Yuletide at the Olon Orphanage #AtoZChallenge
December 24 is my favorite day of the year. I spend it at the Fundación Santa Maria de la Esperanza Orphanage, or Olon Orphanage, as it is called. The children give a performance for donors and volunteers who have assisted them throughout the year. It is their beautiful way of saying thank you.
Here are some highlights from the 2016 performance.
Nativity Reenactment
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| Mary and Joseph, seeking accommodation |
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| Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus are visited by shepherds |
Dance
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| Synchronized dance routine |
Concert
A new addition to the performance in 2016 was a concert by the children! Musical instruments are being donated and expats who live nearby are giving lessons. A lot of practice preceded this day, the girls’ first public concert.
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| First ever concert for these budding musicians (accompanied by some of their music teachers, standing) |
Gifts
After the incredible performances, each child receives a backpack filled with gifts. The backpacks are unique to each child based on their age and likes. Some gifts have been brought from overseas, some purchased locally. It is truly a global effort filling these backpacks with gifts.
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| Performance over and gifts in hand means it is time to relax |
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| Happy with his backpack and his new kite is being assembled, too |
After many hugs and some tears, we depart. It is time for the orphanage Christmas meal, which we collaborated to make and deliver prior to the performance.
What is your favorite day of the year?
If you are visiting from the #AtoZChallenge please include your blog link in a comment so I can check it out.
Click here to read more about the Olon orphanage.
Emily Bloomquist
I am a US Expat in Ecuador. I grew up on a Minnesota farm, worked in IT in California's Silicon Valley, then moved to a coastal Ecuador fishing village. My goal is to share Ecuador with you, one snippet at a time. Topics include attractions, compassion, ecotourism, Ecuador products, everyday Ecuador, and flora and fauna. Please let me know what you would like to read more about!
46 Comments
Susan Arthur
Love your photos! My favorite holiday is 4th of July. I love the food and festivities.
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Susan! 4th of July is fun and all of the grilled food is so yummy.
Susanne Matthews
Beautiful pictures. Love the backpack idea. Christmas is my favorite holiday, too. Find me here.LINK
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Susanne. The backpacks are great since the kids need a new one each year for school and the orphanage would not be able to afford them.
Molly of Molly's Canopy
Such a heartwarming post and evocative photos. We need more beauty of the human spirit such as this in the world. My favorite holiday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day because it represents a victory for civil rights and symbolizes power yielding to the people's demand.
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Molly. It is such a wonderful, heartwarming day.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a marvelous day to be a favorite!
moon
Wow Emily ! I admire your spirit of kindness and service. What a wonderful way to spend Christmas eve . Love the smiles on the faces of the children , makes life so much more worthwhile .
Best wishes,
Moon
https://aslifehappens60.wordpress.com
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Moon – I definitely get more than I give. Their joy and happiness is infectious!
Tamara Narayan
What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas! I'd love to learn to play the guitar some day too.
Y is for the Yellowstone Conspiracy
Emily Bloomquist
Go for it, Tamara! I admire people who can play any instrument. I have no musical talent at all but I sure enjoy listening!
Jean Davis
This looks like a really neat day to spend with these children. Love their smiles with their backpacks.
Discarded Darlings – Jean Davis, Speculative Fiction Writer, A to Z: Editing Fiction
Emily Bloomquist
It is the best day, Jean! I wish everyone could experience the joy!
sage
Sounds like a delightful day spent sharing love to others.
http://sagecoveredhills.blogspot.com/2017/04/y-is-for-yellow-dwarf.html
Emily Bloomquist
It is a truly delightful day, Sage, full of love and happiness.
Keith's Ramblings
What a wonderful day that must be. My favourite? The last Tuesday in July when every year a few friends and I hire a stretch limo, put on our glad rags and have a very posh day at the horse races!
Another day in Amble Bay!
Emily Bloomquist
That sounds like a fun tradition, Keith!
DeeDee
Such a lovely read.
Thanks for sharing
A Peice Of My Life
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks DeeDee 🙂
Nancy Thornton-Vanderplaats
typo in my post. perdon.
Emily Bloomquist
No worries 🙂
Pat Holloway
I understand why this is your favorite. The performance looks so sweet. Everyone's day is enriched!
Emily Bloomquist
It is incredibly sweet, Pat. Wish I could bottle up the feeling in the air that day and pass it out when people are feeling down.
Gail M Baugniet - Author
Your Christmas Eve tradition is a beautiful reminder of how much an exchange of love can benefit our entire world. Thank you for sharing the inspiring photographs and your experience visiting the orphanage.
http://poetryfromthelanai.blogspot.com
Emily Bloomquist
Exchange of love – what a great phrase, Gail, and it describes this so well. Thanks for dropping in from your Lanai.
Jz
Unexpected, maybe, but I just love this post!
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Jz! Glad you enjoyed it.
Nancy Thornton-Vanderplaats
enjoy your posts and photos. i've passed through olon but not visited. we spend a few days in Ayampe and loved the area. we've been in cuenca just over a year now. Lightheaded: Retiring at 8300 feet
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks for stopping by and your kind words, Nancy. Ayampe is lovely! My home base is in Puerto López but I am in the middle of a six month stay in Cuenca now. We should get together 🙂
Lisa
I think today is my favorite of your A to Z posts!!
Emily Bloomquist
Thank you, Lisa! It's cool that your favorite is the one about my favorite day 🙂 Such a special day!
Donna H
What a lovely day! I'm always drawn to stories of orphans and orphanages. I'm curious as to what brought you to Ecuador. Girl Who Reads
Emily Bloomquist
Thanks Donna. I am also drawn to orphan stories. Regarding what brought us to Ecuador, here's the quick version: We took a couple of vacations and fell in love with the country. We were considering moving on from our IT careers and a complete change felt right to us. Less than two years later, we sold everything and moved.
Kristin
The children are all so beautiful.
Finding Eliza
Emily Bloomquist
They really are, Kristin! Thanks for stopping by again 🙂
Wolf of Words
Aww that's very sweet! Most charities in the United States seem to only want your money and not the personal connection which kind of defeats the purpose. Still, I see where both sides are coming from.
Emily Bloomquist
I like being able to see exactly where money is going, too. Not really practical if it's a huge international charity.
The orphanage is fairly cautious about who they allow in to spend time with the children. Except on Christmas Eve – then everyone is invited!
Courtney Turner
Sounds like a very nice way to spend Christmas and share the spirit of the holiday in a noncommercial way. https:// Maui Jungalow
Emily Bloomquist
It is Courtney. 2017 will be my fifth year spending Christmas this way and I do not miss the commercial aspects of the holiday.
Shirley Corder
Thanks for this post, Emily. It's lovely seeing how others far across the globe celebrate this season. Add Zing and Zeal as you Build a Better Blog It's been a good month. I hope to bring out an eBook based on these posts plus some additions within the next month. #atozchallenge
Emily Bloomquist
I agree Shirley. It is nice to see how others spend holidays.
Your posts have been so useful to me as I begin to navigate the blogging world. Thanks for helping through your writing and I will keep coming over to find more suggestions. Hope your book does great!
Anonymous
Love the pictures you use to highlight your post.
Thanks for stopping by Youthful
Shari
Emily Bloomquist
Thank you Shari! The kids make it so easy – I always leave with tons of photos. The hard part is selecting just a few.
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Hi Emily – Yuletide at the Orphanage – a wonderful way to help them enjoy themselves … I enjoy days where I can help others – special days I guess Christmas, birthdays, Easter and summer days! Cheers Hilary
http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/z-is-for-zebra-zoo-and-zedland.html
Emily Bloomquist
I agree Hilary – those days are so fulfilling! Everyone benefits.
Nilanjana Bose
Lovely and inspirational way to spend the Christmas season.
Emily Bloomquist
It is such a wonderful time, Nilanjana.