Through the Eyes of a Volunteer at Special Needs Children Day Care Text Me When You Get There | |
go to original September 12, 2014 |
My experience at Pasitos de Luz in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico...
Luckily I knew somebody who worked at Pasitos so it made it easier for me to become familiar with the place. On my first day I started the morning by helping to feed the less abled children. I was handed some rice pudding, a flannel and directed towards a child in a wheelchair. I was quite nervous about feeding the children but I thought how hard can this be? I soon found out when he was wearing half the contents of the rice pudding. I slowly learnt how to handle him and got there in the end even if it did take me half an hour to feed him.
I was then directed towards a classroom of children aged between 9-13. I found it to be a calm and well behaved space. The children got on with activities such as practicing their handwriting, colouring in, playing educational games etc. It didn´t take too long before the children started to talk to me, they were a little cagey at first but within half an hour they were asking me questions and I was instantly making progress with them.
At lunch time I helped to feed the children again, thank fully it was tortillas and salsa for lunch and didn´t involve much liquid. The boy I was feeding successfully ate all of his lunch. The following days at Pasitos kind of went like this.
Then one day the teacher from the other classroom of smaller children asked me to help her. Straight away she handed me 3 children all under the age of 5 and asked me to assist them to the toilet. I was their to volunteer so I couldn´t pick and choose my tasks and I had to just get on with it. One by one they went into the toilet, actually I think I had 2 at 1 point. The first had already wet herself, the second confidently went without much assistance from me and the 3rd, well lets just say he produced something which was making me heave. I had to tell myself to snap out of it and there was no way I was going to be sick, I held my breath. When I returned to the classroom I saw a completely different atmosphere than the other room. The teacher was running around, grabbing children, cleaning faces, seating them, sorting out tables and chairs, and handing out activities. Having never worked with children before I thought ´help!´
Sientate! A word which translates as Sit! and I find myself saying this every 5 minutes.
But…and this is a huge but because I would say this has been the biggest life changing experience on this trip for me…as the day went on I was receiving hugs, kisses and smiles and each time my heart melted. Subsequently everyday I go into that classroom I love it. The children no matter what difficulties they are facing and physical or mental limits they have are the most beautiful, happy and affectionate little things I have ever met and they never complain. Every time I walk into the classroom little Jeff a 4 year old boy who has a cleft palate and can only make sounds greets me with his smile and grabs onto me, and Ariana a 5 year girl who has Down’s Syndrome shouts at me to come and sit next to her and play, and Brenda a 8 year girl who has a intellectual disability and looks at me to say ha ha I´m going to give you the run around today and believe me she does!
It´s an incredible place, full of joy, music, laughter and happy faces. The staff are super friendly and make you feel at ease instantaneously, I´m offered drinks, coffee and food all day long. I was worried at first because I´m not a therapist or neither have I ever worked with children but this really does not matter. Just being there, if you give 1 hug, 1 smile, feed 1 child, take 1 child to the toilet (or 3 in 1 go), have a small conversation, play 1 game, it all goes a long way.
Pasitos de Luz is a non-profit organisation that provides day care for disabled children from low income families in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and they need donations to continue the great work. If you would like to support them you can do so by making a donation through their website here. If you are in Puerto Vallarta please visit them. They love receiving visitors and why not take them something from their necessities list which is updated every 3 days and can be found by following this link.
I love this place and actually without realising it the children are giving me more than I am to them.
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