Yesterday, as a group, we didn't have to meet up until 3 p.m. Over breakfast a few people were throwing out ideas of what to do -- take a cooking class, go shopping, visit Benito Juarez's house. None of that was really sounding great to me. Someone mentioned volunteering and soon I was on the hotel phone talking to the assistant director at the Centro de Esperanza Infantil (Center of Hope for Children). A few hours later I was washing dishes in the center's kitchen as school children filed in for a free hot lunch.
In the United States, kids whose families qualify receive free or reduced lunch. According to the director of Centro de Esperana Infantil, children in Oaxaca don't get lunch unless they pay for it. But through the center's free lunch program, students who qualify can come to the center for free lunch everyday. The center also provides tutoring and after-school activities for the kids, whose parents are mostly local artisans. The kids often sell their parents' wares on the streets at night.
This is fellow Fulbright participant, Courtne, serving lunch to the kids:
The program is funded by donations, mostly from a sponsership program. Individuals and groups can sponser a child for $250 a year, which pays for the child's free meals and participation in the center's activities. If you are interested in sponsering a child, visit www.oaxacastreetchildrengrassroots.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment