The Children of Angelitos Felices

Took my little portable photo printer to Angelitos this afternoon and the kids went WILD for it! This crowd you see around the printer was basically how things looked until we were done.
I printed out a personal photo for each of them, and they were completely entranced for more than an hour as the machine magically printed out each picture. It's a little Canon printer and it is indeed pretty fascinating, as the photo paper passes in and out of the machine each time as it lays down first yellow, then red, then blue and black. The kids were captivated.
Took up a load of the usual miscellaneous things they need at Angelitos: Disposable diapers, liquid cleaner for the floors and bathrooms, soap for the washing machine (which is working brilliantly, apparently), soap for hand washing, clothes pegs. Basically, the place needs everything at all times!
But the kids are looking great right now and everybody seems happy. Jose Manuel, the 3-year-old boy who has had such problems walking, is now on his feet and starting to talk as well. And little Angie Nicole, who was as still and listless as you could imagine when she arrived at Angelitos a year ago at the age of 8 months, is now a wiggly, wriggly toddler.
That's the thing about resilient kids - they can bounce back against all odds with a little help. Thank YOU for being there for them.

It's a day for celebrating small miracles - like 24 pair of shoes arriving from Illinois courtesy of a young supporter and a beautiful new wood cooking stove finally in place at Angelitos. No more smoke-filled attic on the third floor where the staff and the older girls had to go to cook tortillas every day.
Came home from Canada last week to find the stove finished (much thanks to my CASM co-worker Edy Mendez for overseeing that project in my absence!) and the washing machine actually working upstairs in the new laundry room now that it's connected directly into the outside power box. No more smoke-filled attic room two floors above the kitchen - that's the new laundry room, and now the wood stove is right beside the kitchen.
Then Hannah's shoes arrived - 24 pair in a mix of sizes that were either new or gently used, donated by Hannah and her friends. The group paid the $100 mailing charges to send the big box of shoes through the mail to Copan. Many smiling faces when they saw those shoes! This photo shows some of them modelling their new footwear.
I've still got an amazing collection of little girls' clothes and shoes to distribute, sent down by Victoria pal Cindy Harnett. At least five of the youngest girls are going to be looking good soon, but I'm doling that gift out a little more gradually so as to not stir up the boys.
We went to the pool with 11 of the kids this afternoon. Virtually all of the kids 10 and up are now swimming, and a couple of the younger ones are coming along quickly now too. We all had a good time - not quite so sure about the other people who had come to the pool for a quiet afternoon.
Thanks again for all you've done - together we're giving them better health, cleaner and more comfortable surroundings, way nicer clothes and a whole lot of fun.

Big thanks to my old pal Kim Westad for holding a 50th birthday brunch for herself that raised $1,400 for the kids of Angelitos along the way! Now that's what I call a power brunch.
Paul and I are back in BC at the moment getting in a visit with friends and family. I was invited up to speak at the national summit for the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth, and it seemed a great opportunity to see everyone back home. And yay to Kim to fitting in the brunch while we were here and raising an amazing amount of money in a scant three hour event!
Just got an email message from my Honduran workmate Edy, who tells me the supplies for the new wood cooking stove for the hogar have all arrived and that the stove is being built at this very moment. Looking forward to seeing that beautiful new stove - with its big new chimney! - all set up downstairs where it will be so much easier for the staff and the older kids to use it for tortillas. Big thanks to all of you for your support in getting that project done.
One of the young Illinois women I met through a mission group last year has managed to collect 25 pair of shoes for shipping to the kids at Angelitos. Thank you, Hannah - those shoes will be arriving just about the time we get back and the kids will be thrilled. There are plenty of shoes available in Honduras but virtually all of them are poorly made and the kids go through them in no time flat. So Hannah is helping out by sending some sturdy U.S. sneakers down, and picking up the $125 shipping costs.
Thank you, thank you for all that you've done for those kids. I'm speaking about them today at the conference. Together we're making a difference!