Intercambio de Matancitas

I am exhausted. Yesterday I had the overwhelming task of taking 18 kids (ages 12 - 22) to Matancitas, about an hour away from Baoba, for a huge Escojo Mi Vida event. Regina (the volunteer in Matancitas) and Laticia (the volunteer in Los Limones, about 2 hours away) and I had planned an all day conference for our Escojo groups. The plan started out with us three having about 40 kids, and then it grew to include 2 more Escojo groups, so there were about 70 kids total.

Unlike the regional Escojo conference in Jarabacoa (which had a 70 kid-12 volunteer ratio), it was up to us 5 volunteers to plan and pay for all of the activities. My group left Baoba around 8:15, as soon as church was over. I climbed in the back of the pickup truck with all 10 of the boys, while the 8 girls sat up front so that their hair wouldn't get messed up. We arrived in Matancitas at about 9:15, the last group to arrive.


At 9:30, the activities began. The Escojo group from Los Limones gave two charlas: one on how to use a condom and another on the consequences of pregnancy in adolescents. Two of my kids, Franklin and Melvito, were called up front to show that they learned how to successfully put on a condom (on a plantain).

Next, 10 of my kids acted in a 10-minute drama. In the drama, there were three couples. All three had sex, however only one couple used of condom. Thus, one couple ended up getting HIV and the other couple ended up pregnant. Moral of the drama: use condoms.

After the drama, the group from Salcedo gave a charla on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS. The group from Matancitas acted in a dance/drama. And I concluded the educational activities with a Jeopardy-style game on all of the topics that they had previously learned.

Then the fun began. We had a talent show, which basically turned into a dance-off. My girls had spent the past week practicing a dance and came prepared with costumes (jean shirts, tank tops and neckties). After about 4 dances, we had to cut the talent show off because one of the girls (not in my group!) started stripping and waving her shirt in the air. She had on a sports bra, but we decided that wasn't really acceptable behavior at a conference that emphasizes healthy decision-making.
We then ate lunch, which was buffet style and included (50 pounds of) rice, chicken, pasta salad, spaghetti, and potato salad. We paid women in Matancitas to cook all of the food, and ended up spending $7000 pesos (about $200 US dollars) to feed all 80 people. We played a few games after lunch, then corralled everyone out to the beach. We tried to have structured activities on the beach, but it started raining so we just gave them the afternoon full of free time. I spent the time sitting in the rain watching my kids who were swimming to make sure they didn't drown. So by the time 5 p.m. rolled around, I was cold and tired and couldn't think in Spanish anymore, and that's when I knew it was our time to head home.

Overall the day was a huge success. I love taking my kids places because they are so well-behaved. They participated in all of the activities, they helped clean up after lunch, they listened to all of the charlas, and most importantly they listened and respected me. Not all of the volunteers can say that about their group, and I feel very lucky to have such a good group of kids in Baoba.