Hello Everyone!! Since our last meeting, I am now in charge of the official orphanage blog. So...all updates will be done at the new site. (please be patient with us, as the website is still a work in progress, but the blog is fully up and running)
Click on the following link for the new site:
http://www.guatemalachildrensproject.org/
We hope you will continue to follow our progress!!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Coming Together
Saturday October 11, 2008 was the first official meeting for the volunteers of the Guatemala Children's Project. It's been a long time coming, and it was time that we all come together to unite our efforts and start making progress as a group. The meeting began at 8am, and finished at almost 2pm. We made some very important decisions, and I know that we will really start to see progress now. It was wonderful to finally meet everyone face to face, and bring our knowledge and ideas to the table. Tasks and assignments were delegated and everyone has a direction in which they are now clear. We've eliminated the excess tasks, and streamlined processes.
We also were blessed to have Guillermo here from Guatemala to attend the meeting. We are grateful for his example, and know he loves the children and takes great care if their needs. It's excited to be working with such wonderful individuals, and know that much good will come out of this small group of volunteers.
Guatemala Children's Project Board of Directors:
- President: Kevin Callahan
- Vice President/ Educational Director: Ken Mangum
- Field Office Coordinator: Doug
- Fundraising Director: Marta Tyler
- Marketing/ P.R.: Emily Reynolds
- Volunteer Coordinator: Debbie Clark
- Executive Secretary: Candice Chandler
- Executive Director: Guillermo Rangel
- On-Site Coordinator/ Nursery Director: Mandy Brooks
- I.T. Specialist: Mike Mangum
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Received!!!!
Kevin called me yesterday with the official news that the cargo box full of donations has been received!!! It has been quite the ordeal getting it released, and thanks to the stake president there in Chimalt, he took action out of frustration and got the wheels turning. It has Officially been released, and received by the orphanage!! I cannot put into words the relief felt by all after this frustrating experience. They will now all have their supplies, 4-Runner, and household goods. When we arrive in January, the volunteers will have the opportunity to organize, and distribute everything to it's proper place. We are so grateful to finally have it in our possession, and look forward to replenishing their chronically low stock of supplies. This will undoubtedly change their lives, at least for a little while.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Plane Tickets
Plane tickets are currently being purchased by those individuals who are traveling to Guatemala for the next volunteer trip. Volunteers can go from January 9th - 16th, 2009. We are so excited to finally be able to start planning the next project, and we can't wait to get down there and see the kids again!!
Kevin has officially leased a building for which the volunteers will stay at during their trips. This will help alleviate some of the stress and work that is required of Martita when large groups come to the orphanage. I know it must be so hard for her cooking 3 times a day for so many people. She literally spends the entire day in the kitchen and doing laundry. It will also help us divide the work into shifts easier, giving each volunteer a break, and better set schedule.
Great strides are being made for the welfare of these children, but the financial burden is getting heavy. We are needing to find individuals who can help sponsor, and help raise money. There are so many good people who want to help these children, and we know once we gather all the information, compile it, and distribute to those willing to help......we can really get the ball rolling.
We'll try and keep everyone as informed as possible in the upcoming months.
Kevin has officially leased a building for which the volunteers will stay at during their trips. This will help alleviate some of the stress and work that is required of Martita when large groups come to the orphanage. I know it must be so hard for her cooking 3 times a day for so many people. She literally spends the entire day in the kitchen and doing laundry. It will also help us divide the work into shifts easier, giving each volunteer a break, and better set schedule.
Great strides are being made for the welfare of these children, but the financial burden is getting heavy. We are needing to find individuals who can help sponsor, and help raise money. There are so many good people who want to help these children, and we know once we gather all the information, compile it, and distribute to those willing to help......we can really get the ball rolling.
We'll try and keep everyone as informed as possible in the upcoming months.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Web Site
It's time to set up a website for the orphanage. I have talked to one of our best friends who we consider to be a computer genius, and he has agreed to help us!! Thanks Jared, you are a lifesaver!! We need somewhere to filter all of the important information to keep everyone updated, answer questions, and give more detail about the orphanage in general. We have so many ideas and know just what we need, now it's just a matter of doing it!! It will definitely be a tedious process, but I can't wait to get started on it.
We will also link the blog to the website to keep an online Journal for everyone. There you can learn about the kids, events, and hear personal stories that occur at Ninos de Guatemala.
We'll keep everyone updated on our progress and I'll post the link as soon as it's ready!!
We will also link the blog to the website to keep an online Journal for everyone. There you can learn about the kids, events, and hear personal stories that occur at Ninos de Guatemala.
We'll keep everyone updated on our progress and I'll post the link as soon as it's ready!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
New Arrivals
I got an email from Mandy today. Thought I should post it to keep everyone updated.
Hey Marta,
I got a new baby Thursday, her name is Alejandra and she is 3 months old. She is probably the fattest baby I have ever seen, but sooo cute. I will send you some pictures when I get some of her. Also she had an older brother and 3 cousins come here with her, So we have 4 babies and 12 older kids. It´s starting to get busy! I can´t believe how fast these babies are going through diapers and formula and I am starting to get really tired from staying up all night and working all day. But it is worth it! I love the babies so much.
So the story behind the new kids is actually really scary. Two of the older boys are brothers, and then the other two are brothers as well, and they are all cousins. But both of the families were living in the same house together, and all of their parents were part of a gang. I read in the newspaper about the gang, and what the gang does is they kidnap people and then they tie them up and negotiate with them how they want to die. Within the next 48 hours they kill them and leave them in public places for everyone to see. So the parents had kidnapped this little 3 year old girl, and they were keeping her hostage in the house for money from her family. On Thursday the police broke into their house and killed ALL of the parents, in order to rescue the little girl. The scary thing was that all their kids were in the house and saw their parents die. The good thing is that I don´t think the kids know what their parents were doing, but it´s so sad because the youngest little boy thinks his mom is coming back for him and he keeps asking me when she is coming to get him. The youngest one won´t talk to anyone except to ask when his mom is coming back, and we can´t get the oldest one to eat anything. The other ones seem pretty okay, which is surprising. The baby cries all the time, more than I have ever heard a normal baby cry and we can´t get her to eat either.
Other than that things are going pretty good. Nothing else is really new. We still haven´t found Jaquelyn. Abigail and Jenniffer say hi. They seriously miss you so much. They totally love you. I am so glad you are coming back!Hey Marta,
I got a new baby Thursday, her name is Alejandra and she is 3 months old. She is probably the fattest baby I have ever seen, but sooo cute. I will send you some pictures when I get some of her. Also she had an older brother and 3 cousins come here with her, So we have 4 babies and 12 older kids. It´s starting to get busy! I can´t believe how fast these babies are going through diapers and formula and I am starting to get really tired from staying up all night and working all day. But it is worth it! I love the babies so much.
So the story behind the new kids is actually really scary. Two of the older boys are brothers, and then the other two are brothers as well, and they are all cousins. But both of the families were living in the same house together, and all of their parents were part of a gang. I read in the newspaper about the gang, and what the gang does is they kidnap people and then they tie them up and negotiate with them how they want to die. Within the next 48 hours they kill them and leave them in public places for everyone to see. So the parents had kidnapped this little 3 year old girl, and they were keeping her hostage in the house for money from her family. On Thursday the police broke into their house and killed ALL of the parents, in order to rescue the little girl. The scary thing was that all their kids were in the house and saw their parents die. The good thing is that I don´t think the kids know what their parents were doing, but it´s so sad because the youngest little boy thinks his mom is coming back for him and he keeps asking me when she is coming to get him. The youngest one won´t talk to anyone except to ask when his mom is coming back, and we can´t get the oldest one to eat anything. The other ones seem pretty okay, which is surprising. The baby cries all the time, more than I have ever heard a normal baby cry and we can´t get her to eat either.
Love Mandy
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Home
Well...it's 6:30 on a Saturday morning and I can't sleep. I've been tossing and turning for a while now. I can't stop thinking about the kids in the orphanage and it's been a week since I've returned home. I just received an email from Mandy last night. They were supposed to receive 3 newborns this week. Unfortunately, 2 of them have already died. I feel so sad that they left this earth without the opportunity to be loved...every infant deserves at least that. However, I also feel grateful that they have been blessed and will avoid the inevitable heartache and pain that is present in so many of these orphans lives.
The orphanage also received another little girl yesterday. We don't know how old she is, but the guesstimate is around 6 years. She is frightened and totally out of her element. Her dad died, and her alcoholic mom abandoned her. There is also a 2 month old sibling, they're working on getting her too.
Jaquelyn arrived absolutely filthy, and with a horrible case of head lice. So bad that they have started to burrow themselves into her scalp. They immediately applied the lice medicine, but it isn't helping. They had to go get her hair cut, and we're hoping they with more treatments it will go away.
It kills me to hear about these kids and not be there to hug and love them. I am considering going back to the orphanage in December. I NEED to go back. I love every single one of them and all the worldly cares go away when I'm helping them. When I'm there, it's not about me, I don't even care about things as gross as lice!! They have helped show me what's truly important. I'm also so much more aware of how blessed I am, and I'm so grateful for the good in my life. I have so much to be grateful for.
Mandy said Levi is sick. I'm a little worried about him. They don't have good healthcare there, and I hope he can just get better on his own. That's the hard part about being an inexperienced mom, you're not really sure when to let the kids ride out an illness and when they need to see a doctor. I hope he starts feeling better soon.
As for me...I'm finally starting to feel better. I got sick on the last day of my trip, and I've spent most of my week home in bed. From what I've heard, every single person went home sick....so I'm not alone in the sicky department. That might be another reason why I'm struggling to get back into my life again...I haven't been able to get back into my routine. Hopefully next week will be a more productive and normal week.
Update: The new girl Jaquelyn ran away from the orphanage. No one has seen or heard from her since. We are all worried about her, and hope she is okay. We will keep looking for her.
The orphanage also received another little girl yesterday. We don't know how old she is, but the guesstimate is around 6 years. She is frightened and totally out of her element. Her dad died, and her alcoholic mom abandoned her. There is also a 2 month old sibling, they're working on getting her too.
Jaquelyn arrived absolutely filthy, and with a horrible case of head lice. So bad that they have started to burrow themselves into her scalp. They immediately applied the lice medicine, but it isn't helping. They had to go get her hair cut, and we're hoping they with more treatments it will go away.
It kills me to hear about these kids and not be there to hug and love them. I am considering going back to the orphanage in December. I NEED to go back. I love every single one of them and all the worldly cares go away when I'm helping them. When I'm there, it's not about me, I don't even care about things as gross as lice!! They have helped show me what's truly important. I'm also so much more aware of how blessed I am, and I'm so grateful for the good in my life. I have so much to be grateful for.
Mandy said Levi is sick. I'm a little worried about him. They don't have good healthcare there, and I hope he can just get better on his own. That's the hard part about being an inexperienced mom, you're not really sure when to let the kids ride out an illness and when they need to see a doctor. I hope he starts feeling better soon.
As for me...I'm finally starting to feel better. I got sick on the last day of my trip, and I've spent most of my week home in bed. From what I've heard, every single person went home sick....so I'm not alone in the sicky department. That might be another reason why I'm struggling to get back into my life again...I haven't been able to get back into my routine. Hopefully next week will be a more productive and normal week.
Update: The new girl Jaquelyn ran away from the orphanage. No one has seen or heard from her since. We are all worried about her, and hope she is okay. We will keep looking for her.
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