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School Supply Delivery at Flor del Campo

written by Felipa 

The women of Flor de Campo were very excited to go shopping for the school supplies. We left Patzaj early in the morning.   This donation was huge for them because they have not had much work during these last months.   Most of these women are widows so they rely on their orders for their livelihood.

I met with them in Comalapa and it took many hours to buy all the supplies.  It was very cold but it didn’t bother the women because it was fun for them to shop for the supplies.  They really appreciated that Sharing the Dream was helping them in this way.  They also liked it that I was there helping them because it is hard for them to figure out the expenses. They said it was so nice for them to have a “secretary”.

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The next day we started early in the morning to pack the school supplies for each child. We finished packing them up about 10AM.  After that the kids all came. This was a very special activity so every one was dressed for a special day.

They started the activity with a speech from Maria Antonia.  She said that the women were very lucky and she felt very happy for them.  She explained that when her children were in school she suffered a lot because nobody helped her.    Her past was very sad and there were many widows who had been in the same situation.  She cried, she cried about her past but she also cried because of happiness for the day and for the gift from Sharing the Dream.    

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When we finished talking with the mothers, Maria Antonia called each kid by grade and gave them each their bag of school supplies.  Everybody was very happy because it was a very important day for all of the children, and you could see everybody smiling.

Kindergarten                                                                        First Grade

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Second Grade                                                                         Third Grade

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Fourth Grade                                                             Fifth Grade

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Sixth Grade

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Reflection
This was a good experience for me to share with these women and help them do the shopping and pack each bag of school supplies.  I felt very useful in this activity because we all worked together to prepare the list and do the accounting.   They took a lot of time to prepare everything.  I had to spend the night and all day because there was so much to do.  I noticed that they really appreciated my visit.  They did not leave me alone at the center. It was nice for the women to take care of me.  They treated me like a queen.
Everybody was very happy and they were thankful for everything.  The kids were also very thankful.  I noticed that this was a great help for them because they really are in need.  This was the first time I shared with these women and it was wonderful for me.

Note:  Felipa works for Sharing the Dream in Santiago Atitlan at the elder center and helps with other projects in the area.  This is the first time she was able to travel and represent Sharing the Dream.