details, details

I apologize for the relatively long silence. Internet access has been spotty because of the rain here, which is just as well as quite frankly I have been exhausted from work. Anyway, I will try to be a more committed blogger for the rest of my time here.

Work in the children's center has been eye-opening, heart-warming, and maybe a little heart-breaking as well. There is inequality and injustice in every part of the world, but the scale here surprises me even though I know the statistics by heart. Waking up each morning and going to the center has given me a window into the unseen, the small realities that I rarely consider when I talk about poverty and development. Big themes are easy to focus on: children such as these need nutrition, basic medical care, education. Yet, there are an infinite number of particularities that escape my attention. This has been an opportunity to explore those details and I have to say that I find it a bit overwhelming.

Each morning I wake at 6:30, shower (in freezing cold water), and make my way to the center. By the time I arrive, the permanent staff have already gone to the barrios in which these children reside and collected them from their houses. I help to distribute breakfasts to each of over 50 children between the ages of 3 and 6, and then we hand out their toothbrushes and help them wash their faces and brush their teeth. This is one of the most basic lessons we teach them and one of the first of these realities of which I have spoken that I have learned to digest. Many of these children have no access to clean water or hygienic facilities and so we take on the responsibility of this most basic "luxury."

After breakfast we begin academic lessons. I work with the 4-6 year olds teaching them to read and write. The idea is to off-set the clear disadvantages they have with respect to other students by beginning at an earlier age. I have to say I never thought I would enjoy this so much-- holding little hands and teaching them to draw straight lines, revealing little secrets to make lessons easier. ("A rectangle can be made with two squares, a square with two triangles. Add an 'm' to 'ama' (she loves) and get 'mama'") They call me Profesora Nata, which amuses them endlessly since "nata" is Spanish for "the best cream," something like creme de la creme.

The academic work we do is effective and important. Without it, it is almost certain that none of these children would make it through primary school. Still, I have admit that I find the realities of education process disheartening at times. It is in education that I find myself most frustrated with inequalities. Some of these children are very bright, love to learn, have real talent, and if they are very determined and also very lucky this talent will POSSIBLY lift them out of staggering poverty. Had they been born elsewhere such raw ability and passion might have unlimited possibilities.

It is easy to be angry about the talented kids of course, but with some of the "problem children" I find the inequality even more difficult to swallow. When the children finish their lessons and if there is time before the next lesson (which there always is), they are allowed to go outside and play. Without fail a particular little boy ends up inside with me well after the others have gone. I recognized almost immediately that this little boy, with his gorgeous brown eyes, eager smile, desire to learn, and deep frustration, is mildly dyslexic. Of course, such definitions are for children with means and even with a proper diagnosis, there are no resources to available to him. When I was his age, I displayed similar issues, my parents promptly arranged for a tutor and a specialist, and I very easily learned not only to manage, but to excel. His case breaks my heart, because a very mild learning disability, one that actually underscores his intelligence, almost certainly condemns him to a life of poverty or crime.

Anyway, this entry is becoming very long, so I'll save other observations for another day. For today the important thing is that all is well here and that I am being blessed by this latest experience. Hopefully, hopefully, I am serving the needs of these children as well.