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Dal volontario VIDES canadese Peter Chin Benson |
06/05/06
 The Past Two Weeks Living Here...
I have been staying here in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas for the past 2 weeks. It has been a really joyous and interesting experience. I work here at a youth shelter for boys. The boys range in age from 5 to 15 years of age. And they are very friendly and welcoming. Many of these boys were abandoned by their parents at an early age, some have suffered abuse, and some were sent to this youth shelter because their families had economic or personal problems.
The Salesian nuns run this youth shelter and they have done a wonderful job of caring for the children when no else would. The nuns keep the boys busy and send them to school in order to give them a chance at getting ahead in life. They wake up early in the morning, around 6 am and not enrolled at school or because they have appointments keeping them from school that day. they do some chores, have breakfast and leave for school on school bus. During the rest of the morning, I have breakfast and work with the boys who stay behind at the shelter because they are Usually, I help them read or play some board games with them. At about 1 in the afternoon, the boys come back from school and we all have lunch shortly thereafter. At 3 pm, the boys do their chores (officios) where they clean the entire building, and then they do homework until 6 pm. During the rest of the evening, the boys play for about 1 hour and then pray the rosary. The last activity is the evening meal (supper), and then the boys go and brush their teeth and go to bed.
I am constantly amazed at how some love and attention has really turned these boys around. The nuns give them a chance to move forward in their lives and instill values and morals in their lives. Despite their family problems, God gave them a loving home and opportunities to get educated, and it has made a big difference. |
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