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| Noemy and daughter Ana |
Many women apply because they need a job, but being a "tia" at Hogar de Vida is much more than a job. Money cannot buy what is required. The few who are qualified go the extra mile to love and care for children who are not their own and mourn their loss when the kids return to their families or are adopted. A tía (auntie, care-giver) must without exception be called by God or Hogar de Vida would be a difficult place to be.
The tia's day begins at 5:30 a.m. or sometimes at 4:30. The "tia" gets up and gets ready with no time to sit around. The houses with school-aged children must get them up by 5:45. They do this with "gusto". Before breakfast the children need help to shower. (Preschool children or for those that don't go to school they bathe after breakfast). Their hair is always washed and they leave the house with damp hair. Only when it's really cold will they use a hair dryer, but it's not the custom. Everyone goes to work or school with wet hair!
Next is breakfast - "gallo pinto" (rice and beans) with sour cream, a favorite. Sometimes pancakes make a special appearance on the menu.
Homework has been finished the day before and everything for school is already in the backpack. The children walk to a nearby school, always accompanied by a tía. A lack of teachers means there are two schedules: the first group begins at 7:00 a.m. and the second starts at 11:30 a.m. The children eat lunch at school, paid for by the Ministerio de Educacion with some help from Hogar de Vida. Rice, beans, or spaghetti, etc. are typical. The kids never complain.
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| Christy |
Our faith missionary Christy is the Prekinder teacher for children up to age 4. The children love to be in our special on-campus schoolhouse.
At 2:00 the place bursts to life with snacks followed by playtime outside until supper at 5:00 -- unless it's raining and a movie comes to the rescue. The same movies over and over again! After supper is pajama time and family devotions, except popcorn and a movie on Friday night.
The daily work routine is divided between the lucky woman that gets to clean, the one that gets to cook and the one that does child care. These duties change on a rotational basis. There's sweeping, cleaning windows, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning floors, meal prep, and dishes - normal stuff except multiplied by twelve kids in each house! "Sadie, the laundry lady" washes clothes, hangs them on the line to dry, folds them and puts them it away - like most people do, except ironing. Costa Ricans iron EVERYTHING, especially school uniforms.
The "chef department" in each house prepares and serves three meals per day within the confines of good cookin' as we try to preserve the Costa Rican heritage of everything from scratch. Not just serving the food, but assuring that the children eat it. We don't need nutritional deficits. Of course there are dishes, dishes and more dishes.
The days vary depending doctor appointments covered by Dena or family visits on Thursday which is Marisol, the psychologist's department. Sunday means piling into the van and a short drive to town for church. During the lazy hazy days of summer there are afternoons in the pool requiring help from earnest and willing tias.
Hogar would be a barren institution without the tias. Raising children at risk requires dealing with expectations and fears. Little ones cry because they are afraid of the rain and others panic when there's thunder. Some fret that someone won't visit them, others because they may not be adopted. It tak
es dedicated women to provide the extra love and care these hurting children need, and tell them about their Heavenly Father who really cares.
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| Olga |
Tias truly make Hogar a HOME.A Home of Life.God has made it His business that it should be so and we say Amen!
It's the wounded children of Hogar de Vida who have the needs our aching hearts so much want to provide. That's why we give as generously as we can as the Lord leads. But it's the tias featured in this month's newsletter who provide the loving care to meet those needs. The tias, serving on our behalf, make it happen. Having served alongside these incredible women, I can personally testify to all that's been written here about them and more, as can any of our readers who have served at the homes. Please pray for them with thankful hearts and consider an extra-generous gift this month to support them. Honestly, for me asking isn't easy, but I would be remiss if I didn't.