Archive for guatemala900
A Visit to the Bomberos
Posted by: | Comments![]()
All children seem to be fascinated by fire fighters and our kids at Semillas de Amor are no different. We told the kids a week before the field trip that were had planned a visit to the fire fighters in Antigua and that everyone had to be on their best behavior the entire week, and they were.
Fire fighters in developing countries do not have access to the equipment that first world countries have. And these developing country fire fighters are dependent on donations of used and outdated equipment from first world countries to do their jobs. I was impressed by the commitment of our fire fighters and the amount of time they spent with our kids. All the kids and the adults got to dress up in the fire fighter’s gear. We had so much fun. Read More→
Erupting Volcano, Floods and Earthquakes, What a Week!
Posted by: | CommentsI am sure that most of you know that Guatemala was hit hard last week when Volcan de Pacaya erupted. However just a few days later tropical storm Agatha blew in and has devastated Guatemala. We had four small earthquakes, two the day Pacaya erupted and two the following day.
Tropical storm Agatha did horrendous damage to many parts of Guatemala. Many bridges have been destroyed, leaving people isolated and unable to get supplies and medical care. People died, many disappeared and many more lost everything including their homes. At Semillas de Amor we lost large sections of our security wall when trees on the other side of our land came crashing down, hit our electric poles and then our wall. We were without electricity or running water for four days. Our biggest concern, when the security walls came down, was that someone would come onto our land, to rob the children’s home, which would put all of our staff and our kids at jeopardy. We have an armed guard, however, to be safe we brought in another guard. Although there were suspicious people walking around in the middle of the night the armed guards were enough to keep them away.
I drove up to the children’s village on Sunday, the day after the storm, and have included photos of the damage we sustained. We were fortunate that there was not more damage and that we were able to get everything fixed so quickly.
As always, we are grateful your your generosity and donations to Semillas de Amor via Seeds of Love. To continue to help us keep the children’s home open please click on Semillas de Amor which will take you to the page to donate. Thank you!
The Guatemala900 Marches on Washington DC
Posted by: | CommentsToday, May 6th, 2010, the Guatemala900 marched on Washington DC to, once again, to bring awareness to our elected officials of the plight of the more than 600 children left behind in Guatemala after adoptions closed almost 2 1/2 years ago. The children left behind were not new adoption cases but children who have adoptive parents and who had been promised to be “grandfathered” into the old adoption system and allowed to finish their adoptions. That did not happen and children have been left in institutions, foster care and some families do not even know where their children are. Many are not allowed to see their children. This is a tragedy and has gone on far too long. These children are being use as political pawns and treated as criminals. We must bring an awareness to not only the United States government but to the Guatemalan government as well. These children must be allowed to go home. What is happening is cruel to not only the children but their families as well. These families have been living a nightmare.
Take a look at the grief on the faces of these families. Take a moment to sign the petition to First Ladies, Michelle Obama and Sandra Torres Colom, MOTHER’S DAY PETITION TO THE FIRST LADIES
For further information on the Guatemala900 What an awesome group of people! Committed and truly dedicated to seeing everyone of these kids get home. All of us at Semillas de Amor send you a huge thank you for you kindness, compassion and never forgetting the kids.
The photos below were taken by Gary Cooper, Futuro de los Niños, at the Washington DC march today.