soccer bag, bike, toothpaste/brushes and the kids

The first day of Easter break, I had 4 kids come over looking a bit forlorn since all their friends were gone to other towns and they were not going anywhere.

Look what I had saved and gave them which put a right smile on their faces!


The 3 on the left are my junior high school students but the one on the right must be in elementary school.


















Just for the fun of it:










Last December of friend of my sister's donated 2 really nice bikes to La Bocana since he was buying new ones for his kids. The little kid saw the bikes and his eyes lit up. My older boys already knew that those were to be given to a deserving kid....and they told me: he would love a bike and he has never had one.

Here he is with his "new" bike.







A bit later on these 2 boys came along. Erick and Carlos are now in high school but still come and visit me often for notebooks, pencils, school supplies in general and I also cover their haircuts and they help me with little gardening projects around the house. No more soccer balls but I asked if they wanted toothbrushes and they said YES.

These had just been donated by Marco a friend of ElCap who told him to contact me and bring down something for the kids. I asked for laundry soap and Marco brought that down as well as toothbrushes etc. after reading about the kids going to the dentist:












Thank you all who are so kind and donate. Happy Saturday to all!

Here is a pic of Marco on the beach on the day he arrived.








On the days the boys came by, they walked over to the beach to thank Marco and to see if he would teach them about kiting, but unfortunately they never found him.

Living

I am trying to inspire my kids to be all they can be. My 3 junior high students in the soccer bag photos are at the bottom of the totem pole and really suffer discrimination, unintentionally, when their teachers request special materials for projects which their families really cannot afford. I have had this conversation with the other teachers requesting more sensitivity. I have told the kids to ALWAYS ask me for help and they help me around the garden or do clean ups in exchange for it.

The really tall one, Reynel, is a very talented artist and is not doing so hot at school. Reminds me of my brother who had the great misfortune of being one year behind his smart sister (me hahaha) who loved school. He hated every class except art. Nowadays he is an artist/photographer/musician in N.Y.

One day I hope to sponsor Reynel at an art/design school. He says he wants to become a graphic designer. He is a go-getter for sure, this vacation he took care of 4 dogs while their owners were on vacation in order to get some cash. Every week he does something to earn money.


Here are some of his drawings, just for the fun of it: