There was no easy way to get from Villahermosa to Ocozocoautla. The most direct route at 230 kms (143 miles) is a curvy mountain road that goes through small villages. If Ruth and I were on our own, we would have done it, but with 12 rigs it would have been a long slow journey.
We decided to stick to the major roads despite the fact that it was 100 kms more in distance. The actual arrival time would be about the same.
Yesterday's drive 333 kms (206 miles).
Not posting too many pictures from the driving day because the internet is not fast enough here. And, I have to show you the most important part of our day... shopping for the kids at the orphanage!
I was trying to arrive at the orphanage for 1:00pm because I knew that we only have one night here and the shopping was going to take some time. We did not bad, and arrived at about 1:45pm. Tough to get everybody parked up here, but we did it. There is an arch at the entrance gate and it has a height of about 13" 5" at the center. One of our rigs is 13" 2", so I climbed up on his roof to make sure he would squeeze through. He made it, but only just. Once again, smaller is easier when RV'ing in Mexico!
The local director was out, and so we spoke to Umberto, the assistant. We explained that we had about 43,000 pesos to spend that afternoon, and asked if they could make a list of priorities. He contacted the director, and spoke to a few of the other assistants and they made a list. By 3:00pm, we went to the local Bodega Aurrera.
We originally wanted to spend most of the money in the smaller local shops, but we simply didn't have time. Much easier to get it all in once place. Besides, there were two major items at the top of the list.
Two new refrigerators!
Veronica is the lady who looks after most of the female kids staying at the orphanage. She had been called in to help us with Hector (who speaks a bit of English), and Umberto who had come shopping with us. Veronica had a better idea of what we should be buying regarding the personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies.
When we were looking at the refrigerators, I noticed Veronica eyeing this washing machine. She explained that all of the children currently staying at the home wash their clothes by hand. There are 74 children here currently, so I'm pretty sure if they had a washing machine it would be in full time use!
This one was on sale, so we bought it.
New washing machine for the orphanage.
Filling shopping carts.
Laundry soap and shampoo.
Ruth, with another cart. Toothbrushes, soap, and more shampoo.
Oh, and candies!
While not a necessity, the kids need to have some fun too! You'll notice that we also had new soccer balls and volleyballs in the first cart! Anyhow, we wanted to buy a couple of piñatas too. And, they need to be full of candy.
It was after 6:00pm by the time we got back to the orphanage.
All the loot! The new trash cans are full of stuff.
By 7:30pm, they had the kids altogether getting ready for the piñatas. We all went up to see the festivities!
Youngest first!
The boys having some fun.
I took a video for you. Turn up your volume!
Umberto (the assistant director), Veronica (she looks after the girls) Alejandra (she is the youngest child here) and Hector (he is 18 years old and speaks a bit of English).
This morning, the kids presented us with a big thank you!
We had a lot of fun doing this, and you could tell that everyone (staff and children) appreciated it. Thanks so much to everyone who helped us accomplish this.
And, we're not done yet. We still have 12,000 pesos to spend, but we ran out of time and the shops were closing. We're headed back out again this morning to buy the kids some new shoes!
Too bad you didn't have time to shop in the smaller local stores. However, I'm sure the caravan group had as much fun as the kids. Nice that you were able to buy some big appliances.
ReplyDeleteWe did the next morning for all the school, crafts and office supplies though. Also the shoes and a few other items were bought yesterday afternoon and I believe they were bought in the local stores.
DeleteWonderful! So glad you posted all these pics - made us feel like we were there ourselves. This might be one of the trip activities that is remembered the most by those of you in the caravan.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol! We wanted to document as much of the process as possible so that those who donated could see what was bought and how the money was spent. We have more items to show you in our next post as well.
DeleteI am sure that many of the members of the group will look back on this as one of the memorable parts of the trip.
That is so great, Kevin. They will surely welcome future caravans with open arms. BTW we did take the shortcut in Fall, It wasn't really too bad except we did it in rain, only 6 rigs, however. I think it may have saved us about 1.5 hours.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul!
DeleteWish you had told us that the "shortcut" wasn't so bad, in the road log you made it sound like it should just be avoided or we would have done that route ourselves.
Oh I cannot image the joy you felt while shopping for these kids. This brings tears to my eyes. What a wonderful amazing thing you have done. Thank you for doing this, thank you so very much.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of work but it was also a lot of fun. We were so happy that through the caravan group and the blog that we were able to raise the money that bought all these items for the orphanage and for the children themselves. So thank you Diana and thank you to everyone else that donated money. :-)
DeleteIt's so nice to spread some joy. Congrats on a great initiative.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to be help to a well run organization and to be able to see the smiles on all the kids faces. It was worth all the effort. :-)
DeleteWonderful! Hip Hip Hoorah!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteA washing machine was a great idea, it's unlikely they see such a large donation all at once like that very often.
ReplyDeleteNo it probably doesn't happen all that often but they have had some. :-)
DeleteThank you Kevin and Ruth for taking the initiative to do this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for contributing Croft and Norma!
DeleteWill you be doing something like this again? We missed donating this time and would like to send something. Can we still send to the paypal account? Even if you are using it for future endevours!!! Bless all of you for doing this.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorne and Sue, but at this point, save it for next year. Yes, we will be doing this again!
DeleteHi guys - OUTSTANDING job!!! Like Lorne, we missed you on this one but we will donate when we catch up with you next year. Ruth, you are positively beaming!!! Wonderful work!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Doug and Nancy!
DeleteIf you still want to donate you can do it straight to the orphanage itself. There website is http://www.hogarinfantil.org/rv.htm.
Way to go - what a cool thing to do for those children!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
ReplyDeleteI think it was great that you could reach so many people through your blog and receive so many donations. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you Contessa! We think it is fantastic that so many people helped the cause, including those in our caravan group. We were so happy to help the kids and the organization itself.
DeleteWhat a cause! What fun! Such kind people you are....
ReplyDeleteWe love helping out with a cause that we think is a good one, and this one definitely is. Thank you! :-)
DeleteYour photos and blog to help the orphanage made me teary......such amazing compassionate work! Great job everyone for doing it! Thanks for sharing !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lynnette! And, that wasn't all that was done here. Yesterday the men fixed or repaired most of the screens in the windows of the kitchen and common area in the big communal building, with supplies that Barb and Mark from the caravan bought. Yes, everyone did a great job helping out. :-)
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