I recently had the chance to visit an orphanage here in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, called Amor y Vida which means Love and Life. The kids at this orphanage have in some way been affected by AIDS/HIV, whether they were orphaned because of it or they themselves have been infected. At Amor y Vida they receive affection, protection and comprehensive care. This was my first time visiting so I didn’t really know what to expect. There are 31 kids at the orphanage ranging in age. I brought my camera and my Canon Selphy Printer and spent the time just hanging out with the kids, taking photos of them and then I printed off a photo right there for each one to keep. They LOVED watching their photos print off color by color on the Selphy and then they were very grateful to keep the photo. My heart melted as I watched several of them walk off with the photo and then just sit and study it for a long time. I so badly wanted to spend more time there. I wished that I knew more spanish to be able to communicate more with them, to hear their stories, to be able to tell them how much God loves them. But, instead I just hugged them and laughed with them and took their picture and gave them a photo. Simple. But I hope that it encouraged them and helped them to feel loved.
Here is the link to the Amor y Vida website if you would like more information or would like to make a donation.
Below are the photos that I took.
Below: A few of the kids showed off their printed photos…
Below: I took a group photo with some of the kids.
Below: And of course – we had to do a funny one!
Below: They all wanted to get a photo with me… and I wanted to take them all home.
Below: And this is Michelle – she loves getting her picture taken!
Below: Me with some of the kids, printing the photos off
