Looking for things that last

The Rotoract year ends on June 29^th. The week before this day, I wanted to get as much done in Pediatrics as possible, since I started the renovations under the President Josecarlos Rojas. The floor of the play area is not done yet, but it is for a good reason. The Rotoract and Rotarians of Leon are going to contribute monetarily so that tile floor can be installed. It has taken a bit more planning than I had anticipated, but it will work out for the best. The entrance of the play area has two washrooms where the janitors clean the mops and have maintenance material. Doctor Jorge Aleman and I discussed changing the entrance so that the washrooms wouldn’t be visible and it would be an entrance just for the play area. We had two people give us estimates on the price and how it could be done. The entrance would be closed off, the wall in between the two rooms would be taken down and a new entrance to the washroom was going to be opened on another side. Also the light switch to the washroom is going to be moved to where the new entrance will be. 

            I like the changes that are going to be made, and I am happy to have feedback from the community that will be using this area. I originally had thought that the floor could just be painted, but since it is going to be walked on a lot, it would last more to put tile floor. I asked what would be more durable before I made the decision of painting or changing the floor. This was important to me because I don’t know when will be the next time that there will be renovations done to the area and I would like them to have a nice play area for a long time. The play area is a lot bigger than the Aula (schoolroom) where the professor has classes. The Aula has two tables and can seat about 10 kids. But in the play area there is a lot more room so there is more capacity and even the children in wheelchairs would be able to go.

            On June 24^th some of the members of the Club Rotoract Metropolitano de Leon (the official name) brought the toys to Pediatrics. In total the delivery consisted of: 2 sets of foam letters that formed like a carpet, 2 boxes of Legos, 2 bags of Legos, 12 containers of play dough, 12 boxes of crayons, 4 boxes of Dominos, 4 big wooden puzzles, 6 small wooden puzzles, 10 coloring books, 4 smaller Lego cases, 5 memory games, and 5 Spanish story books. I got the supplies from Josecarlos mother, who went to Managua and looked for the best prices. In total it was a little over a hundred dollars. I was very pleased with my purchase. Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and there are a lot of things that people go there to buy because they don’t have them locally or because the prices are lower there. The professor of the Aula told me that she could tell by the quality of everything that it was from Managua because it was more durable.

            There were a lot of children in Pediatrics the day that the deliver was made. Not all of them wanted to come in the pictures, and some were also shy due to their illness. The Rotoract group also brought the 4 fans that would be installed in the Aula and in the play area. The head nurse of Pediatrics was there and she is the one in charge of making the request for maintenance to put them up. The only delay is that there is some material that they have to buy before they put it up and that takes some time.

            I was amazed at how alive everything looked after the delivery. The children were all so happy and they were using the new puzzles and toys immediately. I also had a very pleasant surprise; one of the patients whom I first encountered when I came to Hospital Escuela came back to visit! She got to see the delivery and spent some time playing with the toys as well. She said it was so good to have new puzzles, since she used the same 3 during all of the weeks she was hospitalized. On one of the following days there was a mother who was ecstatic because her son was having trouble with numbers but one of the memorizing games was of numbers and it was helping him out a lot.

            On June 29^th there was a culminating event for the Rotoract year in which the Rotarians attended as well.  I was given a certificate for my work in the hospital and being an honorary volunteer to the Rotoract Club. I spoke about my education, Omprakash, the JJCF grant, and how my stay has been so far in Nicaragua.  I also gave the 2012-2013 an FSU hat that I had brought because in a way him and his family have been hosting me. I explained to them that the hat is like a sign of commitment and that I hope that we have established a relationship for future volunteers.