Salvation Army Kids 2.15.08

One of the cruisers who has been in Mazatlan for several years arranged a fund-raiser for the Salvation Army called the “Songs & Dances of Mexico” on Friday, the 15th. We had been told what a fabulous show this was, and wow, what a show!! There were about 30 kids there, ranging in age from just a year and a half to almost teenager. The kids danced dances from the different states of Mexico and the man who ran the orphanage sang songs between dances. Their dresses & outfits were very colorful & beautiful. The kids were exceptionally adorable and very friendly. Michael said that he could see how most of them were happy & could see the different attitudes represented – confused, happy, sad, withdrawn, & joyous.




The emcee told us that the kids were brought to the orphanage for several different reasons – some had parents who split up and the parent who was left with them couldn’t handle them, others had parents who left to go to the States or Canada to work and couldn’t take them with them, others were simply not wanted and dropped off. Several of the kids had shoes that were too large for them, and had t-shirts that were just recently donated by one of the cruisers. Many of the kids have brothers & sisters also in the orphanage, some several! One of the cruisers has a fund to sponsor all of the kids’ dental care and had just taken over 20 kids to the dentist. Between all of them, there were 39 fillings, 27 extractions, and lots and lots of infection. But he was happy to introduce each of them by name, introducing also their siblings & pointing out their missing teeth. It was heartbreaking to know that most of the kids in the orphanage were not adoptable, as their parents did not consent to adoption. The school system here is free to all kids Kindergarten through 6th grade, as long as they can prove their age. It was explained that many of the kids did not get their ‘papers’ so they could not go to school, or travel. One of the girls introduced was 12 before they could get her ‘forged’ papers so she could join the 1st grade. The cruiser in charge explained that he tried to get them shows all over Mexico and was given a chance to take them all to the United States for a show…but the group ended up being small as several of the kids didn’t have their birth certificates, and without them, couldn’t get passports, visas, etc.



Back to the show – it was exceptional!! I was taking both photos & video of the show and before long, I had a group of kids behind me, holding onto my neck & shoulders watching the videos calling it the ‘Tele’ and excited to see the photos of their friends. It was very heartwarming.


The best part of the show, I thought, was when the older kids were dancing, the younger kids were behind them attempting to dance the same….I will put a video on to show you, check out the kids in the background boogie’ing to the music…

Friday we also said goodbye to our friends Larry, Jan, & Bill on Someday as they took off in the afternoon headed South. Larry & Jan took a trip to the Copper Canyon and told us all about it and how it was…we can’t wait for Michael’s knee to be good enough to take the trip, it sounds & looks wonderful. We ran into another person from Channel Islands Harbor – Bill Hager on Shanashkat Abby, the previous owner of The Blue Elephant – a Thai restaurant we used to frequent when we lived there. He is here putting his boat up for sale and going back to the States.

Our friends on Beach Access, Rebecca & her sister Paula made it back to Southern California and were written up in the local newspaper. Check it out here… http://www.ocregister.com/news/paula-rebecca-sailing-1978768-beach-one They also have a website, I can't see where I ever shared it with you... http://www.glennandmonica.blogspot.com/

I got a little too much sun yesterday with visiting with Larry & Jan, a dinghy ride to the other marina, & sitting for the show so I'm hiding in the boat today, well away from the sun. Michael has been keeping busy, but taking it easy - dinghying around the harbor to chat with people, playing his guitar (don't worry, I have earplugs...haha), filling the boat with water, pumping up the kayak, etc. I've only been updating the website and attempting to catch up on all the e-mails! Thanks everyone for their nice comments & encouraging e-mails!!

I’ll write more later!
Rene


*** Click on the below video, then click the arrow to make it play. They are beautiful dresses & such a cutie in white. ***