Teach them to use their creativity.
Model appropriate social behaviors.
Show them someone cares.
Help them to smile a little bit more often.
These are some of the main goals of HELP's work at CIPI, a government sponsored facility that houses teenage girls, young children and infants who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. There is also a group of about 25 young boys who came from another similar facility and who come froma similar background. Some of them were living on the streets. CIPI also houses pregnant teens or young mothers with children who cannot live at home. Some of them are as young as 13. Supposedly this is a temporary facility, meant to be an interim home until they can find other family members or another permanent home for the children. But many of them are there for much longer. And group of boys - no one knows what to do with. They tried to integrate them into regular public school, but having grown up mostly on the streets, they were unable to adapt to such a setting.
Lucky for them, their new director is absolutely amazing. She knows the story and status of each child, she knows what is going on in the orphanage at all times. As she was showing my around the compound, she would stop to talk to and listen to the children. She has a good grasp on what is needed and seems to have good goals. It is unfortunate that, like many government run programs here, she will never see the funding she needs to fully maximize those goals and really achieve what she is capable of for this program.
One of the main projects that HELP volunteers are focusing on for CIPI is creating a year-round program of local volunteers and interns who will really be able to supplement where the gov't funding falls short. There are a plethora of universities in San Salvador, and all students are required to do a certain number of service hours to graduate. So hopefully they can get something set up and running before the end of the summer.
Here are some of the other things that HELP is a part of at CIPI this summer:
Drawing/Art Classes
Informal Literacy
Dance Lessons
Arts & Crafts / Music!
And of course, baby holding (I couldn't resist)
No comments:
Post a Comment