We got the chance to visit a couple of social non-profit projects from 'The love of Patricia' while we were in Antigua. And each of them stole my heart with their compassion and dedication for/by the locals.
The first project we visited was the 'Bunk Bed Project'. A thing the most of us take for granted, is a dream for others. A bed! It was founded by Tamara Hillstrom and gives families the opportunity to have a proper place to sleep. Most of the people in the villages around Antigua have to sleep with the whole family in one bed, including the parents. Or they have to sleep on the floor. Can you imagine sleeping with six in one bed? I thought so. An extra downside of sleeping all together is the abuse of young girls. When the mother has a new husband, the whole family still sleeps together and sometimes the stepfather violates the girls in the family. So this is also an extra plus, because the families don't see the damage of the abuse.
The beds and frames, all made in Guatemala, come onto the back of a pick-up truck in the village. From the moment the truck stops, children from the village storm towards the van to help the workers. They look up to Nestor, once an orphan himself, and want to become just like him. The help carrying everything to the house where they also help putting it up. They do not only give a bed frame, but also the blankets, cushions and everything you need to have a good night sleep.
One bunk bed is $208 which includes bed/mattresses, two comforters, two pillows, and delivery with a translator and/or guide. Half a set $104. Extra pillows $3 each as many beds are occupied by two children. If you donate, you can choose to deliver it yourself or they can deliver it for you and make pictures of the present so you can enjoy it at home. Feel free to donate to this wonderful project here.
A second project that we did was the stove project (sometimes combined with the water filter project). When you want to cook something at home, you just turn on your cooking-stove whether it is a gas or electrical one, it doesn't take much of an effort. Imagine that you have to look for wood in the forest for a couple of hours and then make a fire inside of your house to be able to cook something. Much more of an effort, not? And also toxic. You breath in the toxic smoke just because sometimes you need to put in plastic to help it keep its flame.
Onil has made a design for a movable stove that they now also deliver in houses. Again everything comes in the village by a pick-up truck where cement blocks and tubes are laying in the back. First they make a flat surface in the house where they can build the bottom out of cement blocks to make it stable. Then they put the stove itself on top of it with the piping that goes out of the roof so the smoke isn't indoors anymore. The stove itself only get warm at the metal parts, the rest stays cold so children won't burn themselves as they did before with the open fire.
One Onil stove costs $190 and makes a huge difference to the people. Before they had to gather wood for hours and it would only last them maximum three days, now it can last them one month! With all the extra time they have, they are able to go to the water pit by day to collect water instead of doing it at night.
Next to the stove they also offer water filters ($60 donation). The water in Guatemala isn't pure and contains a lot of bacteria and parasites. With this water filter they can have clean water and the children don't get sick anymore.
Again donations are welcome via here. You can again choose to deliver it yourself or let it be delivered by the organisation.
El Amor de Patricia is a home for abandoned, abused and neglected children where they are loved, appreciated and encouraged to reach their full potential in a family style setting. When you walk in you see the bright painting on the garden wall with clotheslines full of children's clothing, an outdoor playhouse, toys and a bunch of happy kids running towards you to say 'ola'. Your heart is immediately filled with joy.
The orphanage itself isn't like an institution, it really feels like a home and that is their goal. Most of the children are placed by court because the parents weren't able to look after them or they were abused so they never experienced a warm home. They get the opportunity to go to school, get mental help if needed and have a full stomach, three things that they didn't have before.
At the moment there were around 30 in-house children from all ages, the youngest one was only three weeks old! They also had a community education program where children out of the village could participate in, with ten kids in it. They still had their own house, but they got the option to go to school and get educational help from the orphanage so they also had a better outlook on the future. They often work with the basic thought that the family can send their children to school in return for a meal. When it's rainy season, most of the parents get their children out of school so they can work on the fields and earn money. But with giving them a meal a day, the parents have a bit more the capacity of letting their children in school during the whole year. A win-win for everybody!
THE FUTURE
Next to the wonderful projects that they are doing already, they want to create more. They are also looking to open up a school themselves so more children have a proper education and learn English as well. And they are also looking to work together with another non-profit organisation to build cement-block houses for people in need. Most of them now love in sugarcane houses, so you can imagine that isn't the best housing option during rainy season.
For the third and last time I will say: feel free to donate! Even the smallest contribute makes a big difference here! Click here!
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