Better late than never!

I know, I got back in September, and it's now January, but I have finally got around to posting some pictures of my time in Paraguay, to prove we actually did do what I told you all about...
So just a reminder - I spent 2 months in Paraguay working in a children's home, that some people from Aldridge Parish Church support. I can safely say that it has been a life changing experience, and I will be going back one day! I think about the girls and the people I met there everyday, and have heard that the home have had more new children join them in the time I have been home.
At the end of our two months, we spent three of four days at Iguassu in Brazil and Argentina, which was amazing, so nice to finish off our trip!
Again, I want to thank everyone who supported me and OSA on this trip, even if it was just saying 'good luck', to know there were so many people behind me was amazing. Thanks to this trip, I now have a few ideas about what I want to do when I finish uni in a few months! So here goes:

The other day I found something I wrote after the opening of the playground. I thought I'd share it as you might see what I mean through some of the smiles in the photos:

'Today poverty did not define them. It did not effect them. 

They had the chance to be normal children, happy and having fun.'

This was on the plane on the way to Brazil, we still had another plane ride to get to Paraguay. I think it was when I saw this map that I realised how far away I was going...

The wall of the Comedor, we re-painted the Comedor white, just to make it look a bit more cheerful again, but its probably grey already from all the dust around!

This was apparently a quieter day at the comedor, where local children come for a guarenteed hot, quality meal once a day, either on their way to or from school. Around 80-100 children are fed here. For many it is the only meal they will have that day. 

This is where all the meals are cooked. Its an open stove because there is no gas or electricity.

The Next few photos are of the work we did while we were there:

We improved the Kitchen garden, and added the nets (which took forever) for protection.

 

 

Happy chickens after we extended their living area by a lot!

Kitchen at the Children's house before we started the work. This was pretty much unusable, which meant that the children had to walk 5 minutes to the comedor for all their meal in the rain, cold and dark. And when it rains in Paraguay it is proper thunderstorms.

The very same kitchen. So much improved and now being used. First meal = burgers and hotdogs! One of my proudest moments ever!

 And of course the children's playground, our main project:

Official opening, with some of the poorest children from the village invited to come along.

Just testing...

And here's some other pictures that just sum up the most amazing 2  months of my life...

I was allowed to use a chainsaw...note all the health and safety around...

New jumpers from a school in England. Look at the smiling faces you get from giving a school jumper! Can you spot the 2 sets of twins in this photo?

A typical house on the edge of the village.

Traditional dancing in the village on children's day.

Some of the crowd on children's day that our kids performed to.

New t-shirts for all their performances

Puppet show in another village. Sharing the bible...

Typical transportation.

Trying to work, and get poked and prodded by these beautifuls.

Home!

First ever birthday cake on their 9th birthday!

Thank you!

 

 

Finally a couple from Iguassu:

Argentina!

Brasil!

The final, rather delayed update...

Hello there, its been a while but I have now been back in England for a week, but have been busy, so this is my first chance to update about my final week in South America. Since I have been back I have realised how many people have been reading this blog, which is amazing thank you so much for the support. I saw the page view numbers go up every week, but thankyou for all your kind comments about it. When I started it I thought it was just going to be maybe a couple of people reading, nothing major, but I see that is has far more popular than I ever imagined, and the care and support really does mean a lot. Anyway, here we go...

The last few days went quite cold again, but the only work we had last to do was to paint this playground, but we had to wait until someone who had gone to Asuncion to pick up the paint.

On the Friday evening we had a bit of a leaving party at the girls house. The girls performed the Little Red Hen in English and performed the dance that AJ had been working on with them. We also had hot dogs and burgers that had been cooked in the new kitchen.

On the Sunday afternoon we celebrated the official opening of the playground, and children from the village were invited along. There was a little service and then all the children had biscuits and hot chocolate. There was so much laughter and fun going on...all the childre love it. They spend every spare second they have playing on it. Also that day, the twins celebrated their 9th birthday, and they had their first ever birthday cake, which was pretty special to share it with them.

The time came to leave on Wednesday evening where were caught a bus to Asuncion and then an overnight bus to Brazil, where we spent 4 days at Iguassu Falls in Brazil and Agrentina, which was a nice end to an amazing 2 months.


These two months have been the most amazing ever. I have been taught so much about real life. I have seen what really is important in life, and that we can really survive without home comforts. I will remember this summer forever and always think about the life changing people I have met.

I want to thank everyone who made this project possible. What ever you give or donate, however big or small, it all goes directly out to Paraguay and improves lives out there! None of this wouldnt be out there otherwise! And again, thank you for your support, and thank you for reading this, and experiencing this journey with me.

I am planning to update the blog with a few photos over the next few days...but for now this is the end of the Paraguay 2011 blog. Thank you again for taking the time to read about it, the numbers show how many people really do care.

Dancers to dance upon injustice...

So this will be my last Wednesday update from Paraguay :( and I can onlt be quick.

This morning we finished re-painting the comedor and it is now really white. We now only have the playground left to paint, but we wont have the pàint for that until Friday when Phil gets back from Asuncion with it, but it means that we will have to work hard on Saturday because they want to officially open it on Sunday while we are still here.

Yesterday it was Childrens Day here in Paraguay, and Monday was a bank holiday for the anniversary of the founding of Asuncion, so on Monday our girls had two performances again. First of all they were asked to perform at the town hall, which is  a real honour, a few girls did traditional Paraguayan dancing, and some of the older girls did some ´Christian´ dancing and then they put on a puppet show using the new puppets that we brought out for them. There were a lot more people there than I expected, and the mayor was very impressed. Ossy said that in the 14 years that he has lived in QQH, this is the first time they have done anything for childrens day. After that, they all piled into the back of the open van again and travelled about an hour up the road to the next village, where they did the same again. It was a really good day. Yesterday all the girls were a bit hyper because they had been given sweets and presents at school.

Anyway I have to go, but next week we travel on an over night bus to Brazil, where we are having a few days holiday at Iguassu Falls, before we come home. Only 10 days left in South America now, what happened to the last 50?? I will try and update again before we leave, if not I will do it once I am home....xxxDa

I love this place, where common sense rules, not health and safety!

Nobody can choose where they are born, and I guess I just got lucky. I´m really starting to realise how greatful I am for having the life I have been given. I have enough. This place has changed my view and outlook on life. I have learnt what is important in life and what isn´t. For that I am thankful.

This week has warmed up a lot, which is great news for my hands and feet =) On Sunday it was 38 Degrees C, where as the Sunday before it was only 8! Chances are it will go cold again in a few days though because Paraguay has crazy winters.

This morning we drove to the outskirts of the village where some of the children live who come to the Comedor for meals. There are no roads, its more of a really bumpy dirt track. On the way we drove past a tap, which provide the water for 10-15 houses. The children walk 30 minutes to school everday in flip flops and shoes that dont really fit, and their houses are made of mud and wood. At least in the village they have running water, electricity, showers and comfortable enough houses.

I have discovered that I am the ironing queen...well of Hama beads anyway...not clothes. Its a new thing for the girls that came out with us, and the teachers have been on strike the last few days so we had chance to do it with them.

This week we have been scrubbing the Comedor clean ready to re-paint it, while some local men put the heavy bits of the playground together. On Monday it is Children´s Day, and school is closed (again), and the girls are off to another village to do some evangelism through their dance and puppets again, so they have been busy preparing for that. Im guessing its going to be 20 kids on the back of a van again. Little Phil left us on Monday and has jetted to Rio De Janiero, and will join us again when we get to Iguassu in Brazil in about 15 days time.

We just checked the temperature and found out its 39.5 Degrees C...but its ok because one of the team has made about 10 litres of lemonade from the lemons that fall from the ugly tree...

Thank you for reading and for all your support, see you soon love Helen x

Did you feel the mountians tremble?

Happy August everyone!
I have now been in Paraguay for over a month and its gone way too quick!

At the weekend the final two team member arrived in QQH. They had a couple of really hot days in Asuncion but by the time they got here the temperature had dropped a lot, and only yesterday started getting warmer again. You gotta love the crazy Paraguayan weather! The problem with this weather is that people get a lot of colds. Team leader Big Phil has spent a couple of days in bed witth a bad cold, that with the cold meant that no work was done for two days. But all the team are healthy again! Here in Paraguay if it is cold and/or raining then people tend not to go to work or school.

This morning me and Big Phil finally finished the kitchen at the girls house. Well it just needs cleaning, but apparently the girls are desperate to do that...We have been painting the walls white, but it doesnt matter how much paint we put on, brown keeps coming through from year and years of grease from the cooking in there.
The builder and the gardener have also finished extending the chicken run. So we now have happy chickens!

The other day at the lomiteria we met the most important person in QQH! He has a bodyguard who carries a gun! Apparently, his dad was murdered when he was in the same position, don´t you just love corruption...or not!

I just got distracted by a motorbike going past with 5 people on!

So this week we will hopefully be putting up the playground. Next week little Phil leaves us to go off to Rio! Also, some of you might know that I suffer from Raynauds disease, so if your into it, I´d appreciate some prayer for that, as when its cold here its makes it really hard for me to do a lot of the work easily when my fingers are really painful and I cant feel my toes, and it just makes me really cold too. Thank you!

Thank you for reading! See you again sometime next week!

Im going to miss cow and cart style rush hour...

Hey there!!!

Well the storms have now finished and the last few days have been really hot :)

On Saturday (I think) Carol left, so the night before we had a massive BBQ and some of the girls showed us some traditional Paraguayan dancing. Then they wanted us to show them some dancing! I dont do dancing! So we introduced the conga instead!

On Sunday we finally got to go to the church, as it was the first Sunday that it has not rained! We were the only people there, and I did not understand a word of it...

A few jobs have been going on. This morning we have been painting and tiling the kitchen at the girls house. The chicken/pig enclosure has been improved and we have started to think about the playground. Also AJ has been teaching the girls some dance. Also, as some point this week, two women came to the house and gave all the younger girls their vaccinations.

I spent Monday in bed thanks to a stomach bug thing, but was back at work yesterday. I think its down to one too many burgers at the lomiteria...

I am no longer being bullied by a two year old after I saved her life...well not exactly but I took her back to her mum and we kinda bonded. Yesterday she came running up to me and gave me a hug, before then she used to run up to me and kick or pinch me.

The last few nights have been so clear that we can see so many stars and even the Milky Way really clearly!

This Saturday the final two of the group will join us. It seems so strange that we are halfway through week 3 already, it feels like I have been here forever and not at all at the same time. I think a little bit of me cant wait to get home, but I also feel like I could quite happily stay here, as long as I dont have to keep living out of a suitcase.

Anyways, I have to go tackle round 2 of painting, ding ding! xxx

"I want to see miracles, to see the world change..."

Hola! Don't really have much to update, so this it really to let you all know that Im still alive!

The last few days there have only been 3 of us here, and there hasn't been much work to do, just finishing off the previous jobs. As well as putting on a few English lessons for the village kids in the Comedor as they are on holiday at the moment.

Over the past few days we have had 2 massive thunderstorms (one is still going on now). The thunder shakes the house and the lightening is the brightest Ive ever seen. We woke up to a leaking roof this morning in our room above the spare bed, which has now been replaced with a bucket - apparently the roof tiles are really old! When a thunderstorm happens here the electricity tends to go off, and you have to unplug everything as things tend to blow up when it comes back on, so I am doing this update as quick as possible just in case...
Because of the weather, we haven't seen much of the girls, as they have stayed in their house down the road.

The Piglets arrived yesterday, and the 'adults' also got back from their adventures in Iguassu/Conception/Asuncion.

This place never fails to amaze me - Marie-Louisa managed to prepare and cook a massive meal for 8 on the side of a kitchen sink and a 4 ring oven!

A big thank you to everyone who donated make up and nail varnish. It has been very popular! Although the girls do tend to put it on, take it off straight away and then immediately put it back on again.

Anyway, I think Im gonna go before I blow up! I think after siesta we are venturing down to the girls house to do some aerobics and (crazy) dancing....xxxx