Highs and Lows

The last few days have been filled with many incredibly high moments, and some that have made me feel so low, and so guilty for being so fortunate. On our way to Sau Paulo the other day, a man came onto the train. He was sitting on a skateboard and when he moved towards me I realized that he did not have legs. He used a flip flop on one hand to protect his hand, and to allow himself to push the skateboard. He moved from person to person begging for money, and although I wanted to give this man every penny that I had, we were told not to. I just cant even imagine living life that way, and struggling every day not only to move but to survive. 

The next day, we ran two soccer camps. There are so many kids in this community that half go to school in the morning and the other half go in the afternoon. Because of this, we run a morning camp and an afternoon one. We handed out soccer shorts to all of the kids, and they were ecstatic! They were so excited to run home with their new soccer shorts. On Saturday we are bringing the jerseys that were donated. We have enough to split the players into teams, and give each team their very own jersey. We are going to set up a tournament, and then a skills challenge and hand out medals that were donated from one of the families at the school that I taught at before I came. My soccer skills are slowly improving, and I even got an assit last game!!! 

Yesterday we spent the day clearing out different areas around the base. The top of this hill was covered with thick brush that needed to be chopped down. This took us all day! A simple job that with the right tools back home could have been completed in ten minutes. The people at the base are hoping to create a garden to help feed some of the local people surrounding us! 

We also spent several hours digging into the dirt soccer field that is just outside of the base. We were able to create two soccer nets, not great nets, but definitely better than what was there before! Seeing the kids so excited to shoot the ball at their new net made it all worth while. While we were working we had little ones flying kites all around us! It was a cool day and we were able to get a lot accomplished. 

Today has been a tough one. We started off having a meeting with Thiago and learning more about the community and why it is the way it is. He explained to us that Francisco Morato is the second poorest commuinity in all of Sao Paulo and that many of the people who live here will never be able to leave. The YWAM base that we are staying at has several amazing projects on the go including the soccer camps, the English classes that we have been teaching, and helping local women start local businesses. One of their main goals however is to help boost the local peoples self-esteem, especially the parents of the children that we have been working with. Many of them have set similar goals for their kids that they have set for themselves, and the result of this will be many more generations living in poverty. Through building relationships, YWAM can help educate the parents about the importance of their children attending school on a regular basis, and continuing to work on their english skills. We spent the day today working on building those relationships by traveling around the community listening to the stories of many of the mothers of the kids who we are working with. The first woman we met has ten kids, and lost her husband three years ago due to alcoholism. Her house was made of mud and scrap pieces, and had three rooms. Two of which were covered in mattresses to give her kids some cushioning when they sleep on the floor every night. Coffee was the only thing that she was able to offer us, and we were incredibly grateful. Her cupboards and fridge were empty and her roof was covered in holes. She explained to us that she was unable to work, and because of that her three oldest children were forced to drop out of school and find jobs to help support their family. Three kids who want so badly to go to school and learn, cannot, it broke my heart. 

The second lady that we visited was amazing. She asked all about our lives back home and what Canada was like. She told us how she lost her parents at a young age and was forced to fend for herself. She had 15 brothers and sisters but only 8 were still alive. I asked her what her hopes were for her kids futures and she completely broke down. It was devastating. She told me that she prays every night that her kids can have more than she can give them. She talked about her son who died from an accident at a young age and how she felt incredibly guilty for his death. The room was filled with tears, but she was so thankful to have so many people listening and really caring about her story.

Tomorrow we are making one more visit. We have been given information on the history of one of the little boys that we teach english too who is very shy. Four years ago his father was caught up in drugs and was in trouble with the drug dealers in the area. They killed him and left him on the front yard. This little guys mom has now abandoned him and his grandmother who has a drinking problem is trying her best to take care of him. I just want to bring this little boy back to Canada with me, and give him the chance at living a normal life. The way things are going for him, he will be doomed. It is so sad, but so important to realize that every person, no matter how they act or what they do, has a story. It is really easy to judge somebody, but I think this trip has really opened my eyes to trying to understand why people and kids are the way they are. This is a great lesson to bring into my future classroom with me. 

We cooked dinner for the base last night, and it was awful!!! 

That is all for now! Missing you all like crazy!

Lots of love xoxo

Tory