Two and a half weeks
after the eruption of the Fuego Volcano. The central park of Alotenango is still
set up for receiving and giving aid, but there are no longer huge crowds of
people. The three yellow tents of Scientology are still standing in a corner,
but unmanned. World Central Kitchen continues to prove thousands of meals a day
to the people in the shelters, firemen and other volunteers.
Two weeks ago I went
with Abi Ruiz, the administrative assistant of the Carpentry Project in
Alotenango and three of her friends to one of the shelters for an art workshop.
The kids loved it and we were asked to come back. But last week we couldn’t get
permission since access has been even more restricted after one of residents
was arrested for sexual assault on an 11-year old girl. This week we were
granted a mere hour, not much but better than nothing.
But upon arrival it
turned out we were not on the list. And the kids were busy anyway, we were
told. We had to go to the Municipality where staff and volunteers were trying
to coordinate activities and help offered from a room that was filled up to the
ceiling with classified donations. Initially we were told we couldn’t go into
the shelter, but Abi happened to know the coordinator’s sister (the
coordinator, by the way, was a different one from the one from last week who
was a different one from the week before). Anyway, we got permission, got the
required piece of paper and nametag. We even got two whole hours instead of
one, although we lost half an hour getting the permission in the first place.
The shelter was
visibly less busy than last time. There was also no activity at all going on for
the kids, just some church thing for adults in one of the dorms/classrooms. The
kids remembered us and were happy to see us. We made a “Chain of Love” that we
put up for decoration. Colouring and drawing were also an option, as well as
story telling. “Can you read the poop story again?” Yes, The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It
Was None of His Business is a popular one, as is The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. But I
had brought many more books this time, thanks to Sarah Peller who lent us a
whole box full of the good stuff.
The approximately 35 kids
had a good time and like last time, were very concentrated. We were disrupted only
once by a young pair of tourists who asked if they could interrupt the activity
to hand out some donations. I asked them if they could wait three minutes to
finish my story, which they didn’t, so why bother asking at all. They handed
out knock-off Croc sandals (but not enough for all the kids) and a few balls (there
is no space to play ball in the shelter) and then hang around for a while to
take photos and talk with/to the kids. They must feel really good about
themselves now that they have helped those poor kids.
Anyway, with the kids we
made plans for next week. We have permission already, that is, if they don’t
change coordinators in the mean time. The shelter will probably open for
another two weeks before people are moved to a more permanent temporary home. Until
then we’ll continue weekly workshops, and most likely later on as well. In the
meantime I’ll be checking out one of the shelters in Escuintla to set up a long
term art workshop over there.
Many thanks to the people
who have donated towards art supplies so far (Wendy Russell, Ineke de Smidt,
Debbie Pate, Judy Sadlier, Maureen Mack, Will & Cees Griffieon and
Colour4Kids). I haven’t done much of fund raising yet for an ongoing art
program because the situation is still so unclear, but I hope to have more
information soon. (But donations are welcome! Paypal (carinsteen@yahoo.com) or deposit
on my Dutch bank account NL95 ABNA 0254 0313 74.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to bring some fun to the kids as much as we can!
In the meantime, we’ll continue to bring some fun to the kids as much as we can!
