Hogar el Alba

This morning we visited Hogar el Alba.  This is an orphanage for children who may come from difficult family backgrounds.  Currently, there are around 40-50 children staying there and, on average, a child will stay for about 3 years.  Once they reach the age of 18, they are encouraged to leave, however if there is no plan in place they are able to stay at Hogar el Alba longer.  We arrived around 10 and had a small breakfast before getting to work.  We were split into groups and assigned workers to help us get organized and begin.  I was in the Panderia (bakery), with Maeve and Kiersten.  The walls were painted with half white and half pink paint.  We went over the walls and also the ceiling with white paint.  We then repainted the 2 ovens. 

These are the ovens in the bakery before and after we

sanded and repainted them.  

 After eating lunch, we were able to go play with the children that stay at Hogar el Alba.  Hayley brought string and a few of us sat with the girls and showed them how to make friendship bracelets.  After a little tea time snack, everyone went to play fútbol (soccer).  The children are amazing and definitely beat any Bryant students who tried to take them on.  From trying to take pictures with the children, they discovered our phones.  At some picnic benches, the game Subway Surfer was the new favorite thing.  Rafael, Theodore, and Abigail all agreed to share my phone.

The kids at Hogar el Alba discovered our phones and found their new

favorite game, Subway Surfer. 

I can speak some Spanish, and every time, they would show me what they’d won in the game.  It’s amazing to see how much fun they can have with just each other.  However, when given the phones, they figure out how to share and how to encourage each other within the games.  When it was time to go, we slowly walked back to the other building with our things.  Abigail asked to take a picture and all the children were saying goodbye to their new friends.  After taking a group picture, the children from Hogar al Alba followed us to the bus, still hugging and waving to everyone.  Being able to provide the kids with new soccer balls and even just spending one day with them has so much value.  This is an experience I, and I’m sure everyone else, will never forget.

All of us with the children we played with at Hogar el Alba.