We
are so pleased to announce our new Youth Ambassadors! Kinley and Zaida Slakey!
They are both twins and 17 years old and worked at the House of Life for a week in June and also visited Zaragosa Home for Abandoned Elders. Here are their initial thoughts on their experience in El Salvador.
On our first mission as AAI Youth Ambassadors, we commuted to El Salvador to assist at Casa De Vida. Although we don’t speak Spanish, we found that there are countless other ways to connect. On our first day, Bob McDonell, Founder of House of Life MC picked us up in front of the airport and gave us a brief history of El Salvador, describing the Cartel, harsh political context, and the background of the women we were to meet in Casa De Vida. On arrival, in meeting the moms, all the babies, and boys & girls from Mi Casa Kids, we found houses full of love which they extended to us.
The second day we ran to Walmart, grabbing paint for a bathhouse mural, candy for a girls night, and hygiene products for the incoming mom’s welcome diaper bags. We asked the girls what they wanted us to paint in the bathhouse, landing on an underwater scene.
The next day we visited Zaragoza, an Elder home for abandoned seniors without families, and brought the babies with us. I remember sitting with the youngest baby, only 1 year old, in my lap, and the oldest senior at my side at 96. Despite the large age gap, the two were able to connect beautifully.
In giving 8 diaper bags, 50 pounds of maternity & baby clothes, pizza, candy, and so much more, we received an unforgettable lesson that connection can be created far past language. We traveled to El Salvador expecting a language barrier, but we learned that time spent together can create connections better than words ever could.
zaida.slakey@airlineamb.org
kinley.slakey@airlineamb.org
They also plan to travel to Nepal and work at a monastery as part of their efforts. This will be a family humanitarian effort at the end of July.
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