Archive for July, 2009
Serious Fun: Creative play
By Rev. Kelly Demo, CFCA preacher
As I write this, I am watching my own children play in a well-manicured, well-equipped park in our neighborhood. I cannot help but think of the children around the world whom I have seen playing in sewers, empty lots, fields with crops and barren yards with scraggly dogs nipping at their heels. But somehow, they seemed just as happy as my children do today.
The joke at Christmastime is always that you spend a fortune on toys for children but what they enjoy most is playing with the boxes, ribbons and packing peanuts that the toys came in. This is universal for children. I have watched children in Sierra Leone, Haiti, Venezuela and, yes, even my own children pull items out of the trash to equip their imaginary world. I remember a beautiful bicycle that a boy in Africa made for me. He found scraps of wire and fashioned this incredible toy. An old sheet can hold powerful fairy magic. A large empty box houses a universe of possibilities.
This call to creative play is yet another gift that children living in poverty give to our children. I think we often do our children a disservice by creating imaginary worlds for them in the form of video games and TV shows. What grown-ups create will never be as good as what kids can think of. Unfortunately, (and this is a personal confession) when life gets harried, it sometimes feels easier to let the kids turn on the TV than to encourage creative play.
Summertime is a perfect time to send the kids outside and get them to dig in the dirt, climb a tree or watch clouds.
As a challenge to your children or grandchildren, let them go through your recycling bin or dig in your attic, garage or closet to see what treasures can be unearthed. To what worlds can they be transported? What magical creatures lurk in your laundry room? What important business must be dealt with in the secrecy of a clubhouse? They will probably not know it, but they will be in solidarity with the billions of children around the world who do not have toys, TVs and video games. All children need is the time and space to be a child.
As a challenge to you, allow yourself to enter that world as well. Allow yourself the freedom to be child-like and think of your own sponsored child. But beware … as you magically turn into a knight in shining tin foil or first mate on a raft floating down the Mississippi, you might find that you get lost while other, more “important” matters disappear in a fog of your own childhood memories.
Related links:
Serious fun, part 1
Serious fun, part 2
July 8, 2009 at 9:26 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
Bob’s notes — Visit to Honduras
Mission awareness trip to Honduras
June 20-27, 2009
Counting Cristina, myself and CFCA volunteer Dani, we are 37 sponsors this week in Honduras. With this number of sponsors on hand, we have a large number of sponsored families to see. We begin our journey in the North up near the Atlantic coast, and wind up in the Ocotepeque project, a dynamic little corner of Honduras within eyesight of both El Salvador and Guatemala.
As the level of awareness deepens in the course of a CFCA mission awareness trip—and after spending time with their sponsored family within the CFCA context—sponsors naturally start asking, “What’s my place in this story … what can I add to this song … ?”
An important role of the CFCA staff in each country is to help the sponsors understand the ongoing reality of their people. With their true calling and special grace, I find the interpretations of CFCA staff to be filled with hope, a practical and strong spirituality and resilient humor.
Charged political situation
Right now, Honduras is in the middle of a deep and powerful ideological war. In Central and South America, there are deep stirrings … in Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Honduras. It comes down to a real battle for minds and hearts. The situation in Honduras could result in real upheaval. So, we pray, and we work.
This group of 34 sponsors truly has been a symbol of God’s love. Even with great distances, poor roads and storms, they have been generous in visiting many families and communities. Thanked to the point of discomfort, they have represented all of the sponsors, in solidarity with the CFCA family.
From Puerto Cortez to Ocotepeque
This mission awareness trip is hosted by Project Ocotepeque. This project is organized in 13 subprojects with a total of 3,794 children and 109 elderly sponsored, and 161 scholars assisted.
According to the CFCA trip brochure, “The primary purpose of the Ocotepeque subprojects A, AU, and B is the formation and education of the children and their families. CFCA helps more than 800 children from these communities go to school, and develops relationships. Parents are trained in activities like tailoring, crafts, and farming, so that they might have their own businesses and increase the household income.”
At our gathering for families and sponsors in San Marcos, Fanny of Santa Rosa offers an original poem written by her mother: “This message is for people that see us and know about our needs … people who inspire us to reach our dreams … people from whom we have received a letter, a picture … thank you for helping in our personal growth … we are fortunate to have you here with us … we love you … God bless you always.”
Staff estimates that more than 1,000 CFCA members joined the group in a 6-kilometer solidarity walk on June 25. The walk finished up with Holy Mass, a nice lunch for all, music and a chance to enjoy a water park. There is tremendous interest in Walk2gether (our 8,000-mile pilgrimage beginning December 2009).
There is great adventure in experiencing the profound learning and love of the sponsors, the CFCA families and the entire CFCA staff. I am grateful.
Cristina and I are now off to the National Encuentro (staff formation) in Bolivia.
God’s blessings.
Bob Hentzen
July 7, 2009 at 11:31 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 3 comments
Celebrating freedom
On the Fourth of July, Americans will gather to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, parades and picnics. Although the United States and the countries CFCA partners with do not celebrate independence on the same date, we share many customs and events.
In Central America, most countries celebrate their independence on Sept. 15 with parades and music. The running of the Central American Freedom Torch from Guatemala to Costa Rica, taking a total of 14 days, reenacts the news of their independence spreading through Central America.
South Americans celebrate with large celebrations, flying flags, parades, fireworks and feasting. In India, all cities have Flag Hoisting Ceremonies run by politicians and other officials. Indian schoolchildren gather to sing songs and watch the hoisting of the flag.
Under colonization, Haitians were forbidden to eat soup, a meal reserved for the upper classes. Now on Independence Day, it is traditional to eat soup to demonstrate the equality of all citizens.
People of the Philippines celebrate their independence with ceremonies, historic exhibitions and memorial events. Festivities begin with a flag-raising ceremony and parade in the historic city of Cavite, where Filipinos first proclaimed their independence.
We would like to encourage you to research how the country your friend lives in celebrates its independence. And from all of us at CFCA, we wish you a safe and wonderful Independence Day.
The Independence Days of the countries CFCA partners with are listed below.
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Haiti | |
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Dominican Republic | |
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Ecuador | |
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Philippines | |
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Madagascar | |
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Venezuela | |
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Colombia | |
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Liberia | |
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Peru | |
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Bolivia | |
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India | |
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Brazil | |
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Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua | |
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Mexico | |
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Chile | |
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Uganda | |
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Tanzania | |
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Kenya |
Updated July 1, 2011
July 2, 2009 at 10:52 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) 1 comment
Serious fun, part 2
By Rev. Kelly Demo, CFCA preacher
Upon my return from a mission awareness trip to El Salvador, my children were greatly interested in the details of the trip. I told them about our day spent on a volcano, showed them a jar of sand from the beach and pictures of all the beautiful people I met. And, I kept wistfully talking about pupusas, calling them “Salvadoran comfort food.”
We decided to make pupusas, and we had the most fun! They are so simple to make and so wonderful to eat. The best part, however, was how making dinner together easily fell into a lesson about solidarity. For instance: at first, our dough was too dry. As I went to the sink for more water, I started talking about how hard it often is for the women to get water and how easy it is for us. The kids asked questions about where the water comes from for the Salvadorans and began to understand how a simple faucet is a luxury.
As we pulled the cheese from the refrigerator, my daughter asked me how they keep things cold with no electricity. So, we talked about how they have to go to market every day to buy food since people in developing countries generally don’t have a refrigerator. (My kids hate going to the grocery store, so the idea of going to market every day really hit home!)
Below is the recipe for pupusas (they are super easy for kids to make), but we encourage you to do a little research to find kid-friendly recipes from the country where your sponsored friend lives. As you cook with your children or grandchildren, talk with them about what it must be like for their friend to cook. How is it the same? How is it different? Tell them what an indescribable luxury meat is in most countries, but how easily we have access to it here. Have them picture walking up to a mile to fetch water for cooking (this is often the job of children in a family).
Pupusas
(Please supervise children closely during the cooking.)
Ingredients:
2 c. Masa harina (this is a corn flour that can be found in most grocery stores)
1 c. Water
Filling can be grated cheese, refried beans, veggies, whatever!
1. In a bowl mix the Masa harina and water. Knead it well. If you need to, add a teaspoon of water at a time to get a consistency similar to play dough. Set the dough aside to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Roll a ball of dough a little smaller than the size of a baseball and, with your thumb, press a hole in the middle. Pinch the sides a bit to make the hole bigger. Put some of the filling in the hole and pinch it shut. Now comes the fun part. Slap the dough from hand to hand, pressing it out flat. But make sure none of the filling leaks out. They should end up about ¼ – ½ inch thick.
3. Heat an ungreased skillet over medium heat. Cook each pupusa for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown on each side. Serve with salsa.
Related links
Serious fun, part 1
Serious fun: Creative play
Make Filipino oatmeal soup
CFCA food benefits in Kenya
July 1, 2009 at 8:47 am Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment
