Sunday March 9th 2008. Around noon I arrived to downtown in the capital city of Chiapas State, Tuxla Gutierrez. It could’ve been another city on my list in the long journey biking through the Americas, but it wasn’t like that. Something special was waiting for me and the experiences that I was about to live would deeply mark me as a person. I had a date to visit my third SOS Children’s Village since I started my trip and as on those occasions, the anxiety was eating me alive. How would the welcoming be? Would the kids get into it? How would everything be?

Following the clear instructions that Raul Diaz Zarate, the Village’s director, had emailed me, I arrived punctually at 1 pm as we had planned. Immediately I became aware of the cameras from the media that had come to cover the event. Two TV stations and one newspaper had come to see what all was about. I branded my best smile, I went to the entrance and that was when the surprises started!

Raul was waiting with a big group of collaborators and volunteers, at the same time that the kids and aunts began to greet me. They had decorated the village with blue and white balloons, and also there were many ribbons with the same colors honoring my dear Argentina. The children were riding their bicycles waving the colored ribbons to the wind and little by little I was surrounded by the press and the local people, who were greeting me with great affection.

After taking care of the press, we went to the housing area, where the majority of kids were waiting, along with their mothers and aunts SOS. It was a very particular village, unique in the world: here, boys and girls with and without disabilities found a home and a family, within and inclusive social model that was a pioneer in its kind.  

The origins of the village

The creation of the SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez arose as and answer to a problem that was getting bigger in the area, which was to offer support to one of the most relegated sectors of society: children with disabilities.

In November of 2002 started the building of a unique project in Mexico, where children with some degree of disability would have the opportunity to develop their capabilities to the max, as well as have access to an education, recreation, culture and sports, and on top of that, receive the love and care that every child deserves in a familiar environment. In October 2003 the SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez received the first 4 families, composed of 32 buys and girls with disabilities of different levels.

Due to the distressing situation of having to separate siblings to locate them in the nearby SOS Children’s Village Comitan, several organizations and authorities were consulted and little by little the idea of having a Children’s Village with inclusive characteristics started to grow, giving to the village’s families a new dynamic which reflected what happened in everyday’s life.

So, in May 2006 started the initial process of receiving 4 boys and girls without disabilities, who were natural siblings. In July 2006 six more children were received, continuing with the growth process to the actual present, where the SOS Children’s Village Tuxla is composed of nine families that shelter 72 children with and without disabilities.

 

SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez

The SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez is located in the Colonia Paso Limon, in the northeastern side of the city and it’s well connected to the educational and recreational centers where the resident children go.

The have 9 family houses organized in groups of 3, each of them with it’s respective kiosko (gazebo) for recreational activities, the director’s house, a visitor’s house, 4 temporary houses, offices, an administrative area, a multiple-use room and a basketball court, among other things. It’s designed in such a way that it allows for the independent displacement of disable people in all areas.

 Within its facilities stands out the MCC, Multiple-Care Center, which in conjunction with the state government providing the highly trained personnel, it offers education to boys and girls with disabilities. There, the skills, knowledge and abilities of these children are promoted to ease their development. 

The MCC takes in children that live in the village as well as children from the community, giving that way a support and social service to the region. The different levels of work include the early stimulation and all the non-formal educational programs.

There also a school program for parents, where they receive a systematic and continuous education so they can offer the children an adequate attention and support within their homes.

Also, there are Vocational workshops available, where the young ones learn a specific trade (sculpture, crafts, etc) and after learning the respective skills and knowledge, they start their insertion in the labor market.

At the SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez live 22 dependent children with disabilities, 8 semi-dependent children with disabilities and 11 independent children with disabilities. Within those disabilities there are Infant Cerebral Palsy in minor, medium or severe degree; minor or medium mental retardation (including Down and Williams syndromes); sensitive problems (deafness, blindness) as well as congenital problems and malformations (scoliosis, myelomenigocele).

Within the village’s objectives for 2008 is to reach their maximum capacity with 81 children living in the 9 available houses, as well as the construction of 3 new houses for 2009 to be able to host a total of 12 families.

A prolonged visit

PPassing through every house to meet the children and to see their response was moving. It’s not easy to accept their reality and many people even prefer to ignore their existence, but it is like that: tangible, strong and overwhelming. The love and affection professed by these children has no comparison because their openness is unsurpassable. A smile, a look, a hug or a kiss can disarm anybody because of the high emotional content that they carry. I couldn’t avoid being trapped by those feelings that squeezed my soul and made me feel proud of the incredible work done by the mothers and aunts SOS. The inclusion of siblings without disabilities is a remarkable aspect in the work of the village and it is moving to see the love professed between siblings with and without disabilities. Undoubtedly that love is the engine that makes possible that these kids can evolve with their disabilities little by little, step by step.

The village’s director, Raul Diaz, told me about this personal experience on this respect. His brother Roberto had meningitis when hi was little, which derived in Infant Cerebral Palsy. The doctors gave him only 5 month to live. Now Roberto is 40 years old, thanks to the care and affection that he received at home during his childhood and in all his life. Raul is convinced that the social inclusion scheme is a determinant for the evolution of children with disabilities and the work he is undertaking at SOS Children’s Village Tuxla is a clear example of that.

My idea was to spend a couple of days at the village and keep going, but the facts demonstrated that it wouldn’t be that way. The invitations to the homes, the visits to see up close the MCC activities, the tours visiting the area highlights and on top of all that, the love and friendship that demonstrated all the people at the village, extended my stay to almost a week. It was an intense week, full of emotions that will forever be engraved in my heart.

Everybody can help

As one of the kids, Elias, wrote in a drawing the he gave me:

“Remember that if you help me and understand me, I could move forward. Thanks for your efforts”

All of us can be part of this story, collaborating with the institution thought donations. It might not be much for us, but it is everything for them!

For those of you who want to canalize your donations directly to the SOS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez, you can do it directly using the following bank account:

Bank: Banamex
Account: 8984698
Branch: 179
Beneficiary: SOS Children and Youth Villages of Mexico

Thanks, from the bottom of my heart!!!

 

Acknowledgements

To Raúl Díaz Zárate, Director of OS Children’s Village Tuxla Gutierrez: for receiving me as if I was another member of the beautiful family that it is the Village. To your wife Betty and especially to your daughters Rosaura, Rebeca and Raquel, for the brotherly love that they gave me constantly.

To all the administrative personnel: for your camaraderie and friendship. In particular, to Toño, the accountant, who lend me his computer for a few hours and I ended up using it for almost a week!

To the teachers at MCC: for teaching me your work full of love and dedication.

To the mothers and aunts SOS: for the good vibes, the constant invitations to eat and to take pictures, and the incredible affection with which you received me.

To each and every one of the boys and girls of the village: for being a source of inspiration and motivation... and for the example you are day by day showing that nothing is impossible in life if you have desired!  Thanks from the bottom of my heart for the mark you left in me.