Special needs care at Virgen del Socorro

It's hard to put this experience into words. It was eye-opening, exciting and pushed me out of my comfort zone. Guatemala is a beautiful country with beautiful people.
My volunteer placement was at Virgen del Socorro, which is a care facility for up to 250 people with varying levels of disability. I had low expectations as to what the facility would be because there are issues with caring for special needs in Canada. Boy, was I wrong. The facility was incredible. It was clean, it was spacious, and it was full of various resources from computer labs, to schools, to arts and crafts and music rooms. The staff at the facility are indescribable. They were phenomenol with the residents, and were always around with a smile desite the difficult environment. It was quite inspiring to see how the staff had welcomed the residents into their hearts and each staff seemed to have a special bond with each of the residents.
As incredible as the staff are, they are stretched thin. A significant number of the residents required a certain amount of one-on-one time that is just not feasible with the staff on site. That is where volunteering comes in. I was able to assist in the "Belen" and thus double the amount of residents seen one-on-one. It made a difference.
I would highly recommend Virgen del Socorro as a volunteer placement. In the short time I was there, I knew I was helping in a meaningful way, and it was very fulfilling.
Until next time Guatelmala! Adios!