Snapshot Challenge Saturday

In the face of numerous tragedies such as those that recently occurred in France, Lebanon, and Egypt, it is difficult to post a weekly picture that shows something beautiful when so many are suffering. However, as unfortunate as this may be, it is in times of need and in times of despair in which people from all over the world come together as one. There is nothing more beautiful than uniting as one, as this is what must be done if we are to begin looking towards the future. Seeing so many people come together to support those affected in recent days is truly incredible, but there is still much work to be done.

We must find a way to allow unity to prevail—not just in times of need, but each and every day. This is most definitely a step in the right direction though, as the sight of the world uniting for those in need is truly incredible. As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” This snapshot challenge is dedicated to those who were killed in the aforementioned attacks as well as loved ones affected by the devastation. It is also dedicated to a strong sense of hope that together, we can ensure a safe and bright future for all.

Snapshot Challenge Saturday

Yesterday, I wrote about Boca Azul in Cartagena, Colombia. Boca Azul is supported by Foundation Casa Italia, and it is a school in La Boquilla that serves more than 300 of the poorest children who are in the need of the most help. The children who attend Boca Azul are between the ages of 1 to 14 years old and receive a full-time education, school support, one meal per day (which makes this the only place in the city for children to receive a free meal), first aid and medical attention, and after school activities. While taking a tour of Boca Azul, some of the students put on a show for us, and as you can see based on the picture below, they performed traditional dances of the area. The students pictured below are some of the most hardworking students in the school with the highest grades, and as a reward, they are able to learn the traditional dances. They took so much pride in their performance, and as you can imagine, it was a beautiful sight to see.

The Children of Boca Azul

Day 2 In Cartagena, Colombia Continued: Touring Boca Azul

After canoeing in La Boquilla, we took a tour of a local school, Boca Azul, which is supported by Foundation Casa Italia. Boca Azul is a school that serves more than 300 children in La Boquilla, and they serve the poorest children who are in the need of the most help. The children who attend Boca Azul are between the ages of 1 to 14 years old and receive a full-time education, school support, one meal per day (which makes this the only place in the city for children to receive a free meal), first aid and medical attention, and after school activities. Keep in mind, this is an area where most children in similar situations would not receive any sort of education or medical attention, so Boca Azul is an incredible organization helping children who would otherwise have no hope for a brighter future.

Boca Azul was founded by Guiseppe Mazzoni, a long-standing Official and General in the Italian Airforce and his wife Rosy Soprano. Having moved from Italy, Rosy explains, “It was more than absolute poverty and malnutrition. The absence of any family support for these children abandoned in the street and ignored by all really opened our eyes. We had to do something.” Rosy and Guiseppe created a cultural center known as the Foundation Casa Italia in the city that promotes Italian culture, with hopes of increasing locals’ knowledge of Italy and its culture. Through their foundation, they have been able to start Boca Azul, which is the only school in the area that teaches Spanish, Italian, and English for free.

The children in Boca Azul spoke and sang to us in Spanish, Italian, and English, and some of them even put on a show for us! It was truly an incredible opportunity to see such a great school and to meet Rosy and Guiseppe. They are such selfless individuals who have dedicated their lives to helping provide these children with childhoods and futures that they deserve.

To learn more about Boca Azul, you can visit their website at: http://www.casaitaliaong.org/it/indexEN.html

Reaching New Heights at Misioneros Del Camino

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Throughout the past month, I have been discussion the incredible milestones that Misioneros Del Camino has accomplished thus far. As the story continues, we pick back up in 2011.

As you might remember from a previous post, in 2006, a neurological center was established on site, providing care and numerous therapies to children with various neurological disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and many more. In 2011, an expansion on the neurological center was completed in an effort to provide service to more children than our current facilities would allow. The expansion was devoted to both occupational and sensorial therapy.

Occupational therapy consists of teaching children everyday skills from getting dressed, to writing and more. Sensorial Therapy deals with sensory issues such as not being able to eat certain types of food, not being able to stand in a bright room, and more severe issues like the inability to sense hot or cold and high sensitivity to touch. To put this into perspective, imagine if someone touched you and it felt as though thousands of ants were crawling on you. Many children with Autism and sensory disorders cannot even be hugged or touched by their mothers because of such sensations. But thanks to the generosity of such great supporters, more will children will be able to hug their mothers and accomplish ordinary tasks that we would normally never even think twice about.

One such child who benefits from the therapies offered at the neurological center is Darlin, who is pictured below being carried on her mother’s back. She is four years old and has cerebral palsy. They live in a very poor village about 20 miles from the Neurological Center. To bring Darlin to therapy, her mother has to carry her daughter on her back to take a bus that leaves her about 5 kilometers from the Center, and then she walks the rest of the way with her daughter on her back. To return home, she does this again. She has been doing this since 2011 to help her daughter. Darlin has made fantastic progress! She is starting to take her first steps and is saying a few words. Hers is a long road, but there is hope. A few short years ago, she would not have had any hope or access to help, but thanks to the Neurological Center, that is no longer the case.

Expansion at the Neurological Center

Some of the Various Therapies at the Neurological Center

Darlin and Her Incredible Mother

Misioneros Del Camino: The Opening of a Neurological Center

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Throughout the past month, I have been discussion the incredible milestones that Misioneros Del Camino has accomplished thus far. As the story continues, we pick back up in 2006.

In 2006, a neurological center was established on site, providing care and numerous therapies to children with various neurological disorders such as autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and many more. With a great team of certified therapists, psychologists, and doctors, hundreds of children are able to obtain the necessary treatments that they wouldn’t be able to receive anywhere else.

In addition to special education, various types of therapies are provided to the children at the neurological center including: speech, physical, psychological, occupational, and sensorial therapy. Neurological and psychological evaluations as well as parental and therapeutic training seminars are also provided so that the children can learn to overcome the obstacles faced with their neurological disorders to the best of their abilities.

As you can see in the video below, all it takes is determination and a dream to make a difference in someone else’s life, which is exactly what Mami Leo has been done for nearly thirty years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0mi8kCMyZ0

Special Education at the Neurological Center

Various Therapies at the Neurological Center

Misioneros Del Camino: Reaching Out To Help The Surrounding Community

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. For the past few weeks and remainder of the month, I’ll be highlighting many of incredible accomplishments that helped countless children in need, all thanks to one valiant and dedicated woman, Leonor Portela.

In 2001, the Emmaus Medical Mission group first started its biannual trips to Guatemala from Miami. The Emmaus doctors and volunteers treat a few thousand people each mission who have never before received medical attention in their lives. Mami Leo convinced a well-respected doctor from Miami who at the time was leading medical missions to other countries to bring his group to Guatemala because there were so many people in need of medical assistance. This doctor complied, and has since been bringing his Emmaus team to Guatemala twice a year for fourteen years now. Because of Mami Leo’s dedication to serve the people of Guatemala, thousands of Guatemalan citizens have received medical care ever since.

In 2003, a nutritional ward for malnourished children was started. Nourishment is provided to each child until they have fully recovered. Parents of children outside of the home are provided with a follow-up nutritional program that teaches them how to best feed their children with the available resources. As you can see from just one example in the picture below, the nutritional ward has positively impacted the lives of so many children. And again, this is yet another program that Mami Leo implemented to give children in such terrible, and often times deadly conditions, a chance at life.

Emmaus Medical Mission

Jose Martin, One of the Many Children Who Benefited From the Nutritional Ward

Misioneros Del Camino- Educating the Future Generations

In 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Over the next month, I’ll be highlighting a lot of incredible accomplishments that helped countless children in need, all thanks to one valiant and dedicated woman, Leonor Portela.

Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Ernesto Townsen, a Guatemalan businessman, the Sagrado Corazon School was opened on site in 2000. This elementary school has since provided an education, uniforms, school supplies, and transportation for children from the surrounding areas. The Sagrado Corazon School also has a marching band, which consists of numerous students with immense talent. To date, the band has won countless awards and has not only made the city proud, but they have made us proud as well. The school not only provides children an opportunity to receive an education and learn to become active members in a society that might not have allowed for such an education, but it instills confidence in each and every child in attendance. And the band gives the children a chance to learn a new skill and take pride in a talent they would have otherwise not knew existed.

A preview from the Sagrado Corazon’s Marching Band practice can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/k9w2bkg

Sagrado Corazon School

Sagrado Corazon Marching Band

Some of the Children From the Sagrado Corazon Marching Band

Some of the Children From the Sagrado Corazon Marching Band

Some of the Children From the Sagrado Corazon Marching Band

Some of the Children From the Sagrado Corazon Marching Band

Important Additions To Misioneros Del Camino

To summarize my past few posts, in 1986, Mami Leo answered a call from God to pack her belongings and move to Guatemala to help abandoned, abused, and malnourished children. With $2,700 raised by her and her prayer group, and faith that the Lord would guide her, Mami Leo devoted nearly thirty years of her life living in the mountains, nourishing, educating, and loving countless Guatemalan children in need. Over the next month, I’ll be highlighting a lot of incredible accomplishments that helped countless children in need, all thanks to one valiant and dedicated woman, Leonor Portela.

By 1999, a chapel built on site at the home gave the children a place to cherish their prayers, and the first baptisms and communion took place shortly thereafter. After having survived a few years of purchasing daily supplies of water, a 705-foot deep well was built that same year, thus providing water to the home, thanks to the Rotary Clubs in Guatemala, the United States, and Canada.

A Chapel Built On Site To Allow The Children A Chance To Connect With Religion

A Newly Built Well Providing Water to Misioneros Del Camino

Take A Breath

When did you last have a moment for yourself?
A moment to relax; a moment to unwind;

Time put aside to release what’s on your mind.

When did you last have a moment for yourself?

Do you recall last taking a breath of fresh air?

Enjoying your surroundings and smelling the flowers;

Not dwelling on the past or the upcoming hours.

Do you recall last taking a breath of fresh air?

When have you ever really opened your eyes?
Seen the sunrise and then watched it set
No worries at hand and no need to fret.
When have you ever really opened your eyes?

Let’s freeze the clocks and pause the time,

Breathe in then out; enjoy our prime.

Remember you need to often relax,

And cherish each second; before they slip through the cracks.