Tonight we had a party for the kids at the Center. The Rotary Club of Belize was invited, and several of them came as special guests. The children put on quite a show for everyone. The younger children sang songs from VBS and talked about the core values they have learned this week - kindness, honesty, respect and responsibility. The teens showed off their dance moves! Afterwards the kids all got T-shirts and we all signed them with sharpies. We then had an ice cream party and the kids all played happily together. Several Rotarians commented that they had never seen the kids happier. Saying goodbye was incredibly emotional, because about 1/2 of our team will not see them again. The other 1/2 of our team has been invited to go to Belmopan (the capital city) tomorrow to share in Sports Day with the children, as they compete against other institutions across the country. However our math camp teachers and construction team will stay behind. So there were many tears and painful goodbyes. I think now the kids know and believe that we will be back.
At Math Camp, the students put on a really nice Cultural Presentation for our teaching team. They talked about it being the 4th of July, and they also shared things about their country. Our team was honored and impressed.
The construction team is wrapping up their projects. They have painted the whole upstairs of the center (where the girls stay) a beautiful shade of pink and coral. Tomorrow we will hang posters and motivational quotes in the girls rooms, just like we did in the boys rooms earlier this week.
In VBS, the kids made "no-sew" pillows and blankets. It was a quite a hit. They got to choose from a wide array of beautiful fleece fabrics, and they really enjoyed making them and then putting them on their beds.
The teen program has been amazing. Barb, Kim, Katy and Juan have done a great job of building rapport and relationships with these young adults.
Kim, Natalie and Laura taught two days of staff training, where we rolled out the Token Economy program for the Center. Many of the staff received the information with hope, and a willingness to make the needed changes. The kids have already taken well to the program, which we started using with them on Monday. We are so optimistic that this will be the start of what they need to create a culture of love and kindness at the Center.
We are so grateful for your continued prayers, and we look forward to telling you about our trip in p
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