Today, my rotary club brought Christmas to the less fortunate. It kills me to even imagine the lives of all these children. In their eyes, poverty and drugs are their idea of normal. We spent the day making food like fruit salad for a snack and hot dog sandwiches for lunch followed by experimenting with cotton candy for a little sweet treat while they played at the playground in the mean time.
These kids come from a little village called Colombo Parana and their school brought them here today for a little Natal (Christmas) surprise. At the end of the day, Papa Noel (Santa Claus) came to visit and deliver some gifts. The boys received a World Cup soccer ball and the girls, little purses with different Disney characters on it to carry their school supplies or their makeup every other day! It was warming to see their reaction to Santa Claus when he showed up with bags full of wrapped gifts. We got the impression that they don’t normally receive gifts in their everyday lives. As the kids lined up to visit with Santa Claus, one by one the Rotarians explained that their parents usually just spend their money on drugs or food, but very rarely do the kids receive gifts. It touched me to see some kids weren’t very excited about the gifts. But as I put myself in their shoes they just weren’t sure how to react because they have never gotten a surprise before.
Right before they headed back to their school, we held a raffle for a backpack full of school supplies and a bike. The kids were previously numbered on the attendance list and all the numbers were put into a bag. My soon-to-be exchange sister from Hungary and I helped pull out the numbers from the bag. First, we raffled off the backpack. A little boy in spouted out of his seat with excitement when his name was called. Shortly after, we raffled off the bike and the shyest little girl in the crowd won. She seemed so confused. I felt bad jumping in her face and taking photos, but seconds later her brother came and protected her. I can’t imagine living in a small village and the families surprise when this small girl comes home with a new bike! I don’t think she even knows how to ride a bike, but I hope someday she will learn and enjoy it for the rest of her life!
