Bridging the Generation Gap

Nowadays, it seems generations are moving farther and farther apart. While people of different ages have always struggled to communicate, the technology explosion of the past couple of decades – with the advent of text messaging, email and cell phones – has created languages of its own and has made it even more difficult for children and their elders to find common ground.

But a group of sponsored youth in Guatemala is proving that not everyone has yielded to the dividing influence of the generation gap. These young people recently visited a retirement home, spending time with its elderly residents and making them feel special.

Javier Cárcamo, communications coordinator for our Rural Guatemala agency, dropped me the following note about the activity:

“…A group of our sponsored youth organized a lovely social activity to benefit another group of needy and forgotten people: the elderly people in a retirement home called Cabecitas de Algodón (“Little Cottonheads”).

“This retirement home is very old and is suffering from economic limitations that have threatened in recent years to force it to close. It is maintained solely by donations from generous people who live in the city of Antigua Guatemala (meaning "Old Guatemala") and by some private businesses. The unique thing about this retirement home is that most of its residents are elderly people who were rescued from abandonment, were picked up from garbage dumps, were homeless or have been abused.


“Motivated by their role as leaders, the young people of Service Area 2 in San Lorenzo El Cubo and and Ciudad Vieja decided to hold a grocery drive for these elderly people, and they organized a visit to take them a little joy.


“Our director supported this initiative, and we provided them everything they needed to hold their activity, which included two plays and a dance presentation. Each elderly person received a small gift, and they also raffled off small gifts that were appropriate for them.


“The activity lasted more than four hours, during which they livened up the party with marimba music. The youth danced with the elderly people, who were very happy. Some of the sponsored girls gave manicures to the elderly ladies who were sick and couldn’t move, and everyone enjoyed a bit of cake and refreshments.


“Something beautiful…when the activities were over and the residents were pretty tired, each youth chose a person and dedicated themselves to listening to them. The elderly people told their stories and the young people enjoyed them.


“The young people named this initiative ‘Youth Working Together for a Smile,” and they plan to do the same thing in other retirement homes, orphanages and special care facilities.”


Three cheers for some great young people who have proven that the generation gap isn’t so wide after all!

Photos by youth photographer Manuel Xoyón, from Children International’s agency in Rural Guatemala.

The Language of Angels

Posted on behalf of Nivedita Moitra

Even as the tempo of the dance beats increased, sweat glistened on the faces of the young students as they followed Jacqueline Porter's moves and instructions -- different language or cultures posing no threat to great communication between them. The wise men have rightly said -- music is the language of angels.

The instructor, Jacqueline Porter, is a professional dancer, a dance teacher, and an entrepreneur; she is also a sponsor, and her students were comprised of sponsored children from the two community centers of Children International-SAHAY.

While no stranger to the Bollywood song and dance numbers that blare from tiny shops located in the narrow alleys of Kolkata, lessons from a professional had remained a distant dream to these children…till they met Jacquie. A graduate of Smith College, Jacquie always wanted to dance, and apart from having done shows on Broadway and National Tour she has also taught more than 3000 children internationally. But to go beyond her usual sponsor visit and spend so much of her valuable time with more sponsored children and conduct a very enjoyable workshop for them was a gesture that overwhelmed everyone at CI-SAHAY, especially as this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of a treat for many of the children.

The workshop was conducted at the Jorasanko community center, and the children who attended it belonged to the slums near the center. The workshop was divided into two age groups of 5-6 years and 7-11 years. There were between 8 and 10 children in the first age group and 14 in the second. The two sponsored children of Jacquie also participated in the workshop. Jacquie taught the class stretching, as well as learning to clap with music, walk with music, jump to music, take running leaps and turns, and do a basic little hip hop dance. The responses of the children were overwhelming and it was a wonderful evening all round, one where all present witnessed that music is truly the outburst of emotion from the soul.

In fact, the children did not want the evening to end, and towards the end of the workshop emotions ran high with the children saying goodbye to Jacquie with tearful eyes.

The admiration, love and respect were mutual as is apparent through Jacquie's quote: "I have taught 3000-odd children, but this group is the fastest in learning and the most cooperative." And we at the agency would like to add that we look forward to an encore soon.

Nivedita Moitra is the communications coordinator for Children International’s agency in Kolkata, India.