It’s been exactly one week since the big World AIDS Day event in the Plaza Principal. I can’t believe how fast time passes… we didn’t have much time to breathe and reflect on the event, because now that we’ve entered into December we are full speed ahead with Christmas preparation for our kids and the two communities we will be visiting at the end of next week. Crazy!!!

So it feels weird to look back on that special day, when there is so much we’re moving forward with. The day was absolutely wonderful and chaotic as I thought it would be. We started the day by going to a special mass at the beautiful cathedral in honour of World AIDS Day, and it was great to have our girls there. The rest of the morning was preparation for the performance, and then the big show!

It was a beautiful, HOT sunny day. The girls looked beautiful, and their dances were very well-received. It was over so fast, but the girls were happy and we were so proud of them. It takes guts to go infront of a city and do something like that! We have lots of great video captured of the performances which I’m hoping to get up on Youtube some time soon. Also, two of our girls, Angela and Evelyn, were winners of an art contest they took part in a while back as an awareness-raising, solidarity-building event and they got presented with their prizes on the big stage.

Something that meant the most to me through it all was that our girls from CDP got to share this dance experience with some girls from a government-run home. They were totally shy and wouldn’t talk to each other at the first rehearsal, but by performance day they were old friends and now our girls want to visit the other home and stay in touch. It’s important to connect beyond who they usually see and interact with, and seeing those new friendships bud, seeing them break out of their comfort zone, was a huge reward for me.

A HUGE thanks to Amanda for becoming part of these girls’ lives, even for such a short time. We hope you will be able to return J And congratulations to ALL our kids for representing the voices of children – the girls who danced, and those from CDP and PDC who came out to watch and show their support.

Peace and Love,

Jeanette