Day 10

Today we visited Obras del Espiritu Santo for a long day of service. Obras is an organization run by volunteers designed to help children at high risk and with family troubles achieve happiness everyday and also gain an education. We were first brought into the main building where we were warmly greeted by the founder of the organization (2003), Father Sergio Valverde Espinoza. He proceeded to bring in the first group of children, all of whom were very friendly and eager to play with their new friends. We took them on a bus ride to a park where we had fun running around playing soccer and tag along with other outdoor games. We even set up a giant game of Pato Pato Ganzo, (Duck Duck Goose.) I think we all forgot how much energy we use to have when we were their age, as most of us were sufficiently worn out after playing with the first group of restless youngsters. Afterwards we were given a tour of the facilities by Ana Siles Espinoza, the director of public relations and marketing at Obras. She showed us the newly built school which will educate children in grades 1-6 and also serve as a home to the children without families to go back to. Behind the school there was a swimming pool under construction due to be finished in March, that was donated to Obras by a charitable burger restaurant. They are planning to install more attractions for the school which would possibly include a live pond. Beside the school there is a garden area where single mothers would work to grow lettuce and other herbs for sale. This was a form of therapy for these women because it motivated them and gave them a sense of employment and importance, which of course is more uncommon for women in Latin America. After lunch we split up our group and helped out some more. Half of us went to the park again with another group of kids, and the other half was split into three subgroups. One visited the nursery where most of the toddlers were sleeping. Another went to help clean the walls and floors of the school. And the last helped out at the restaurant cleaning dishes, peeling vegetables, and making patacones, (a popular fried plantain snack.) We all ended up together in a warehouse for donated items where we formed multiple effective assembly lines, and helped clear out the warehouse and load a large moving truck. We looked like a rusty pack when it was time to leave, but despite the dirty hands and sunburned faces, we all left Obras with a feeling of nostalgia. A few hours was enough to bring us all closer to the community, and we felt the effects of our service immediately after leaving as we waved and received the blessings of Father Espinoza. We will all be in bed early tonight after this long and fulfilling day. We look forward to a beautiful scenic trip to Earth University early tomorrow.

Ryan Moore and Michael Moryto