Puerto Camacho

Last Saturday we visited a poor community in El Alto called ‘Puerto Camacho’ in order to be part of a celebration for all the children that live there. Before going we were a little apprehensive as to what to expect, but the whole morning was good fun and enjoyed by all.

All the children from the community had been invited along with their parents to come and take part in the morning. There was quite a sizable team of FH staff at the event so there wasn’t much for us to be doing other than observing all the goings on and getting involved where we could.

After the formal introductions the event kicked off with a troop of about 20 clowns doing dances, games and a drama. On first appearance they all looked a bit scary as they all bundled out of a little minivan, but once they got underway they weren’t so bad. They soon had all the children taking part in the dancing and a giant round of Limbo!

After all the fun and games it was time for a snack and a little breather. So how does one organise over 800 children to receive a snack and gift without duplicating? I was amazed how orderly it all happened with 4 lines divided girls and boys. Each was marked with a pen before receiving their goodies and returning to their seats.

No sooner was that over then we were off again with a drama with the gospel message, more dancing then a puppet show emphasising the importance of accepting everybody no matter what their skin colour or situation (there is much racial discrimination within this county between the darker skinned Indigenous people and the mixed race fairer skinned, so such a message holds great significance).

Some of the children were then able to show off some of their own talents by either reciting a poem or singing a song, which they did really well. That brought us to the end of the morning.

Much fun and many smiley happy faces!