GRAEME'S BLOG DAY FOUR - COMMUNITY DAY

Cheery greetings at breakfast confined to those (about a quarter) who had a hot shower. Mutinous rumblings from the rest. Off at 09:30 on the bus to the two children's homes we were visiting as part of our community contribution, an effort to make the tour more than just a jolly holiday. We had no programme or plan, although we thought their might be some painting and/or cooking involved. Stephen Cronbach, who organised our visits, said that it would soon be obvious what was needed. I don't think any of us, unless like Stephen and Sam Balfour they had done something similar before, had any idea what to expect.

We were separated into two parties. The smaller travelled around an hour south of Buenos Aires through increasingly rural areas and then through a beautiful park called Parque Pereyra Iraola and into a comfortable-looking town called Elisa. A straight road ran for maybe 10 miles past neat individual houses, many with swimming pools. Well kept gardens, two cars in the drive, bijou roadside businesses. Just off this strip we arrived at the Hogar Infantil Bethel. This children's home has 27 residents (of a capacity of 30) aged from 2 to 18 years. As we drew up and were greeted by Alejandro the manager, many of the children flocked curiously behind him. Soon hands were being shaken and a few smaller kids were picked up and carried, looking triumphantly at their mates. We had a quick tour of the main building and the kitchen, which Alejandro described as the heart of the home “like any other home”. He said that all the children came from difficult circumstances, some were orphans, some had been abandoned and some had been abused. He introduced us to one little 11 year old boy, Claudio, bright as a button, who had been found in the street with a 20cm knife wound to the stomach. He said that the home could give the children food and shelter, some security and access to education but that what they really need, like all children, is love and affection. So give them a hug. So that is what we did for the next 5 hours. There were games of rugby, football, footby and rugball. There were chases and peekaboo and paper, scissors, stone. There were little girls offering mud pies and showing us their chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits. All our cameras and phones were cooed over and looked at, and so were some of the boys by the older girls. The buildings and grounds were in reasonably good condition and the dormitories looked warm and comfortable. There was a big TV in the dining room where they were going to watch the World Cup Final later. Lunch was hamburgers which had been cooked by the older children.

We met the President of the Board and his wife and talked about the politics and economics of the institution. Governments come and go, he said, but there are always children who need help.

All the children we met were well-behaved and seemed happy enough, although some of the older boys were a little withdrawn, perhaps resentful of their dignity. Some of them were cute, some were not. Like us.

At the end we gathered for a group photo and told Alejandro that this was not the end. If we did not return in person, we now considered all the people of Hogar Bethel to be members of our club and we would be in contact in the future to help them however we could.

None of the children or staff spoke any English so special mention to Leo Smith and Danny Keir for translating between the adults. As to the kids, they spoke pretty much the same language as any other. They just needed a hug.

The larger group visited Hogar Alba. This home is in a very different area closer to the city. As you approach, people are still clearing the bush to build shanty housing. Katrina, who runs the home, explained that the children are sent by the courts and often have first to be registered as “official people” as many have never been recognised by the state before, something hard to comprehend in our structured and managed life in the UK.

Hogar Alba has a working farm and dairy and raises some of its own funding by cheesemaking. The main house is large but very ramshackle. Because it rained for most of the day, our activity was mainly in the sports hall, a large draughty space which used to be a barn. Spontaneous games of tag, football, passing and kicking, volleyball etc. went on all day. When lunch was due, the sports hall was converted to a dining room with tables made from old fencing topped with plastic sheeting. Hamburgers were wolfed down and the tables removed so that the games could resume.

In the afternoon a party of 20 boys went off to do some decorating on a house on the site, and the rest continued to play. Mike Trevena and Nic Jones, who had much to do with the organising of these visits, were invited to see the cows being milked and to feed the calves. Paul Trevena was brave enough to drink milk straight from the cow, a first for him and not an image I can get out of my head. Chris Dow saw a pig.

At the end of the day, there were hugs and smiles and some tears. Just as it should be. The people of Hogar Alba are Maids too. Katrina and her husband Zaqui were fantastic, as was Dorian, a helper from Amersham, who translated for us all day.

All the tourists were deeply affected by these visits. Whatever we gave financially and practically on the day was repaid many times over by the understanding we reached of how different life can be from our own. And by the hugs.