Long Days and Lots of Hugs

So after two days of work I am officially exhausted.  A typical day begins with a meet-up at the office around 8:30 in the morning.  From there we travel by bus to the designated street market for the morning shift. Buses are crowded and sketchy as you can imagine.  We then walk to the remaining distance to a clear spot where we can set up what we have brought. Everything must be carried; the rubber mats we set out to sit on to the toys and puzzles, water for handwashing and drinking, the tent awning, etc. We lay everything out and begin sorting puzzle pieces while a few volunteers peruse the market to round up the children.  The setup looks like this:

Sometimes we are lucky and can use a cement lot in a churchyard or square. We spend the next several hours teaching the kids about hand washing and hygeine, colors, numbers, and a weekly lesson (this week is modes of transportation). We play with them, get and give lots of affection, and try to encourage virtues such as kindness, sharing, patience, and compassion. The children average around 3-5 years in age, though we have a few toddlers and a few preteens.

Around lunchtime we pack up to move to another location. We grab a quick lunch and then map a bus route to the next market where we do the whole thing over again. It's pretty cold out by now and it rains lightly most afternoons, but the children still come. By the time I am walking home in the late afternoon I'm soaked, filthy, and tired. But it's totally worth it.  Next week I am going to bring a small camera to the sites so you can meet some of the children. They are so sweet and adorable! I am also trying to setup up a way to receive donations of items by mail here at the office. I noticed many children are wearing extremely ill fitting shoes or even sandals in this freezing weather. I'll post more info on that as it develops, but I see a shoe drive in the near future.