BajaBlanca - 1-6-2016 at 08:53 PM
Hello all - as most of you are aware, I run a scholarship program for college students here in La Bocana. These kids are straight A high school
students with very low resources and sometimes tragic backgrounds. Many of you are my heroes - giving money for tuition and rent.
Every year I use Christmas vacation to make a lunch where we meet for talks and food and gifts galore! This is when they get backpacks, pens,
pencils, notebooks and tons of clothes, as well as any goodies donated.
Each student gets a box:
Here is Julian with some of his presents: SHORTS
A BACKPACK lovingly donated by Mike, whose wife had bought them before she passed away:
I bet you remember the picture I posted awhile ago when I went to the Salvation Army? This is one of the shirts:
This is Katia with eye shadow that I got at the 99 cent store - from her smile I think we can rest assured it was a hit!
It has been very cold in La Paz - so I gave her a wonderful velvet throw that was mine and I hardly used:
Ramiro has been in the program since last year, but I had never had a chance to meet his parents since they live in Laguna San Ignaci0. It was great
to finally see them - they had to go back, so Ramiro opened his gifts a day early - he is a great baseball player so he got one of the gloves sent by
STAN! Thanks so so much!
This is Martha - she is a high school senior here in La Bocana and being mentored by me til graduation in June. She wants to be an engineer, her dad
is a policeman in Punta Abreojos. She has full sponsorship - tuition and rent!
All the kids got jeans that were donated by likenbaja baja family.....what a huge donation and I am very grateful.
This is Clarissa with one of her new blouses - I had two rooms (just like last year) full of clothes and shoes etc. One for the ladies and one for
the gents. They went and chose what they wanted, huge success.
I take the opportunity to mentor the whole group - we talk about college and the challenges they have faced, I have them write down their goals for
the year and their 30 year life plan. All the 5 seniors who will be graduating high school this June get a suitcase - notice the black one in the
foreground.
Les's old workmate and bajanomad 55Steve donated a mountain bike that we raffled off! Future veterinarian Donaldo won it!
And this is us at lunch, which was a true group effort - my mom made carrot soufflé, my friends Alba and Minerva made mashed potatoes and rice, I
made homemade applesauce, beans and three desserts (flan, key lime pie and brownies) and Les made his famous delicious Welsh turkey and stuffing.
The food was all outrageous and my mom said some of the kids had THREE helpings lol. Which means we did a good job! My two friends washed all the
dishes - I am so lucky they offered to help. And VERY important to mention that David T. gave me the cash to buy the turkey .... muchas gracias and
wish you could have tasted it!
The blondie behind me is my 81 - soon to be 82 year old mom.....she just goes and goes and goes. What an inspiration.
And lastly - this is a kid who recently got out of rehab and desperately wanted a baseball mitt. Since he has worked hard to stay off drugs, he was
the lucky recipient of the BRAND NEW GLOVE bajanomad John and his wife donated! He was so grateful, he grinned so much!
Thank you everyone who donated thru out the year. I hang on to the shirts and ties and notebooks and pens and pencils so that I can really fill the
boxes. If I forgot you, please forgive me! You are in my hearts forever.
Happy New Year to all - this was an excellent start to mine.
[Edited on 1-7-2016 by BajaBlanca]
