Afternoon Job

My afternoon job is completely different than my morning one. The kids there can be absolutely adorable and absolutely crazy at the same time. In our first 2 weeks, we had between 45 and 63 kids each day, ranging from 5 to 15 years old. The kids begin the day by lining up, repeating the 3 rules of the program (no fighting, no insulting, and you must listen) and calling out the date and day of the week. Then they separate into 3 groups- homework help, big kids activity, and little kids activity. Usually Ricardo, our 23 year old Ecuadorian staff member, helps the kids with homework while the volunteers (3 or 4 of us depending on the day) rotate between the little kids and the big kids. So some days I am trying to get a group of adorable yet hyperactive 5 year olds to sit still while I read them a book, while the other days I am trying to make sure a group of 13 year old punks don´t start fighting or insulting each other´s mothers during our activity. After approximately 45 minutes of activity (which usually involves something physical and something educational), the kids get 45 minutes of free time, which almost always involves the boys playing soccer and the girls working with art supplies. After free time, bring the kids together again and give them a talk or perform a skit on the ¨weekly value¨ such as responsability, respect, citizenship, etc. Then we say a prayer together and give each kid a vitamin, a piece of bread, and a banana before sending them home.  There were a few frustrating moments when the kids just would not behave, but overall the first 2 weeks went surprisingly well.  A lot of credit must be given to Ricardo, who does a great job of disciplining the kids.  He has worked at the program for several years and is from the neighborhood so his is widely respected by all the kids in the neighborhood.

A few strange images from the week-

- Me leading around about 15 5-7 year olds pretending we are a train after reading Thomas the tank engine. We made train noises and I yelled out Izquierda! Derecha! (left or right) and they had to point the direction that the train would be turning next. We gave a sticker to each kid that behaved.

- Kipp (a fellow volunteer) playing the guitar while he and I tried to teach the little kids our Spanish translation of Old Mcdonald had a farm. The kids were hilarious singing eieioo and making animal noises.

- One day I was interrupted from one of my activities by a fellow volunteer saying ¨Jon, there is a goat loose over there and it is blocking the girls bathroom, what do you think we should do?¨ There are just some obstacles here that you would not have to face running a similar program at home.


In other news, Pancho, one of the patients at Damien House died last Monday at the age of 97. All of the other patients were so depressed, it really showed how much of a family the patients at Damien House have become. So it was a tough start to the week there but they regained their good spirits as the week progressed.

We also were graced with a short visit from Father Jim Ronan, the priest from Boston that founded our organization. He was in town on Wednesday and Thursday, and we had a mass and blessing of the new volunteer house that was recently opened in the neighborhood of Mt. Sinai. The service was beautiful, and he took us out for a steak dinner and banana splits afterward, which was perhaps even more beautiful as my body was really craving some protein haha. He is a great guy and we had a great time getting to know him better and hearing his interesting stories from his development work in Latin America.

That is all for now, I´ll check in again soon. I hope all is well at home.