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Guatemala
Summer 2006
By: Cristina Gioioso, Class of 2009
In the summer of 2006, we delivered quilts to 43 children at the
Hospicio de San Jose in Guatemala. Hospicio de San Jose is a
hospice for children with HIV, most of them orphaned by the disease.
On this trip, Dr. James Meyers joined the group, and we provided
many medical supplies to the hospice, including antiretrovirals.
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I was not sure what to expect before we left for Guatemala. I
imagined the children at the orphanage being bedridden, enduring the
progression of AIDS. I thought that we would be sitting with them,
giving them their medication, and trying to help in any way we
could. My entire vision of a sad, lonely, and quiet orphanage could
not be any more far from the truth. When we arrived at the
orphanage, we were shocked to see children running around full of
energy, laughing and playing. The walls of the orphanage were
painted with murals of cartoon characters, rainbows, and palm trees.
They had a swing set and toys scattered everywhere. The happiness
present in the orphanage was infectious. It was only a few moments
before the children warmed up to us, asking for hugs, wanting to be
picked up, and including us in their games. It became clear what
our new mission was: to play and have fun with these children.
We quickly realized that we had chosen an orphanage that was run by
a group of well-trained and caring individuals. Doctors visit the
orphanage a couple days a week, and there were enough nurses and
health care workers to stay with the children all day and night.
The children had clothes and shoes that fit, went to school (at a
classroom in the orphanage), and went on field trips. The orphanage
itself was not in very good condition, the children were sleeping
with nearly 15 children per room, and there was only one working
bathroom (for 50 children!). However, they would soon be moving to
a brand new facility with enough space to have only 6 children in
each bedroom, and each new bedroom has their own bathroom. The
money for this facility was raised by the president of the orphanage
and other health care facilities in and around Antigua. Knowing
that these children were well taken care-of was extremely comforting
for me. Hopefully, other orphanages and health care facilities in
developing countries can learn how the president was able to
accomplish so much and follow his example.
Despite all of this promise for the children's continued wellbeing and happiness
generated by the people who worked at the orphanage and by the
spirits of the children themselves, there was still an inescapable
truth that could not be forgotten. These children will one day die
of this incurable disease, and they will die without their families
by their bedside. They deserve all of the help and love in this
world. And although we ended up not "treating" their illnesses per
se, we were able to give them undivided attention, uncountable
numbers of hugs, and most especially the quilts. Because of the
quilts, each child has something that he can call his own. We tried
to impress upon them that these quilts were made lovingly by people
all over the US and that people are thinking about them, wishing
them all the best. I know that they most likely will not remember
us, but I hope that whenever they look at the beautiful quilts and
snuggle up underneath them, they will feel love and remember that
there are people in this world that care about them.
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