The last month has been so busy at Semillas de Amor. We saw 10 children go home to their families in the United States which was such a relief to us. We lost our in-residence Family, Gary, Ellora, their kids and dog. They are very much missed but home where they all belong. We miss you guys!

We were fortunate to have some volunteers for a few days to paint the outside of the children’s home, before the rainy season starts. We are now bright yellow! Mid-May we have another group of volunteers coming. I won’t say what they are going to do but will surprise everyone with photos next month. If anyone would like to put a work team together please contact me. We have lots to do!

Our riding team, Team Semillas de Amor, is doing great! The riding team is based out of La Ronda on the Finca La Azotea farm in Jocotenango. We have five kids riding. Gaby is the only one of the five that is competing and she tied for first place in eventing last month. This is ranking for the country, so she has to work hard to keep that place for this year. Sonia, Santos, Daisy and Marta are riding so well. Riding is expensive but is very therapeutic for the kids. We hope to expand our riding program in the next few months as we have several kids that want to ride. Money is what stops them from riding right now.

Gerson turned 30! Gerson has worked with Semillas for five years and is adored by the kids. He is lovingly known as Papa Ketchup. We had a hamburger and hot dog barbecue and chocolate cake to celebrate Gerson’s 30th.

We still don’t have “real” electricity and continue to run on a propane generator.  We have about 8 hours of electricity a day.  It can be inconvenient but the nice part is that at the end of the month there is NO electric bill. We still hold out hope that the electric company will quit asking for paperwork and install our transformer.

Animal welfare is not a priority in Guatemala. Poverty, violence all leave those, without a voice, at the mercy of those around them. I was heading to Parramos the other day, two girls, four dogs, and saw three horses, ropes around their necks, running down the highway. Not only did that seem terribly dangerous on that highway but they were heading for a very busy and fast highway up the road. Buses, trucks and cars were dodging and going around the horses. I slowed down, put on my flashers and took up two lanes of traffic to try and keep the horses from being hit. When this didn’t work and I knew they would be on the major highway I told Gaby she was going to have to get out and catch the horses while I tried to protect her with car. Not a question, she jumped out, grabbed two of the horses as she ran down the highway and then caught the other. I pulled the car over and was able to take up a bit of space so we could keep the horses safe but once we had them I realized I had no idea what we were going to do with them. The intersection was so busy and there was no place to tie up the horses. It was very sad because the horses are malnourished and they were hungry. I wondered if they weren’t running away from home. I suspect the owner could have cared less where the horses were. I called Katie, the owner of the farm where we have our horses, and she came as did one of the grooms. They took them back toward their farm with a guy who said he knew who the owner was. A complaint was made to the municipalidad against the horses’ owner. It was quite a morning but the horses were safe. My hope, at the children’s village, is that we will be able to teach children the responsibility of caring for animals. We do that with our dogs, who spend five days a week with the kids. The kids have learned respect for the dogs and have really come to count on them for companionship.

I want to thank all of our supporters out there! You have not only kept us going but have given us hope for the future of Semillas de Amor. Thank you.