 380 people who lost everything in the mudslides caused by Agatha. They borrowed money as a community to get this piece of land. With the help of the muni they got enough water in for drinking and cooking. The muni also split the cost with them of a small block making machine that the men work all day making block for their homes. They make 120 blocks a day and use it with some wood to make small homes. The women walk 4 miles up and down steep mountain roads to wash clothes and bodies in the river below. With your financial donations. we took a 100 pound bag of corn and a 10 pound bag of beans out there for each family [ there are 63] . With your material donations we gave each man a sweatshirt [ they had no protection from the rains ] and a pair of work gloves. They were thrilled. Each child got a piece of clothing. and a bag of chips.
I am happy to report that one of our volunteers that was there last week has worked out a deal with the muni to put in a water line that will supply all their water needs. They still need electricity. This same man bought cement to put in a floor for their school. We paid the salary for 3 teachers for the 120 elementary children. So now they have a cement floor and 3 teachers. No desks, no books and no lunch. We would like to help them with all of that, but we would need donations to be able to do that. Feel free to push the donate button. And thanks for helping us help them. We also need teams to go down and helo the people. They are a very hard working community and have done much with the little they have. They lost all their crops tho and still need help withfood. The men go out to work if they have jobs to pay off the loan for the land, but no is living luxurious lives. the picture of the house is the first one they built.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Mudslides Kill

2010-09-06T03:54:00.000-07:00

Here or bury over 100 People.is a story about all the mudslides in Guatemala and the damage they are causing

My husband and I along with two employees were on this road two weeks ago delivering food to the people of Nahuala.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100905/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_guatemala_mudslides

Help Us Improve Our Library

2010-09-01T07:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks to some wonderful people we have been able to start a library in Los Robles. Our new directors spent many hours finding our books, organizing and cataloguing them. Since my mom was a librarian and I made money in college cataloging library books, this is close to my heart. I love to read and am a lifelong learner. Teach a kid to love reading and you can change their life. You can also take them away from a hard life and help them survive.So we now have 600 books for grades pre_K thru middle school. We have an incentive program or reward for each book the children read and we have a story hour on Tuesdays at our children's play group. Help us get 300 more books for either this library or to start a new one in Nueva Victoria and change a kid's life. Here is how to do it. And thanks to Debbie for orgaanizing this.
I will post pictures of it later as my computer is malfunctioning right now.

We are holding an Usborne on-line Book Fair (eFair) to benefit Safe Homes for Children! Usborne is a leading publisher of children's books, offering high-quality commercial-free books.

For total Book Fair sales of $200-$499, Safe Homes for Children will receive an additional 25% in free books. For total sales of $500+, Safe Homes for Children will receive an additional 50% in free books! For example, if total Book Fair sales reach $800, Safe Homes for Children will get an additional $400 in FREE books!

There are two ways to shop... both Wishlist sales and personal use sales count towards this total.

Please go to the website below, then click on "Safe Homes for Children" under Active e-Fairs. There is a Spanish book wish list for you to choose from. Once you get to the check-out, choose "Ship to Organization – Safes Homes for Children", and the shipping will be free. Also, there is no sales tax.

Or, if you would like to shop for your family, while benefiting this Book Fair, just
click on "Safe Homes for Children" under Active e-Fairs and begin your shopping. Once you get to check-out, choose ship to your home and your order will ship immediately.

The Book Fair will be open until Sept. 15th. At the close of the Book fair, the Spanish books will be mailed to Vickie Dalia, then make their way to Guatemala.

Thank you for considering supporting this Book Fair!

www.OrderGreatBooks.com

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

NEED DONATIONS

2010-08-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

The pictures are of an aldea by the name of Nahuala. They have nothing. No shoes, no coats, no food, one set of wet clothes and muddy floors in their makeshift shacks. Half the children had no shoes on in 45 degree rainy weather. One picture is of a very shy little girl who had muddy, bloody feet. We spent our first days assessing needs of three aldeas. This one. Los Robles. and Nueva Victoria. Nahuala was the worst. We cmae back later with Shelter box tents, shoes, clothes and 100 pounds of corn, 10 pounds of beans, 10 pounds of sugar and a box of soap for each family. THANKS TO YOU WHO DONATED THE MONEY FOR THIS FOOD. IT WAS LIFE SAVING. Also a month's supply. I have pictures of the tent day I will post later.
But I want to get this out now as we are sending a container down the end of Sept. It is by far the cheapest way to ship. $3.50 a sq. ft. but I need your donations here by the 20th as we will be packing it then. We are in desperate need of shoes [ from little guys to adult size 9 ], socks, underwear, jackets and sweats for adults, work gloves, ponchos, school supplies, OTC meds, medical equipment and if close enough furniture for our directors houses and farming equipment like a tiller.
Write me at 20.vicki@gmail.com

More from Guate

2010-08-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy the last few days. We set up tents in Nahuala on Thurs. for families that had very crude shelters, like boards loosely put together and old tin roofs done the same. The boards were so far apart and the tin so loose that rain came in freely. Their floors were dirt and always muddy. They slept on boards raised about an inch from the ground with whatever they could find for blankets. It is always raining there, it seems and the children had no coats. By the time we left on Thurs., all the kids had jackets and some had shoes. Each family had a tent with a floor and sleeping mats and blankets. They had water jugs and water filters. The tents are beautiful and the families were so..... happy. No rain, no wind and no mud floor. We are going back out there today to give out a 100 pound bag of corn and 10 pounds of beans and soap and sugar to each family. We did the same on Friday to the 63 families of Panamache { now called Nueva Victoria}. I have to go pack and get ready to deliver food, so will have to write more later. Also have a bunch of pictures. I usually go yo church on Sunday but this is our only day we can delvier the food as it was the only day I could get a 4 by 4 to make it back to Nahuala.
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

here in guate

2010-08-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

first let me say i am at an internet cafe with no caps that work on the computer and is missing several keys. love guate. we have been so busy. the first day here mike with shelter box tents called me asked if we needed more tents. he had given us 50 some right after the hurricane and he was in the country ad had more and had my guate number. i told him we were going to do a needs assessment the next day would let him know. well in one day we found over 1000 homeless people living in horrible shelters or out in the open. the children were so scik from living in the cold , 40 degrees, and rain with only a tshirt and pants and some with no shoes. 600 of them had zip in the way of food. not even beans and corn. safe homes for children is buying 1500 DOLLARS WORTH OF 100 POUND BAGS OF CORN AND BEAANS AND BOXES OF SOAP. GUS, OUR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR FRIEND HERE IN COUNTRY GOT A TRUCK FROM THE MUNICIPALITY AND IS PICKING UP ALL THE TENTS TODAY. THEY WEIGH 110 POUNDS EACH AND COST 1000 US DOLLARS EACH. WE WILL BUY THE FOOD TOMORROW AND SPEND ALL DAY TOMORROW, FRIDAY AND SAT SETTING UP TETS AND GIVING OUT FOOD IN 3 COMMUNITIES. IW ILL BE SO HAPPY FOR THE CHILDREN TO GET OUT OF THE RAIN AND COLD. I HAVE SHOES FOR THE WORST OF THE CASES.either there is no caps or all caps. gosh i miss my computer . other organizations are beggin us for small neds tools. please go to all your doctor friends. we need the thing you look in the ear with. a stethascope and the thing you listen to the babies heart beat with.. we need them for several clinics. also many meds as the homeless people are all sick. also moey for food. and to ship our container that has many pairs of shoes. oh yeah we are out of formula.
yesterday at our mamas gorup we had 44 mamas adn 100 children. another crippled boy who can not walk, a two year old who had been hit on the arm so bad it was broken and the dad would not let us take him to the hospital. we have a 13, 9 and crippled 6 year old lving by themselves that need help. toms of malnourished and starving kids and moms. i will write more and send pictures when i return. but samuel has his new races and walked acroos the room to me with a hugh smile on his face. he walked perfectly. it was amazing. the 8 year old who came in yesterday and can not walk is named tony and is 8. my son at home is named tony and is 8 so i fell in love with him immediately. my twins were there anad they are so healty and cute thanks to the formula and clothing we give for them. i started teaching the mamas the steven covey 7 habits yesterday and they had no idea what being pproactive meant, but by the time i finished they said they knew and marie is going to work with them on the habits for the next year helping them grow in thier effectiveness in life. i love our new managers, russ and marie. they organized all our books and classified them ad we now have a genuine library, the only one for an hour around.

as far as our reunion here is what i was thinking. tripp comes in fri. he is at my house fri. jenn comes in sat to rental. her fam and tripps fam stay there til mon when tripp leaves. bets and hannah move in to rental cabin then. erin and fam stay with us in guest bedroom and bets and hannahs bedroom or emmies bedroom whichever is easier. sarah and fam stay with flossie. sunday we have a big fam dinner and a photograpeher. do not who that will be yet. any suggestions. monday, tues and weds, we do park and pcinic and hike, creeper trail and childrens barter theatre depending on weather. thurs just chill. bethany cooks italian with scotia and alisa as sous chefs and we all clean up. any takers for the other days. i will buy breakfast and lunch food for everything esle and will buy supper food if i have cooks.
well gotta to go meet with the managers..

love all of you and really miss you, but sure do realize how lucky you have it.
mom and vicki

Formula and Building a Communidad

2010-08-08T15:08:00.003-07:00

I leave to go to Guatemala tomorrow for two weeks. We will be looking at all the homeless communidads and assesing needs. We have about $2000 donated dollars for food. We have a man trying to raise money for a water system for them. We also have a man that is talking about providing housing for 76 of the families. We will be working to aid in the accompishment of all of this. We will also be meeting and training our new directors and buying chickens for our completed 100 bird house. And checking out all our existing programs.
We got a call last night about the twins that we are helping with their support. They are two months old and can not tolerate any formula but Enfamil Supreme. It is not available in Guate so I went to Walmart and bought $275 worth of formula for the babies in our programs who need special formula. Thanks to one of our donors we had money for this.
So the pictures are of one of the twins and children from the communidad that will receive the homes.
Thanks to you our donors.
Also thanks to my two adult daughters who have come in babysit our kids still at home.
20.vicki@gmail.com

2010-08-03T05:12:00.001-07:00

We had a man from TN go down to volunteer recently. I had told his story about a dream/vision he had of a young boy in a blue and yellow shirt a few blogs ago. After the dream, he had searched the internet until he found the boy from a picture I had posted on a blog that same day. So Bryson felt impressed to help us. He went by himself two weeks ago, but in Sept. wants to bring his wife and two young children down. Bryson helped with our projects in Los Robles while there putting in a cement wall on the third floor so that rain water would drain better up there. Then he visited the homeless villages. The 24 families in San Andres and the 76 families in Panamache. He was very impressed with their need for everything. He took incaparina to the children and clothes and shoes from our storehouse. He came back fired up to help the 76 families get water. They basically have none: to bath, to drink,etc. He wants to raise the funds to put a permanent water system in. The only problem. There is no electricity there so pumping it up from a hand dug well would take a generator and trying to collect rainwater would only work 6 months out of the year when there is rain. ANY IDEAS? WANT TO HELP? Push the donate button. The pictures are of the kids that belong to the homeless families. The one of the plastic bags is their makeshift shower. I would guess you would have to be pretty dirty to go do that.
I have been asked to supply the finances for 4 teachers to go to the 76 families to teach the children. There is no school there, but there are 120 elementary children who need the structure and learning supplied by school. CAN YOU HELP? To do this for the next 4 months will cost $4000.00.
Also we have enough donations to send a container down. I have a hospital and dentist willing to give us equipment when the container goes down. I can buy a container and send it for $10,000.00. The container will belong to us and can be used as a storage shed. With all the projects we are doing, we need a storage shed.. So we need money for this. We also would like to take our preschool program/lunch/elementary tutorials to Panamache. They will donate the land and do the building. We supply the materials and hire the cook and teacher. Can you help with this? Please pass this blog to everyone you know. We need some grant writers or just plain rich people. But we like the $10.00 a month people too and the praying ones. Put this blog on your facebook. Do what you have to to help us grow and help the people. 100% goes to the people to help them help themselves.

thanks
Vicki
20vicki@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/casadesion

Our New In-Country Directors

2010-08-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

Robert is no longer able to do all we need to have done as the Director of our projects. He has his own foundation and it needs more of his time.He will stay on to handle the finances. Russ and Marie Nielson have come on as our live-in in country directors. Marie is Guatemalan, but has been living in Utah going to school there. Russ is from the USA. He has been trained as a police officer. Marie is a certified Guatemalan teacher. They have worked with slow learners and are excited about working with us. The picture is on them.
Here is the blog excerpt that Russ wrote when he was in training with Robert last week.

"We left from San Lucas around 11:15 and started the trek to the center. About half way we stopped at a restaurant called “Tikal”. It is a fancy little restaurant along Pan-American Highway #1. After lunch we finished the trip to the center. When we got here, the doors were locked and I couldn’t get in. We called Jose, (the groundskeeper who happens to live 100 yards away from the center) to see if he had keys to the building. He didn’t have any keys, so we had to call Dominga (the cook) who had the keys. She lives in the town of Godinez, which is about 15 minutes away from where we were. She finally got there and unlocked the doors. I was finally able to unload all of my stuff from the back of my grandpa-in-laws SUV so they could leave.

I spent that night alone at the center; it was kind of strange to be sleeping in a new place in the middle of nowhere all alone. The next morning Robert, (the current director) came by around 7:15 and picked me up in a microbus. We had some errands to run in Panajachel and Solola. After our errands Robert showed me some of the sites around Pana.

Panajachel is a quaint little city, where there is the highest population of gringo’s and a place where basically everyone smokes marijuana haha.
We were told by the owner of the center to leave the microbus at the company rented house in pana, so we had to get back the ghetto way haha. What an experience…… the first leg of our almost 25 mile journey without a car was by Tuc Tuc. If you don’t know what a Tuc Tuc is, imagine a 3 wheeled motorcycle with an extra seat over the rear axle; add a little canvas ceiling, a windshield, and 14 year old driving it, and you finally have a Guatemalan style Tuc Tuc.

The next part of our journey was by pickup truck, we were luckily enough not to have to squeeze in the back with the other 20 passengers; we got to squeeze up with the driver in the front cab of the LITTLE tiny pickup truck. We finally got to a part of the trip called the durangee, It is a place where a giant mudslide has wiped out the road. The only way across the durangee is by foot. It is about a 400 yard section of thick sloppy Mud, that if you take even 1 misstep you’re going to sink to your hips in the nasty sludge.

We made it across the durangee without any major incidents minus a near miss with me, where I got mud up to my knee lol. After the durangee, we caught a microbus, which was literally packed with 24 people in the back of it. I had to ride standing up in the doorway with my butt sticking out in the rain for almost 15 minutes, before someone finally got out and I was able to actually get all of the way into the vehicle. We finally made it to Godinez, which like I said before is still like 15 minutes away. We got out of the microbus, and caught another Tuc Tuc back to the community center. We finally got back to the center at around 12:15.

When I finally got back to the center, I was able to check my cell phone which had been ringing off the hook. I had 4 missed calls from Marie, and when I finally returned the call I got some of the most stressful information of the week. She had been to the doctor that morning, and they did a new ultrasound, and her ovaries are on the verge of exploding. The doctor rescheduled the surgery for Tuesday at 1:00 PM.

As we were pulling in there was a whole host of kids entering the property for the afterschool feeding/study program that is free to any kids in the community. We had a delicious lunch that was prepared by Dominga, and then it was time for the study program. There is a teacher named Gil who runs the study program, Gil maybe 20 years old, and is a fantastic teacher from what I can tell. He can keep the attention of almost 45 little kids for almost an hour and a half while he helps teach them hygiene practices, manors, and helps them with homework. After the study program the kids play soccer for another hour before finally going to their homes.

Later that night, around 5:00 PM 2 volunteers showed up who had been in Antigua for the weekend. They are boyfriend/girlfriend, and about 25-26 years old. Mayra is the girl, she is from Lebanon, and is studying at a university in New York. The boyfriend’s name I can’t remember, however he grew up in Boston, and is recently graduated from college. They aren’t the most social people on earth, but it nice to be able to have a full conversation in English. (I can have full conversations in English with Marie, but it is nice to meet someone new and not need translation.) It had been a LONG day, and I fell asleep around 8:30 PM.

The next morning when I woke up Dominga had a delicious salsa covered ham and cheese omelet, with a big bowl of oatmeal waiting for me. After breakfast we began to prepare for a large group of moms, children, and pregnant women to arrive. Every Tuesday we offer basic parenting classes, and everyone who attends gets vitamins, and a free lunch. The kids they brought with them seemed to be starved. They ate their rice and Beef Stew with such vigor, that I honestly think that it is one of the only meals they would get today, and easily the best meal they will get all week. All of the pregnant women get a week’s supply of prenatal vitamins and 8 eggs a piece. Everyone else gets a single vitamin, and the free lunch, but no eggs.

It was really depressing, some of the moms that came were only children (literally) there were 3 or 4 that seemed to be no older than 13 or 14 years old. It was sad to see a pregnant 14 year old with 2 babies already. In the some of the Mayan cultures as soon as a girl gets her first period, she is considered a woman and is eligible to be married (most of the time to someone 2-3 times her age.) I don’t think I will ever understand some of the cultural changes here in this country. "

Hunger in Guatemala

2010-07-30T05:02:00.000-07:00

Good article on humger in Guatemala. A quote from the article.

"Just under 50 percent of children in Guatemala are malnourished, the highest rate in Latin America and one of the highest in the world, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "

The rest of the article.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52309

Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Photographer

2010-07-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

So in June, for a week, we had a professional photographer come and take pictures of the volunteers, donations, 100 plus homeless families, the bridge that went out. Then she made a photo of some of the children in our tutorial programs. The volunteer teens made frames and for the first time in their lives these little Mayan kids had a picture of themselves. Here are the 600 plus pictures if you want to look.

http://mjaramillo.photobiz.com/cart/photo_detail.cfm?photoID=5741851

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Needed Donations

2010-07-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

I just found a great list from another group of the donations they need. They are the same ones we need so here it is.

Shoes and Clothing, etc (Used Clean is fine)
School Shoes
Tennis Shoes
Regular Shoes, Toddler - Adult not larger than Adult size 8
Underware and Socks Shirts and T shirts
Boys Jeans and Pants (All sizes)
Belts
Cardigan Sweaters (Button or zip fronts)
Jackets, Sweat Shirts
Baseball and Farm Caps
Rain Jackets, Rain Boots
Girls Hair Accessories
Barrettes, Ponytail Bands
Combs, Brushes

School Supplies
Back Packs
Black and Blue Pens
Pencils, Erasers
Colored Pencils
Pencil cases
Colors, Markers, Chalk,
Elmers white Glue, Glue Sticks
Molding Clay, (10 Color)
Paint
Scissors (child size, safety style preferred) and adult size
Pencil Sharpeners
Metric Rulers
Protractors
Scientific Calculators Grade 8
Calculators
Compasses
File Folders
Childrens Spanish Books and Learning Materials
Spanish Dictionaries
Educational Puzzles and Simple Games in Spanish
Maps, World Globes
Manual Typewriters
Computers
White Boards
Paper (for printers, copiers, drawing)
Microphone and Speakers
Book Shelves
Waste baskets
CD Radio or Cassette Players
TVs and VCRs
Desks and Chairs for Students
Desks and Chairs for Teachers
Musical Instruments
Simple Musical Instruments for younger students
Key Board Children and Adult
Used Sports Uniforms, Jerseys, Caps, Sport Shoes
Sports Equipment, Soccer Balls, Balls, Bats, Gloves, etc.
Sport Shoes
Used Uniforms, especially Soccer Uniforms

Medicine (Children and Adult)
Any Brand, Generic and buying in Bulk are Cheaper Chewable, Pill or Capsule
Tylenol/ Motrin Children and Adult
Aspirin
Ibuprofen Tablets and Suspension
Acetaminophen tabletsPain Relievers
Acetaminophen suspension
Fever Reducers
Medicine, First Aid
Cough Medicine
Decongestants
Anti-diarrhea
Imodium
Pepto-Bismol tablets
Antacids - Zantac, Prilosec, Tums
Antibiotics
Antibiotic Ointments
Hydrocortisone cream
Neosporin or generic equivalent
Skin Creams
Yeast infection treatments
Shampoo for Lice
Scabies Medicine (prescription)
(Small baggies to give out medicine)

Vitamins
Prenatal vitamins
Multi vitamins with iron
Multi vitamin drops for infants
Multi vitamins with iron and folic acid (adults)
Multi vitamins with iron (chewable)
Infant vitamins
Children's vitamins

Medical Supplies
Band-Aids
Diabetic SuppliesThermometers
Pregnancy tests
Otto scopes
Blood Pressure Machines
Digital Scales
Microscopes
Adhesive bandages
Ace Bandages (2" and 3")
Latex Exam Gloves
Air Mattresses
Slide Boards-Paraplegics
Wheel Chairs, Crutches
Walking Sticks, Walkers
Adult Diapers Blue Sheets
Adult Disposable Diapers

Baby Supplies
Blankets
Baby Clothes, etc
Sleepers
Under shirts
Socks
Stocking Caps
Disposable Diapers
Cloth Diapers
Baby Wipes
Diaper pins
Baby Bath
Diaper Rash Ointment
Baby Bottles with Nipples
Free Formula
Baby Tylenol Fever Reducers
Baby Decongestant

House Hold Supplies
Blankets All Sizes
Towels, Wash Cloths
Bed Sheets
Pillow Cases
Potholders
Pots and Pans,
Knives, Forks, Spoons
Electric Blenders
Umbrellas
Wind Up Flashlights
Clock Radios
Indoor Electric Extension Cord
Power Strips
Outdoor Electric Heavy duty Extension Cords 25-50 feet long

Sewing Supplies
Material any size or kind
Zippers, Buttons, Snaps
Elastic,
Rick Rack, Ribbon
Scissors
Thread and Needles
Sewing Machine Needles
Yarn, Embroidery Thread
Sewing Hoops
Sewing Machines (Singer and Brother are best because can get parts but will take any kind) ( Used is fine)
Irons

Building Tools
Saws, Electric Saws, Drills, etc.
Hammers
Pliers
Metric Measuring tapes
Cement trowels etc.
Wall Paint
Tools for our planned Trade School

Automotive
Carpentry
Construction
Power Tools in working condition

Miscellaneous Supplies
Ziploc Bags (all sizes)
Feminine/Maxi Pads (No Tampons)
Sun Glasses
Reading Glasses and Cases (For reading and sewing)
Tooth brushes, Adult and Child
Tooth paste
Shampoo and Conditioner
(Large Size And Hotel Samples are Great)
Bar Soap/Body Wash
Wrapping Paper for Gifts
Tape, (scotch, packing, duct & masking)
Black Markers
Laptop and desktop computers, Windows or Macs (When you or your workplace upgrade and get a New Laptop or Desktop computer, please donate your old one. We will be happy to wipe it clean and re-format it so that all personal information is removed). Windows XP or newer please.
Digital Cameras in working condition
Video Camcorders in working condition
Digital Memory Cards (4GB or larger please)
USB Memory sticks
GSM Cell Phones with Charger and any accessories:

Usually AT&T, T-Mobile etc.
(Before sending your old GSM phone, make a quick phone call to the service provider and ask them for the code to 'unlock' the cell phone. I have done this in the past, and it is quite easy. I tell them that I will be taking the phone out of the country to use with a SIM chip from the foreign country. They will usually provide you with the unlock code and even walk you through the steps of how to unlock the phone. The phone can now be used with any SIM chip (worldwide). It is possible to unlock phones in Guatemala, but as with anything, it takes time and money. An unlocked phone is able to be used as soon as it is received.)

Christmas Gifts and Toys for Children
(Ages Baby-10yrs (Boys and Girls )( Used Everything is fine!)
Educational Toys
Stuffed Animals, Bears, Beanie Babies, Dolls, etc
Puppets
Jump ropes, etc.
Baby Toys, Rattles
Cars, Match Box cars, etc
Action Figures
Any Boy or Girl toys
Soccer and Basket Balls, (Deflated)
Ball pump and needles
Bats, Balls
Jerseys
Watches
Wallets
Jewelry, Chains, Pendants
Perfume

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com

Pediatriciian's June Visit

2010-07-23T05:25:00.000-07:00

Jerrilyn, our wonderful pediatrician, visited in June with her family. They worked out of our new clinic building, in a church in San Andres, another church in Panajachel and for a couple of preschools . At the same time, we had a dentist named Ralph visiting with his daughter's youth group so he did clinics with Jerrilyn.

You will see from her report that their has been much improvement in the health of the children from our lunch and formula and incaparina programs. This has made us want to expand these programs to other communities. Here is her report.

As for my report.
"When we left Guatemala last March we felt that we had helped many families. We had given out over 20,000 prenatal vitamins and had left over 5000 children's vitamins for the feeding outreach programs as well as giving out thousands of multivitamins and calcium supplements. We had given hundreds of doses of antibiotics. We had talked with families about when to get help if they didn't see an improvement. When we returned this last June we could see the difference those things had made.
We had seen at least a dozen babies last visit who were starving to death drinking just 6-8 ounces of formula a day and often that was diluted. We brought measuring bottles and formula to hand out to the mothers. We learned last visit that all the baby bottles we saw from Guatemala have a 50cc and a 100cc mark but infant formula is made by the ounce or 30cc so that is a set up to have mixing problems. The good news is we saw or where able to follow up with people who saw those babies and they are doing well. The little boy with cleft lip and palate who was not growing is now growing and will qualify to have his surgery next month. It was amazing to see these mothers in line waiting to be seen with their babies-beaming-so proud to show me their healthy baby. They obviously could see the difference. We saw many families back when we had our first clinic at Los Robles. We saw about 150 people. Many people returned with other family members-saying the ones I brought last time are better so now I'm bringing my others. We met with the midwife who is monitoring blood pressures at the orphanage and left her hundreds of flow sheets to track blood pressure along with hundreds of urine dipsticks to check their urine for infection and protein or glucose. Urinary tract infections are common with little clean water and sanitation issues. This can be much more serious during pregnancy. She was excited to have the tools she needed to help these women. We also distributed a handout on how to minimize bleeding around delivery that was very well accepted.
At our last visit in March we examined all the kids who come to the tutoring program. About 90% showed clinical signs of anemia, this was reduced to about 30% at this last visit. This is huge. Not only does this result in them feeling better but they have better concentration at school and we talked to their teacher Gil who confirmed this was true. We were also able to bring Gil integrated textbooks for his tutoring program. He was excited to have help with a curiculum as he is teaching so many grades.
We saw a 7 year old girl our last visit with seizures since 3 months of age after meningitis. By her family's report at last visit she was constantly having seizures or sleeping. We brought her a 3 month supply of seizure medication in March at our visit in June we learned that she is no longer having seizures. Rather than sleeping all day she is smiling, more interactive with her family, starting to talk and bearing weight to learn to walk. She has had much damage after years of seizures but has made impressive developmental gains in just a few months. We are hopeful this will continue.
We saw a women with corneal scarring and an infection around her eye. I had seen pictures prior to our March visit so I brought her eyedrops that I thought would be helpful. After examining her I was sure they would help, she was doubtful. She reported that she went to Solala and they said there was nothing to be done. She had vision loss. At this visit her eye had cleared about 90% and vision likewise improved. Really lifechanging for this family.
After our last visit I began to wonder if many of the eye complaints might be vitamin a deficiency which is treatable. For our last clinics we had a vitamin handout that we gave to all the families and talked to everyone about this since there are so many Mayan languages. We saw one woman who said she had type 2 diabetes diagnosed less than a year ago which they told her would be controlled by diet and now she said she lost all her vision. This doesn't make sense for such a rapid progression in vision loss so I asked her to describe her vision loss. It was classic vitamin a deficiency. According to the World Health Organization Vitamin A deficiency is worldwide a leading cause of preventable blindness. The vitamins are helping.
We had our second day of clinics at San Andreas. We also saw about 150 people at this clinic. We again saw many people back who were obviously much improved since last visit. Infections that are now gone, babies eating better, again we saw that vitamins and iron did make a difference. We also handed out 87 pairs of shoes to those we saw without shoes at the clinic that day.
Our third day of clinics we held at the LDS chapel in Pana. This was our busiest day. The Crannies who were organizing the crowds estimated that we saw between 250-300 people. We were able to work longer that day because we were in town. We saw lots of people with pneumonias, several very severe cases. It didn't seem like they could have gone on much longer without help. We saw many pregnant women and in all three days of clinics we talked to them about things they could do that would help them have a healthier pregnancy. We brought with us over 30,000 prenatal vitamins we distributed in these three days along with hundreds of doses of antibiotics and over 10,000 children's multivitamins. We also brought thousands of calcium supplements and we brought iodine to purify the water. We brought enough iodine to purify 25,000 liters of water. We brought 87 cans of infant formula and we gave out 300 packets of oatmeal and dried milk.
The last day of our trip we went to San Antonio. We were contacted by Mayan Families who started a preschool there for the families who lost their homes in the mudslides. There were several children there they were worried about. We saw many malnourished children and several with pneumonias. We were able to give them the antibiotics they needed and talk to their parents or grandparents about their care. They are also starting a vitamin supplementation program that we are sure will be as successful as the one at Los Robles.
It is impossible to describe how much hope feeling better has brought these people. Clearly it helps to have a medical problem solved but so many were fearful that it wasn't just an ear infection etc. Seeing their children or themselves feeling better was an overwhelming experience. It really does make a difference to help them get the help they need. We feel like our trip brought them medicine and better health but hopefully also hope and love."

We need financial donors for materials for a new building in Panamache where the men will give us the land to build on and provide the labor. We need dental and medical equipment for our very sparsely furnished clinic. We need teams for construction, medical, dental and love. Contact me to help or push the donate button.

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/casadesion

2010-07-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

1] one feeding program 3 days a week where we give lunch and vitamins to about 40 kids from the elementary school next door.
2] we provide volunteers to help at the elementary school next door teaching English
3] We provide a teacher to do tutorials at our facility after lunch for 3 hours
4] we work to provide student scholarships to children who can not afford to go on to middle school or high school
5] every Tues. we provide lunch for 50 Mayan mothers and 100 children under the age of 4.
6] Every Tues. we have a playgroup for the children, a child development class for the moms and a prenatal class for pregnant ladies. We send the pregnant ladies home with 8 eggs to help wit nutrition.
7] We have just built a clinic building and have a brithing room in it where the ladies can come with their midwife and deliver their baby in a clean environment.
8] Whenever we can get medical or dental staff we hold clinics in our facility and in the LDS church in San Andres
9] We have just had a team build us a 100 bird chicken house. When I am there in August , I will buy the laying chickens and this will increase our nutrtion program.
10] We have volunteers working on building veggie beds and compost bins for us to raise our own organic veggies for our programs.
11] We do social service work in the community. For instance we have two 5 year old boys that can not walk. We pay their physical therapy bills and leg braces and surgeries. We have a 13 year old living alone with youger sibs who was almost raped. We found safe housing for them. The mayor of our department came to us in June with 100 plus families/550 plus people who had been made homeless by Hurricane Agatha. Through my contacts [ HF being the best one], I was able to get Shelter Box tents for half of them and food from two different NGOs.
12] Every other Tues. we give out formula and incaparina to children who need it. This is about $500 dollars worth a month.

Areas we are currently working on to improve our services to the Mayans.
1] Raising the money to provide equipment for our clinic.
2] Taking our current feeding/tutorial program and adding to it: a preschool in the mornings, a library, and incorporating the Steven Covey Seven Hhabits into our tutorials to provide character training for the kids.
3] Taking the above program to other communities where the government provides the land for the building, the parents help build and we provdie the materials, teacher and out of pocket expenses
4] Continuing our help with the 100 homeless families as needed
5] Increasing our social service programs to be able to help more people.
6] Increasing our nutritional programs
7] building a playground
8] assessing the feasibility of opening an orphanage at this time since there is a hostile government in power

I want you to know that 100% of all donations go to our projects. My husband and I donate our time and our business pays all our expenses connected with the projects including our airfare

Picture nos.
1. chicken house
2. clinic
3. our lunch program
4. our distributions of food and clothing and formula
5. feeding the 100 homeless families
6. homeless people
7. my daughter loving on the kids

thanks
Vicki
20.vicki@gmail.com