Friday, May 29, 2015

The Rehabilitation Center for Malnourished Children



In San Carlos, there is a malnourished children center that is run by religious sisters. The center provides care to children from newly born up to the age of 5. It is a pretty well-known place because there are some babies that are from the city of Santa Cruz which is 2 hours away. San Carlos is a quiet town. The malnourished children center is located at the end of a paved road on top of a big hill, so the scenic view it overlooks is really nice. It’s a great environment for the kids. Connor and I like to volunteer there on Mondays. I do not spend too much time with the newborns, I like to play and help with the kids that are just beginning to walk, the toddlers. They are the funniest and you can really see their unique characteristics and personalities that make them different from one
that’s the walking toddler Belen with his baby face
another. There is the one toddler Yoselin who likes to give the girl babies kisses but does not get along well with the boys. Alejandro who bites and pinches the other babies. Franco the very shy baby with the crying quivering lip. Erlinda the baby loving to strangers. Esperanza, the baby that is scared of strangers. Belen, the toddler that still has a baby face. Fabiola the smiling and very happy baby. This is the time of their lives when they think they are invulnerable. Sometimes I will be sitting down with my hands literally full with babies and I can see across the hall a daredevil standing precariously on a bench or worse a swing taking the world/nursery into view. I think to myself “If you fall, I will not have lightning speed and be able to catch you” Don’t they know that they have only 2 months experience of standing on their own and that they don’t have reliable enough stability to be doing those things?! Gosh! Crazy little minds! You know back in yapacani I just finished translating a letter from a Bolivian mother who is asking for funding for her 10 year old daughter who is in a wheel chair and is going through therapy because she fell off of something onto her back when she was 5 years old. So ya the little toddlers’ decisions now can actually impact their future. Guardian angles stay nearby!
 


They love to climb on things, you name it benches, tables, each other, and me. Whats great though is that some engineers invented these wheelie chair things that the toddlers can be put into and my level of alertness can go down like 70%!
I love to see them happy. The other day a bird flew into their play area and was just walking around. The expressions on three of the toddlers’ faces were like.. What.. is.. that?! The bird brought so much happiness, pointing fingers, and smiles to their faces. I think that’s why I love going there. Their genuine happiness and discovery of new things, brings me happiness….and  I am not even related to them. The more time I spend with them, the more I want to meet their families, the souls that love them the most

Leido calls me Tio (uncle) so when the women that work there see me approaching they say to the toddlers “look Tio is coming!”… Leido was giving rides to the toddlers on his moto.
 
Unfortunately for me the kids have to leave the center eventually. They do have parents and so this love for me is on loan. I asked one of the sisters who helps there if she becomes sad after the children leave. I mean getting to know the children for a couple of months, learning their names, playing with them, feeding them, etc,, one’s heart becomes bonded to theirs. She said that she has gotten use to them coming and going. She reminded me to thank God that they do get better and that they get to go back home to their families, healthier than they were before. A Catholic book author Father James Martin says that love is freely given and freely accepted. Love is not necessarily ours to keep forever. Sometimes God entrusts us with the gift of being able to love one of his children for a limited amount of time. We take turns with His works of love, teaching each other and building each other up. This give me peace and keeps me looking forward to the new souls I will be getting to know in the future here at the center and back at home in the USA.

 
The kids love Madre

and they love Connor too!

Almost all of the kids names mentioned in this blog have completed their treatment and have gone back to their homes. Muchas Gracias a Dios!

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for what you're doing, Adam--and Connor too. God bless.

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