Volunteer Experiences - Lisa

The Life And Times Of The Boys At The Hogar Miguel Magone Orphanage Home

On Sunday, March 4, 2007, I traveled to Guatemala City from Boston, MA with a friend of mine to participate in a volunteer project working at an orphanage. Many of you may have heard about Guatemala for a variety of different reasons: stories of people traveling from America to adopt children; news coverage regarding President Bush’s recent visit to Latin America; or perhaps because a friend, family member, or acquaintance of your own has left Central America for a “better life” in the United States. Whatever the reason, Guatemala is quite close; only a 2-hour plane ride from Miami, FL. Despite its close proximity, however, life in third-world Guatemala is drastically different than life here in the United States

The preparations necessary for a two-week volunteer project in a third-world country always takes some time and organization, but it is well worth it. Many of the immediate concerns involve your health and the need to be properly immunized before you go. Once these are scheduled and finished, you are home free.

Sunday, March 4, 2007 came and went, and we never arrived to our final destination, Guatemala City. Unfortunately, we missed our connection in Miami, forcing us to stay overnight. This was a great disappointment to both of us, as we really wanted to be in Guatemala.

Eventually, we made it. Arriving at the airport with plenty of “goodies” from generous donors, we managed to get all of our stuff into a vehicle and make our way to The Hogar Miguel Magone Orphanage, which was about an hour’s drive north into a rural town called El Aguacate. We arrived at the Orphanage around 4 PM that afternoon. In order to feel safe and secure in Guatemala, almost everything is gated and locked. There is always a barrier around you. I never got used to the idea that you needed a key to every building (even the office) at the Orphanage; just to get inside the Orphanage, you needed to be “buzzed in.” Despite these minor inconveniences, you take comfort in knowing that the boys who live there are safe and sound.

We were greeted by Karen Rodas de Reynoso, who founded the Orphanage back in 1996, as well as Vivian, who is the Administator of the Orphanage. Once we opened up the car doors, there were throngs of beautiful boys all around us offering to take our bags and to help us move our things up into the boys’ dormitory. Immediately, I remember thinking, I am going to love it here! The boys are going to be such good company, and maybe they will help me with my much ailing Spanish!

Karen was just wonderful with us and gave us a pretty good indication about what to expect over the next two weeks of the project. In the meantime, a woman by the name of Laura walked into the room. She was from London, and had been working at the Orphanage for about a month. We were thrilled to see her, especially since she was a “pro” already. Plus, she was fluent in Spanish! What more could I ask?! I attempted to take a crash course in conversation Spanish before I left, but my lessons were not nearly enough to allow me to speak comfortably.

Presently, there are 35 boys at the Orphanage. The numbers change there quite frequently. Most of the boys have been there for up to two years, but there are also a number of boys who “run” after a certain amount of time or who do get asked to leave for a myriad of reasons: stealing; behavior issues; etc.

I was astounded to hear about all of the sibling groups here. While we were there, there were eight different sibling groups in residence, consisting of up to four boys from one family. (In Guatemala, the county is very Catholic, and family sizes can be huge. It is not unusual for family sizes to average up to six children.) About half of the boys at the Orphanage are assigned to the live there by the Courts. Most of the boys come from the streets, where the police have picked them up, or come from families where the parent(s) simply cannot provide for their kids; the children are turned over to the Orphanage because the parents know that the children will, at least, receive proper nutrition, a good education (which is not free in this country), a roof over their heads, and a daily shower. Additionally, these children receive an unending supply of love and attention, which they desperately crave. Many of the boys come from families with one or more alcoholic and/or drug addicted parents. Many are also victims of child prostitution, where they have been exposed to more than you and I will ever begin to comprehend. I kept having to remind myself that these boys are safer and better cared for here than in their parental homes. Karen Rodas de Reynoso, the founder of the Orphanage, reminds me of Mother Theresa. Her ability to care, to understand, to effectively communicate, and to serve as a role model for these boys is astounding. She is so committed and works tirelessly, seven days a week (sometimes up to 15 hours a day) to keep this Orphanage moving in the right direction. She is the most committed woman I have ever met and loves her 35 boys “like her own.” Karen has been working with street children since she was 16 years of age and took street kids into her personal home before founding the Orphanage. Her dream came true in 1996, when she opened up her first Orphanage and lived there alone with 18 children.

The mornings came very early at the Orphanage. We were up at 5:00 AM to make sure that the boy’s breakfast was ready before school. Yikes! I am not a morning person, so this was a huge adjustment for me. Our accommodations consisted of a room with a bathroom which up to four volunteers share. It is located in one of buildings in which the boys live. The Orphanage is structured in such a way where they rotate three “teachers” in and out, in 24-hour shifts. The Orphanage has the following structure: one teacher staffed for the little ones, known as the “Peques,” which consists of 13 children sleeping in one room; one teacher staffed for the middle kids, known as the “Medianos,” which consists of 11 boys sleeping in a second room; and one teacher sleeping with the oldest children, known as the “Grandes,” which consists of 12 boys sleeping in a third room. The “teacher” stays with their respective group the entire time and sleeps in the same room as the boys. Our room was located in the same building as the rooms for the Medianos and the Grandes. Even if we had the option of sleeping later than 5:00 AM, it would be impossible to do so, as the dormitory got very loud when the boys were awakened! The mornings came early for the boys, but these children are the most resilient I have ever met. You wouldn’t hear complaints or even a loud yawn from any of them. The boys just lined up in the middle of the “comedor,” and one of the boys would say a prayer aloud before breakfast. (This responsibility rotated among the boys). Then they would sit quietly at their seats (most of the time) waiting for their teacher to excuse them from the table so they could get their meal. Food and beverage are served separately at the Orphanage, since most of the boys used to combine the two, which would become a real mess at meal time.

After each meal, each boy is assigned a chore (which changes weekly). The chore needs to be completed before each boy can go to school or to bed, etc. Chores consisted of the following: bringing dishes up from the entire table after meal time to the wash room; sweeping floors; sweeping the school yard; washing all of the dishes with COLD water; etc. Structure is key at the Orphanage; it keeps the boys on task and out of trouble. It was clear to me that structure is one thing many of these boys never had at home.

The boys would go off to school in many different shifts. There were seven boys lucky enough to be “sponsored” to go to the “American” school, which is about an hour’s bus ride into Guatemala City. These boys were the “best and the brightest.” Yet, most of the “medianos” had to walk almost 2 miles (one way) to get to their school yard. The walk is mostly uphill, and was quite a work out for the three of us walking the children to school. Most of the time, we would walk with the boys, but they would walk looking backwards in an effort to scout out a ride from a passing pick-up truck. So, whenever we got a ride we would all cram ourselves into the back of a pick-up truck (sometimes 20 of us) going up some extremely hilly terrain but somehow the “jalopy” would make it, and we would be delivered to the school yard, in one piece. For we gals, this was quite an adventure. For the boys, it was the beginning of a great day!

Most of our mornings were filled with some type of project while the boys were in school. However, I was amazed at the lack of educational structure in place. If a teacher is not able to fulfill his/her teaching schedule and/or if the teacher simply fails to show up to teach for the day a big poster is placed outside of the school yard, listing the classes that are cancelled for the day. This seemed to happen much more readily at the public schools in which a majority of the boys are enrolled. So, when school was cancelled, we had many of the boys assisting us with our chores at the Orphanage.

Our chores consisted of sorting through and organizing piles and piles of donated clothing, shoes and trinkets, which were stored/jammed into various rooms within the Orphanage. On some days we were asked to assist “Floree,” the cook, with preparing meals, to bring some of the kids to scheduled doctor’s appointments, etc. Some of these projects would take hours, especially the sorting and organizing. Often, we felt like we had not even made a dent in what needed to be done.

One thing that I forgot to mention is that Karen, the founder, has never received any money from the Guatemalan Government to run this Orphanage. She has applied for funding, but the Government will not provide her with any money. Although, a vast number of the kids are placed with her Orphanage through the Courts, Karen has never received a penny from the Government. Instead, she relies on volunteers to do fundraising for the Orphanage and on private donations to help make the Orphanage run smoothly. Many times at night, after the lights are turned off for the night after 9:00 PM, you will hear the horn of a truck at the front gate. This is one of the local restaurants coming to donate leftover “pan” (bread in Spanish) for the Orphanage. Many times the boys would eat very stale bread donations from two weeks ago! They didn’t seem to mind how old or how stale it was, so long as they got something to fill their tummies.

My experience working at the Hogar Miguel Magone Orphanage was extremely rewarding. I get a new perspective of the value of my life and all of the advantages we have here in the U.S. each and every time I leave America. Saying goodbye to the boys, and especially to Karen and Floree, was very tearful. I had an incredible experience, and have memories that will last my lifetime. I miss the boys so much already!

Lisa