Upon arriving the kids were just about to eat lunch, so we got a tour around the place and learned something about its history. Basically it started with one lady that took in a few kids, which expanded until she had to find a new location to build an orphanage. We met her cooking in the kitchen and she really seemed like a mother figure for all these kids. The orphanage has expanded with donations to include a smaller library, a computer lab, and more recently the bank donated enough money to build a second dormitory to separate the boys and girls. Right now someone is donating money to rebuild/renovate the storage area.

But our job was just to hang out with the kids! For Marshall this was a little interesting considering his lack of Portuguese, along with the two EAB students who didn't speak much Portuguese either. It was still really a great time. The kids always called us 'uncle' or 'aunt' whenever they wanted attention, too. The students painted the kids faces with face paint, but we didn't get a group picture afterward. . .sadness! I did get one of the kids playing some games (the three taller girls in front are students from EAB), as well as the adorable little girl who just walked up to Marshall, tugged on his


I also got some of the older students to play SET, the 'family game of visual perception.' It's one of my absolutely favorite card games that I learned in Math Club in middle school (it has its own set of strange cards). Some of the kids were really quick learners too! I hope we get a chance to go back because we would both love to do it again, especially now that we know what to expect. Also, I must say I was really impressed by the leadership capabilities the students showed during the whole day. Things were well organized, and no teachers were directly involved!
1 comment:
This sounds like a great day! So nice to see you do something that worked out better then expected.
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