Hey everyone! Abbey reporting back to you! 

My  team has been traveling to Blanco’s Kids once a week. For us, it’s only a 10-ish minute car ride. For the students, it’s a long morning walk. The majority of the children will walk to school. Due to the heat and no breakfast, to get there on time, students can end up passing out. This school is specifically for children that do not have papers, which is a hindrance to them being accepted into a traditional public school. They cannot register at a public school without papers, like a birth certificate. This is a mixed Dominican and Haitian community. They speak creole and learn Spanish at the school. Their curriculum also consists of reading, writing, and math. 

When we go to the school we absolutely adore playing with the kids. We normally start out with a song to dance to. Then we’ll move on to games, we’ve done:  

• Relay races

• Tag 

• Freeze dance 

• The Queen of England (this is similar to signs) 

• Raced a hula hoop around while holding hands 

• Elbow tag 

                   My team loved playing with the kids. One of our favorite things to do with them were relays. 

Lastly,  we end our time with a Bible story. It’s been SO FUN. We have looked forward to going to the school every week.

Being able to play with them has been so eye opening. The joy they have to go to school has been both sweet and convicting. I have never been one to enjoy school and the Lord knows I rarely went. There’s really no good reason as to why I never went. Boiled down, I just didn’t like it. I felt like I learned slower and wasn’t as smart as everyone around me. I had tutors growing up and was always in the lower reading group. In elementary school I took this as I was dumb. Then I was homeschooled in junior high, all of my classes were online, and I struggled to learn that way. Going back into high school, my freshman year, I went to a private school. I had a teacher, but wasn’t able to get the help I really needed to fully understand. Once I got back into public school I was slowly giving up. I felt like I hadn’t learned anything the three years prior and that thought “I was just too dumb” played through my head on repeat. The only reason I really went was for my friends and clubs I participated in. 

Hearing that these children walk in those conditions to learn, seeing their joy, and willingness to be there; well I felt terrible for not showing up to school. Having the ability to drive there in my car, always with my iced coffee, and because of my pride, I just decided to not go. My mind went back to high school and saw how much I took my education for granted. These children have little to nothing and yet they sacrifice so much to learn.