Blog Número Tres

During my stay here in Panama, I have had the opportunity to visit Nutre Hogar twice, which is basically a daycare for children, ages 1-5, who are categorized as malnourished.  I pictured children who were just skin and bones, but was pleasantly surprised that they appeared a healthy weight! It is a non-governmental, non-profit organization.  At the campus we visited they have the capacity to have 30 children per day, while we were there, they had 22! At Nutre Hogar, the children are fed main meals and snacks throughout the day, with the main goal being to recover and prevent children from malnourishment. 

The children were ecstatic to see us when we arrived. Many of them ran up to hug us, as we got off the bus.  We spent the majority of the morning playing on the playground.  The kids ate breakfast together, which consisted of a piece of bread, sausage, and a milk-based drink.  After the kids ate breakfast, we colored pictures of toothbrushes, while explaining the importance of brushing their teeth every day.  They all seemed to know exactly what a toothbrush was and how to use it, which is awesome, since many children in Panama don’t have the privilege of brushing their teeth each day! We also let the children decorate a tree with fruit, such as apples, oranges and bananas. A few students from our class put on a puppet show too! The moral of the story being when little children eat fruits and vegetables they grow big and strong! We passed out stickers and put tattoos on all the little ones! They couldn’t get over how “cool” we were bringing them so many toys and games to play! They danced to music, rode on our backs, and ran their little hearts out the entire day! Everything was a hit! I really enjoyed the opportunity to make such an impact on the lives of these little ones! They all melt my heart!  Here are a few pictures from our visit!