We had during the month of July 11 volunteers of Australia, the United States and Costarica. They worked in a climate of friendship with the children and in addition they left this legacy us:

What it means to be a Volunteer ?
To be a volunteer means to be ready to help anyone, with anything, under any conditions to in some way improve the lives of others.  In this way, eleven volunteers from Australia, Costa Rica and the United States gave the Casa Hogar el Niño Felíz the greatest donation we could: our lives, our time, and our experiences for 6 weeks.

Our contribution was in three parts: construction, social work and cultural exchange. Our construction program was designed to make the orphanage look more professional and encourage donations from potential sponsors. Through the construction program we made 19 signs from recycled wood to and erected them in the appropriate places around the Casa Hogar, fixed and repainted the girls dormitory, entrance hallway, the dining room and the , painted three murals at the girls, boys and teenager´s house, landscaped the garden at the boys and teenager´s houses, painted and the edges of two floors of the boys and teenager´s house, weeded and replanted the greenhouse.

The social work program was aimed at improving the lives of the children living at the orphanage. In this way we conducted workshops on Lifeskills, Health Education, Conduct and Responsibility, Self-esteem and Communication. Under the lifeskills program we organized a visit from the local police, firemen, and paramedics to explain their work in the community and the career possibilities. As part of the conduct workshop we also worked with those responsible with the children to share our experiences in managing teenage behavior. Three days a week we taught English classes and two days a week we helped the children express themselves through drama classes. Other activities included working within the orphanage, cleaning and washing clothes to cover the much deserved vacations of the permanent workers, cutting the children’s hair and accompanying them to their social commitments within the their schools and the community.

As part of the intercultural exchange the group took trips to the Zocalo, Pyramids, Xochimilco, local colonial towns and attended local fairs. Within the orphanage we learnt to cook traditional Mexican dishes, Mexican slang and practiced our Spanish etc. At the farewell ceremony we shared local Mexican food with the children and the play that was taught to the children within the drama classes was presented to the local community.