Five years ago, a Swiss teacher named Patricia moved to Honduras because she wanted to spend her life making an impact in children's lives. Honduras, sadly, provided the biggest opportunity for her to do this. Almost 80% of Hondurans live below the international poverty line with 43% of those living in extreme poverty. In the end, malnourished children total about one million.
Now, with the help of a few Hondurans and the support of some friends back home, she is at once a mother, teacher, provider, protector and friend to 35 kids from infants to 15 years old in an orphanage for street kids. And she's currently building one more cinder-block room to accommodate another three abandoned infants who arrive next month.
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| Patricia's halo is slightly off-camera, and you can't see her wings from this angle. |
As Patricia explains on her website, "The name "Yo quiero ser ..." (I want to be ...) has a direct relationship with the central guiding principle of the project: children have dreams. They hope that their dreams will be fulfilled one day. Children also have ideals, and idols who they like to imitate. With this in mind they say, "I want to be, I want to be ...". Many children here have lost their opportunity to be anything because of their past, but still hope for the fulfillment of their dreams. "Yo quiero ser ..." wants to give them hope, faith in life again, and an opportunity to be whatever they want to be." (a heads-up: the website is in Swiss-German, but a quick cut-and-paste in Google Translate will fix that right up for you)
All have come from dismal beginnings. Parent-less and living on the streets, malnourished, sick, diseased, abused, full of worms, near death, one with symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome including a curved spine .... take your pick. The only option open to them previously was likely an early death, early prostitution leading to kids of their own, or to join the estimated 100,000 other violent gang members living in a country of only 8 million.Flash forward to the best part of "Yo quiero ser ..."
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| Carlos |
When you arrive as a stranger in their walled compound in a not-so-nice part of town, the kids surround the car. When you get out, they line up with huge smiles to hug you, kiss you, say "ola!", and grab your hands. Oh the hands. They always grab your hands. If you spend an hour there, rare is it that you don't have a little hand in each of your hands dragging you around to show you things, one hugging your leg, maybe carrying one in your arms. One in particular will naturally adopt you. It's a different one for every visitor but one will pick you. Carlos picked me.
From terrible beginnings they have become the nicest, most polite, friendliest children I've ever met. Patricia and her staff have poured love into them, and at least double that pours out of them. Somehow, considering their recent circumstances, there is no fear or shyness, just confidence and playful kid-ness.
They spend their days more or less like Canadian kids - learning to survive in the world. Their rooms and closets are spotless. They have chores - washing clothes, washing dishes, manning the razor-wired gate and directing traffic when visitors arrive, setting and cleaning tables at meal times. All of this they do with the same enthusiasm and sense of responsibility as they show in the classroom and when doing their homework. It's beautiful to see them care and look out for each other.Sometimes Patricia piles them into a van to go on excursions, some of which are to help other kids less fortunate than themselves. Sometimes they just go to the waterpark to play. On Sundays, some parents come by to visit the kids they can no longer care for.
If you ever want to renew your hope in what seems like a bleak world some days, this would be the place to start. You walk away changed, eager to help, and with the ability to see what kind of a community it is possible to create with very little else but love and looking out for each other.
That's a great lesson to (re)learn.
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| The Canada flag tattoo line-up |
