Club Amistad

Club Amistad Friendship Club brings children with and without disabilities together through food 19 April 2013 - Guatemala At 3:00 pm each Tuesday afternoon at NPH Guatemala, a small group of kids gathers to partake in Club Amistad, or Friendship Club. Club Amistad is an opportunity for the niños especiales, or special needs children, to share time with children from other areas of the home. The activity that brings them all together is cooking. Volunteers Katie and Irene with club members Ever and Juan Formerly known as Club Pica Pica, the club used to consist solely of special needs members. When it changed to Club Amistad, the group became a mixture of niños especiales and other children. The hope was to foster interaction and communication between the children through a shared activity. According to Katie, one of the long-term volunteers who helps administer the club, its purpose is “to integrate kids with and without disabilities and learn to cook at the same time.” A specific group of three special needs children and two or three children from other areas of the home meet once a week for a month before the group members change to a new set of children. This ensures that each special needs child gets the chance to participate in the club and that a number of kids from the Boys’ House and the Girls’ House can also be involved in the club. Irene, one of the other volunteers involved in the club, says that the children can suggest several foods they are interested in making, and the volunteers gather the necessary ingredients and cooking utensils to prepare one of their choices. In the past, the kids have made fruit smoothies, guacamole, and pancakes. Each child takes part in making the food, and they receive help from the volunteers if actions like chopping vegetables are outside of their capabilities. Sometimes the kids without disabilities even help the other club members if they cannot do a task by themselves. Volunteer Bianca believes that Club Amistad serves an important purpose at the home. She says that for the special needs kids, “there are not many possibilities for them to have contact” with the other children. Their distinct schedule includes frequent therapies, a separate class room, and eating in their own house rather than the main dining hall. While this provides the children with quality, efficient care, it can also isolate them from other kids at the home. It is too soon to know whether Club Amistad is having the desired effect, and it may be difficult to ever truly judge this. However, providing the children with the opportunity to interact, share, and communicate is a step in the right direction for those who hope to see a more integrated community at NPH Guatemala. Caitlin Zanoni    Communications Officer

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