Smiles!

Tiffany, Alex and friends distributed 50 treat bags as well as donated toys and clothes to the underprivileged neighborhood near our home on Friday. You should have seen the smiles! It looked like Christmas rather than Children's Day.

Secondhand Store

We are preparing to go back to a depressed area near our home on Children's Day, April 30th. Many of our friends have donated clothes and candy to distribute on this day. Tiffany and Alex helped to separate clothes and make goodie bags. We are looking forward to this event as the people of this neighborhood are very special to us.

Plan de Ayala

Friends from the International Textile Group which choses each year 4 schools to refurbish invited us to participate. Our job was to paint the windows and doors. Not only did we lend a hand, but we also learned the miraculous power of paint thinner to remove spills.

Every little bit helps.

We just got back from tutoring at Juventud Y Vida. The boys were all smiles and told us about their gifts from the "Kings". It was the first time that most of them had ever gotten a gift. It made us feel great. They have a new boy who came just last week. He had been living on the streets by himself. His mother is dead and his father is in jail. He literally walked up and knocked on the home's door. He now has a home, "brothers" and is attending a private school. It is wonderful to be part of this.

The boys of Juventud Y Vida

Before they came to Juventud Y Vida the boys were living in the streets. They were some of the many homeless children in Mexico often seen juggling or selling gum on street corners to make a living. Now, they have a home! In fact, three more boys joined the home in November. Each boy has a scholarship to one of the private schools in Cuautla. Although the boys range in age from 8 to 14 years old, it is the first time that they have gone to school and it is very difficult for them. Most of the private schools are bilingual which just complicates matters. Imagine learning two languages at the same time with no educational background. We will be visiting them once a week to help them with their English homework.

Kings' Day

To help the residents of the Juventud Y Vida boy's home in neighboring Cuautla celebrate Kings' Day, Tiffany and her friends took them each a toy as well as a Rosca de Reyes.

Dispensas

This year we helped pack and deliver more than 60 dispensas, a box of essential food items, to a local underprivileged neighborhood.