Playing Fair and Being Kind

Que le vaya bien is a common farewell phrase that loosely translated means, “Hope everything goes well.” On March 14th, my last day working at Fundación Minadores de Sueños, these words were frequently spoken as I exchanged goodbyes with the children and staff members.

Traditionally, when a volunteer finishes their stay at the Foundation, a fiesta (party) is held. The volunteer provides the refreshments, and the staff organize games and music. I wanted to also give each of the children a small gift along with a personal message of appreciation. For this, I opted to buy some inexpensive coloring books and colored markers for the younger children and unlined notebooks and pens for the older children.

The day started on a high note while walking along the path to get to work when I encountered Lady, one of the young girls with whom I had an especially strong rapport…