The average school here in Puerto Peñasco does not have air conditioning (imagine how kids in the US would be screaming), but they go to school daily in the heat. In the winter they go bundled up as they have no heat. However, you don’t hear them complain. They walk past our home and smile or wave.
They don’t complain that they have little or no play ground equipment, yet the teachers are out there with them exercising at recess and at lunch. They have a water fountain and if they are lucky a basketball hoop. Some of the kids are lucky enough to have a ride to school, while the others walk a long way with their heavy back pack
They all wear uniforms ( no one up man ship here) this way each child looks the same and how much money their family may have does not matter.
The fathers over the past several years have been participating in the semester breaks unlike years gone by.
This summer a lot of things seems to be changing at the elementary school level. At one point I believe we had nearly 50 schools in Puerto Penasco. There has been funding for several schools that now have provided stainless steel drinking fountains, astro turf put down and painted for a mini soccer field and it looks like shade is being installed on the play grounds. These kids do get exercise as there is always a class playing soccer outside at break. No sitting around using their cell phones or notebooks here.
Why do I feel this is important to talk about this, well it is simple. When the kids come down from the US, they sit around the condos, pools and yes the beach with their Iphones, tablets or what ever so there is never any socialization while they are here with their friends and family. Their families don’t really do anything together so why should the kids? It is easy to give them money to rent quads, etc and tear up the desert and streets and yes they do get killed sometimes. I see more interaction between the Hispanic families while they are on vacation and it is fun to watch them all play together. If they are cooking dinner by the beach, if you stop to see what they are making, you will generally be invited to sit and have a bite. Please do so, you won’t be disappointed. If the kids get out of control, there is usually a grandma or grandpa to take charge.
We have schools for children with disabilities here and our charities donate both money and the man power to re-build what needs to be done. One of those schools is CAM La Montana which is a school for children with special needs. The Toma Color Charity 5K and 10K Run donated it’s proceeds to get it bathrooms repaired. The one thing about charities here, is the money actually goes 100% to the charity and is not given to the managers for their pockets. So many of these charities are run by people who get nearly nothing for their work and long hours.
If you are a visitor to Rocky Point and ever want to go visit one of these schools or the orphanages, please feel free to contact me and we can go. If you want to donate, let us help get you to the right people. If you knit or crochet, the orphanages can always us blankets or lap robes for the Casa Hogar ,Home for the Elderly.
Once again, I thank you for visiting www.Puerto-Penasco.com and come back soon. If you have anything you want to know about Rocky Point or Mexico in general, please let me know.
Beverly Arrowood
