Hi guys, thank you for taking a minute to read this thread. I went to a 'Hogar de Niños' yesterday which is located in Escazu, near Multiplaza, about 400 meters from the store Pequeño Mundo. The name of this place is Hogar de Niños San Gabriel, it is a small shelter that houses about 10 kids with similar disabilities.
The place is run by several nuns and survives on charity. We had the pleasure of meeting one of them yesterday, Hermana Lucia, she was kind enough to walk us through the shelter, and introduce us to all of the kids that are housed there.
Unfortunately all of the kids there were abandoned by their parents. To make matters worse, most of the kids there have 'paralisis cerebral '(which I think is cerebral palsy) in English. Some of them have a condition called 'Sindrome de Niño Sacudido' which is brought on when a child is violently shaken. Basically, the kids were physically abused by their own parents, which brought on these conditions, they were then abandoned.
When we arrived, we found them all in a room where they were being cared for by several students from the UAM that were doing their "tcu" there, along with several of the nuns. Most of the kids are completely unresponsive, most cannot speak a single word, some are connected to an oxygen machine. If I understood the nun correctly, one of th kids sleeps almost all day long, and is actually fed while he sleeps. I appologize if anything I have said sounds ignorant, but I am not familiar with the medical terms and/or the conditions I am describing.
It is truly heartbreaking to come in contact with such a scenario and really makes one value everything that we have and everything we take for granted. Even worse than knowing that there are kids surviving in these conditions is the fact that their own parents put them in that state and then left them to fare for themselves.
We went there yesterday because one of my friends (who works at Instant Action) had been there once and I told him I wanted to go there, see the place and help if I could. In the end four of us went. We talked to the nun about their needs and we want to go back in a few weeks with whatever help we can get them.
I decided to post this on here because I know many people think like I do, I like to help but many times we dont even know where to go, where to begin and if someone is asking for money we immediately refuse because its very difficult to trust someone you dont know.
If you would like to help, please email me at rxslim@yahoo.com We will be visiting them again in a couple of weeks with whatever aid we can give them. Any and all monies will be used to purchase things they need. My friend left the list that the nun gave us at his house, so I will be posting it tomorrow. If you want to donate money, I can give you a bank account, or I can go pick up your donation, if youd rather buy something from the list, Ill post it tomorrow. If you would like to help but dont know me/trust me, feel free to give them a call and/or visit them. Their number is 22289998, and like I said they are located 400 meters from "Pequeño Mundo" near Multiplaza. If I understood correctly, they will be there for about another month, apparently they have to move because the place they are at is being loaned by the church next door.
Thank you very much for your time.
Slim
The place is run by several nuns and survives on charity. We had the pleasure of meeting one of them yesterday, Hermana Lucia, she was kind enough to walk us through the shelter, and introduce us to all of the kids that are housed there.
Unfortunately all of the kids there were abandoned by their parents. To make matters worse, most of the kids there have 'paralisis cerebral '(which I think is cerebral palsy) in English. Some of them have a condition called 'Sindrome de Niño Sacudido' which is brought on when a child is violently shaken. Basically, the kids were physically abused by their own parents, which brought on these conditions, they were then abandoned.
When we arrived, we found them all in a room where they were being cared for by several students from the UAM that were doing their "tcu" there, along with several of the nuns. Most of the kids are completely unresponsive, most cannot speak a single word, some are connected to an oxygen machine. If I understood the nun correctly, one of th kids sleeps almost all day long, and is actually fed while he sleeps. I appologize if anything I have said sounds ignorant, but I am not familiar with the medical terms and/or the conditions I am describing.
It is truly heartbreaking to come in contact with such a scenario and really makes one value everything that we have and everything we take for granted. Even worse than knowing that there are kids surviving in these conditions is the fact that their own parents put them in that state and then left them to fare for themselves.
We went there yesterday because one of my friends (who works at Instant Action) had been there once and I told him I wanted to go there, see the place and help if I could. In the end four of us went. We talked to the nun about their needs and we want to go back in a few weeks with whatever help we can get them.
I decided to post this on here because I know many people think like I do, I like to help but many times we dont even know where to go, where to begin and if someone is asking for money we immediately refuse because its very difficult to trust someone you dont know.
If you would like to help, please email me at rxslim@yahoo.com We will be visiting them again in a couple of weeks with whatever aid we can give them. Any and all monies will be used to purchase things they need. My friend left the list that the nun gave us at his house, so I will be posting it tomorrow. If you want to donate money, I can give you a bank account, or I can go pick up your donation, if youd rather buy something from the list, Ill post it tomorrow. If you would like to help but dont know me/trust me, feel free to give them a call and/or visit them. Their number is 22289998, and like I said they are located 400 meters from "Pequeño Mundo" near Multiplaza. If I understood correctly, they will be there for about another month, apparently they have to move because the place they are at is being loaned by the church next door.
Thank you very much for your time.
Slim
lol, sure man, either I or one of the other guys can go by your place to pick it up, just let me know when 
