There are always so many people in need, it is hard to know where to start. Here in Mexico that challenge is even bigger
than what I was familiar with in the USA.
As an ExPat I'm often confronted with the question of
exactly what it means to be American. While I may not have an answer that is complete or even true for everyone, I have found some answers that ring true. I believe Americans are empathetic and caring. I believe that we, just as all people, get caught up in our day to day, and may not notice everything that is going on in the world. However, once we are made aware, once we see a problem, we are moved to swift action.
We have always been taught that we can and must make a difference. One starfish at a time!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star_Thrower
It is our obligation and our delight to find a need and take steps to fill it. It makes me proud to be an American. Unfortunately, most of my European and Mexican friends don't know this about us. I guess it is because they pay more attention to the loud mouth spring breakers or the news about other less than sparkling accounts of what we are, or what we aren't. Many of those stories are true, but I am going to imagine that the reason that they don't know about all the good things we do is the same reason that we don't know all of the good things our neighbors do. We are busy and that news, and it most certainly doesn't grow taller as it moves down the line, in fact it doesn't even make it to the line to get passed down.
Well, these hard~working generous souls quietly go about their lives lending a hand when they find one in need. They rarely mention these acts to anyone else.
My mom's family has always been on top of this in a major way! I'm so proud of them and I am so proud of all my monkeys for caring about their fellow human beings.
Last year (I taught 3rd and 4th grade) we read about public service projects and they started planning to collect and donate things to kids at a low~income special needs pre~school here in Cuernavaca.
Unfortunately, we were in a situation where the school no longer wanted to take on the responsibility of taking our kids on field trips because of the safety concerns here in Mexico.
The moment things settled down my kids sprang to action.
The had 3 weeks to collect what they could. They started making beaded bracelets, friendship bracelets, and other small items to sell in exchange for a donation. This is
not a very common thing to do here in Mexico. No one can trust that those who say they will donate the money will not actually pocket any cash they get their hands on....
My kids raked in $500 pesos. Which is a BIG DEAL! $45 may not seem like much, but $500 pesos, which is roughly the equivalent, is! They kept the records, they did the math, they gave change... they did it all!
The class preside took the money, bought some class supplies, and brought back the reciept. (open books is another rather new concept)
Here they are with the things that they purchased!
They also collected clothes, shoes, food and toys from the rest of the school.
On Thursday we took the donations to the preschool across town and had the chance to stay and play with the class for an hour or so.
It was beautiful to watch my monkeys bond and enjoy playing with the little ones.
They would ask questions about why the children had different things going on.... but accepted the children very easily. Most of mine got close very quickly to one of the smaller children and took responsibility for getting them water or taking them to the bathroom. It was so sweet. They were so happy, and I am so proud of them!
The two groups of children were lovely and happy.
My students also commented on the fact that many of the children have some sort of orthodontic work done. The reason why is because this Mexican Orthodontist donates his time to visit the school once a month or so in order to help these kids and their families with something that would otherwise not be a priority.
So congrats to my monkeys! I love them very much and I am soooooo proud!
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