Monday, March 5, 2012

School Opened Today in Tierras Blancas

When we arrived at the kinder school “Niño Del Milagro” in Tierras Blancas at 9:00am this morning the kids and parents were waiting for us. It had rained hard yesterday and there was a thick, gooey mud everywhere but it didn’t dampen the mood. The school director Lady Gonzales Saenz had everyone fired up and we received a loud and rousing welcome. A little girl in the photo front row right is wearing a white shirt that says “We are the future of Peru”. That sums up why we were there.

The good feeling continued inside the classroom when we presented to Lady and the parents every essential school item on the required list plus some used but serviceable clothing and a variety of toys, all made possible with the help of donations received. Following the presentation Lady lead the group in song and prayer.

As we were getting ready to leave, this woman asked to speak. She was obviously nervous but surprisingly candid, saying that she is the grandmother of three young children who have been abandoned by their parents. She went on to say “life is difficult in Tierras Blancas, and” … we can’t know for certain what more she was going to add because seconds after this photo was taken she choked up and was unable to continue. I think a pretty good guess would be that without the donated school supplies, her grandchildren would not be in the classroom today.

Maria, Paul W, Norma and Joyce – you have most certainly had an impact on the life of at least one person today and undoubtedly many more. Thank you.

Tom, Maribel and the Promesa Peru members

2 comments:

  1. Tom,

    You are an excellent writer! I admire how you can attend an event in the morning and so soon afterwards share with us such an eloquent essay about what you experienced.

    "Sonia"

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  2. Thank you for caring and helping so many children.

    Maria

    ReplyDelete