A Mission within a Mission

[lmolinaRN, BSN, RN]

During our third year to the volunteering Nursing Mission to the charity children hospital (La Casa del Nino) in Cartagena, Colombia, they took us and some hospital personnel for a health fair to a charity preschool in a very poor neighborhood. After one hour trip by bus, we walked to get to the little school for about two more blocks, since there was no more car road; we found a 4 rooms brick building, a soil ground patio, where the 200 kids were playing happily. Immediately we fell in love with this good hearted woman who started this charity preschool 15 years ago with nothing in her hands but love and a strong willing to help and serve her community; without any help from the government, private sponsors o any other organization.

She felt helping her community was a necessity, a calling. She did not have the education or resources needed to establish a daycare or preschool, but she felt the necessity of helping her neighbors, she found the way to convince her family to support her with this altruistic idea of babysitting 10 kids for free, from her neighbors, during the day in their own little home. Then she spoke with the community leaders proposing a solution of leaving the kids at home alone while the parents go to work; soon there were 50 kids in her house and the dream came true.

A few years later, this lady realized that she can do more for these kids and she started giving them some sort of education, entertainment and even some kind of daily lunch. Now the charity preschool takes care of 100 kids daily helping this community, making a big difference, giving them the opportunity to grow and maybe serve the society in the future; now these parents can go to work with the confidence that their children are safer even on their difficult conditions.

This wonderful woman has found a few people (she call them Angels) that help her and this charity preschool, someone visited the school and then sent money to build the building that we saw; about 10 years ago a brave lawyer met her and since then he has been helping this noble cause, gathering money and more resources from the government, private companies and good people to support and provide for the daily lunch for the kids.

After our visit, we felt the need of looking forward to continuing helping and be part of this altruistic charity preschool. So, we, the 15 nursing volunteers, agreed to go back every year to help the Cartagena Children hospital La Casa del Nino but also to visit and help this charity preschool. We were able to send some money to build the patio concrete floor, the roof, buy a freezer and some food for the daily lunch program. We want to raise more money to build 4 more rooms for the school and continue providing nourishment for the little children. We went last year and did a health fair, gave presents to the kids and play with them and the clowns. We just came back from our this year visit where we did medical and dental evaluations, and we renew the promise of supporting the daily lunch for these beautiful kids that always re-energize us with love, happiness, smiles and great gratitude...

You can be too, part of this great cause, help us helping this charity preschool, you can be one of this woman Angel helpers, put your grain to make the difference, together we can give back a little of what life gives to us, we can give these kids the opportunity to be someone in the future.

LUIS ORLANDO MOLINA, RN