Our team left Common Hope at 6 am and rode an hour by bus to
San Rafael to distribute the hundreds of bags of school supplies to all of the
families who live there. The village is one of the poorest we have seen and it
was very hot and dusty. The families were lined up when we arrived so we
got busy unloading the truck and organizing the supplies by grade level from
preschool to high school. The school year in Guatemala runs from January to
October, and some of the kids had already started school on Monday.
Once
we were all set up we spent the next couple hours distributing backpacks and
enjoyed seeing the smiling faces as everyone was so happy for their new
supplies! Many of the mothers brought the supplies right to the classes so the
kids could begin using them right away. The school itself has grown over the
years and currently they were adding on a second level. There were piles of
rocks, blocks, scaffolding, bags of concrete all lying around the playground,
but that didn’t stop the kids from running around and having fun. They were so welcoming to us and even invited us
to play tag with them. Once we were finished we toured the town and ate lunch
at the clinic. We saw many kids waiting to see the doctor and receiving
nebulizer treatments as respiratory illnesses are so prevalent from the dusty
conditions they live in. We then spent the afternoon cleaning and setting up
some classrooms for the teachers. It was a fulfilling day as in the midst
of this poor community, you could still see and feel the joy from all of the families
and kids that we met. We wish them all the best as they begin their new school
year!
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