Day 18 - Guatemala

Another good day.  We started our morning at Maria's daycare.  Maria is a woman who was taken to the United States for a necessary surgery when she was a child and lived with the founder of H.I.M. for a year while she underwent rehab.  She returned to Guatemala, grew up, and began working for H.I.M.  She saw a need in her village.  Young children under the age of 4 were staying at home without any adult supervision all day while their parents worked.  Many older children were not attending school because they were caring for their younger siblings.  They also were not getting enough to eat.  Maria started a daycare for these children so they would have proper supervision and their siblings could attend school.  They start off each day with a bath and fresh clothes and a meal.  The kids put on a little program for us and showed off the English words Maria has taught them (a lot!).  The 13 children seemed very happy and were obviously well-cared for.  It was 45 minutes well-spent seeing the difference that one act can make.  Without the surgery, one act, Maria would have had a severe disability and would not have been able to work.  In fact, she may have starved.  Instead, that act allowed her to grow into a woman who saw a need, and in one act - founding the daycare - has changed countless children's lives.

I spent the day at the H.I.M. House physical therapy clinic supervising PT and OT students and assisting with care for over 20 patients.  The other 2/3 of our group set up a mobile clinic in another village. 

Before dinner, a group of us went up to a waterfall that is about 3 miles from where we are staying and went for a swim.

Tomorrow I travel home.  It is time to hug my boys tight.  And shower.  And burn my shoes and a few of my clothes. :)

From the roof of the H.I.M. House