Early in December, the Comite Tutelar that we established in my town held an Asamblea de Navidad (literally, Christmas Assembly) for familites in the area. The idea was to raise awareness of the committee and generate ideas from the communities themselves for future projects. I was in San Jose on medical leave the week before we had the Asamblea, so I was really worried that we hadn't planned enough, that no one would show up, that everything would turn out to be a disaster. (I had to see doctors about this awful cough that I'd had for about a month. Then I pulled a muscle in my stomach from cough so hard and had to stay the week! Ouch... I'm sort of better now. ::Cough, cough::)
Anyway, the event was fabulous! Entire families came from about 5 towns, including mine. There were about 120 people altogether, which made for a very successful turnout. We had planned for a nice sunny day on the plaza (soccer field) with a parent discussion on kids' rights and protection, Santa's gift-giving, door prizes, a pinata, and more! And then it rained, but they didn't abandon ship! Instead, we took the meeting over to the schoolhouse and started over. To explain a bit, this Comite Tutelar is part of a UNICEF-motivated law to protect children and improve their quality of life. They can establish after-school activities and continuing education, such as anti-violence or anti-drug programs.
I am not on the Comite but I helped establish it, so I am sort of like the facilitator. I gave an what I thought was to be an introductory speech (in Spanish!) about who we were and what we wanted to do. It turned into a lot more... it was a bit disappointing that no one who is actually on the Comite wanted to say a few words, but I can definitely understand. (A lot of people are really timid when it comes to leadership. It's one of the challenges I often face working with local groups.) Anyway, after collecting all the suggestions and feedback from the parents, it was time for the party! Santa gave gifts to all the kids and then there was the pinata. Oh, how Ticos love their pinatas! Everyone enjoyed the event and I couldn't have been more pleased!
3 comments:
That picture screen thingy is so cool. You're really taking blogging into the 21st century. However if I stare at it too long it makes me kind of dizzy =).
I will be down to visit soon, I promise. Hope all is well.
Your loyal blog fan, melissa
P.S. What you did with the Comite really sounds awesome, I'm so proud of what you're doing out there. It must be cool to establish and facilitate something like that.
Many thanks to my most loyal commenter! Hope to see you sometime soon...
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