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
