Today the 7th grade class was planning to take food and school supplies to Ajuterique. I decided to join them, but rode there on my motorcycle so that I could get out and enjoy the sun a bit. Ajuterique is one of the areas where we have a feeding program. Basically, it works like this: if the kids will attend school, we will feed them. It's pretty simple, really. Kids learn better when they have food in their bellies.
All of our food programs have been started in areas where there was no school or just a feeble attempt at a school. Usually within the first year of starting such a program, the government takes notice and often sends in a teacher. Ajuterique is no different. The teacher there is very dedicated to seeing his kids and the community succeed.
Today when he was asked what needs they have, the teacher was honest and said that they don't have any pots big enough to cook for the 31 children who are now attending school. He told us that several mothers bring their pots each day so that the food can be cooked.
After returning to Comayagua, Sandi, Nubia, and Jimmy, who is visiting from the US, went to the market and purchased two very large pots and some utensils for Ajuterique. Later in the afternoon, we made another trip back there. The reaction among the teacher and several of the mothers was as if we had just given them gold. They were thrilled. The teacher told us that he had a community meeting later that day and he was going to show everyone the new pots they had.
It was great to see such joy on their faces, but it made me wonder: Do we miss opportunities to be thankful in the midst of seemingly simple things?
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