October 18, 2008
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Friday was kill the lice day at the PETI program.
THANK YOU SO MUCH…
(Some of the kids, waving their bar of lice-killing soap and instructions for their parents to wash everyone in the family, and linens, with the stuff)
…for giving…we were able to wash all the kid’s hair and then sit around and style it.
i think there is something very…community about doing hair together.
Cathy got to come with me, and this is what she wrote about our time together:
I have made a new friend in Rachel Winezeler. She is a 26 year old Indiana gal who teaches English, leads opening assembly, and does lots of other stuff at our school. She also studies philosophy IN PORTUGUESE at a local university three nights a week. In addition to all that, on Friday afternoons and all weekend she goes to Pauldaho and works with poor kids in the Living Stones program, formerly known as Growing Kids. If these kids didn’t have the Living Stones program they would not go to school because they would be begging in the streets for money for food for themselves and their families. The program pays their parents some amount of money weekly to allow their kids to participate. This money is to compensate for lost income from their children not begging. It is really sad. Yesterday I went with Rachel to Pauldaho. When we got there, the three workers were
washing all the kids hair with lice soap. They were doing this on the “lawn” in front of the building using a bucket and a hose. The kids were happy to have their hair washed. After the shampoo, everybody got their hair “styled”. The workers were really looking to make sure that all the lice had been washed away, but the kids were excited
because the boys were getting gel spikes, and the girls were getting braids or ponytails with lots of fun bands and clips. The workers were telling everybody how beautiful they looked, and you could just see the kids puff up with the compliments. Now THAT is turning a bad situation into something good! Living Stones also feeds the kids a
hot meal. But yesterday there wasn’t enough food, so the workers had brought food from home to prepare so the kids wouldn’t go hungry. These are remarkable women. I don’t know how much money they make, but I’m sure not much. They are earning eternal treasures.
and my favorite picture:
