Remembering The Children
By Sally Cook


Tonight numbers will be called in Spanish and English. Tonight drinks will be bought, Colombian food purchased and raffle tickets sold.
Tonight there will be camaraderie, jokes and festivities. But behind all this the children are being remembered.

These children in orphanages who don’t have enough pyjamas, these children who are cared for by the church which does not always have enough resources to feed them. These children who lie in rows of fifty on a concrete floor in a basic concrete dwelling will not be forgotten. The children of farm labourers, the children of the poor, the children who don’t receive Christmas presents. These disadvantaged children of Colombia are being remembered in Melbourne and Sydney and other parts of the Colombian and Latin American community in Australia because people do care.

The funds raised will go towards these children’s well being and especially their happiness. It means many will receive their first Christmas present, it means that their mothers and fathers and grandparents will be there to see them receive these gifts in some of the small pueblitos of Colombia. It seems it is never too late to give these children hope, never too late to give them a sense that good things are possible.

I have seen the faces of some of these children in Colombia. A group of four brothers playing in a sodden yard near Lake Tota – playing with a teapot lid on a string. They have no parents. They cannot believe their luck when given some money to buy Christmas presents last November. The oldest ,15, is asked to buy presents for himself and his brothers. The big wide smiles are emblazoned in memory. No wonder the slogan “hagamos sonreir un niño” is apt. Money raised at tonight’s fundraiser, through raffles and other events will bring a smile to a poor child in Colombia.

Some will get a new pair of shorts or a skirt, they will receive dolls or a toy truck, a school bag, ball or other relevant toys. They will wear Christmas hats and eat Christmas treats but most of all they will feel special, particularly in front of their friends, their parents, their grandparents.

In the pueblito of Barbosa, an hour’s drive from Colombia’s second largest city of Medellin, the children await their Christmas presents. Their faces are solemn, sombre, it is a big event in their lives. But this is a small finca in Colombia so the festive ambience and anticipation is mixed with the ways of the farm. Chickens strut amongst the children, a cat stretches in the sun, a dog scratches, birds fly to the bananas left on a birdfeeder. The children wait amidst this scene with the massive green mountains of the region as a backdrop. The deep green of the mountains contrasts with the bright red Christmas hats of the children. The atmosphere is deepened with the twirl of scarlet as a local Colombian dancer spreads her skirt and begins to dance. A little girl wanders in, entranced, forgetting for the moment that she is about to receive her first Christmas gift.

A rural pueblito in Colombia, famous for its large colourful balls, is an important stopping point for purchasing presents for poor children encountered near the roadside. A bag for a girl, perhaps a ball for a boy…the smiles are huge as the children pose for the camera then run down the street, arms filled with the gifts of strangers. But these gifts are not from strangers, they are from Colombians aware of their country’s need, aware that there is a chance to make a difference.

I didn’t realize that learning Spanish as a hobby at Mulgrave Neighbourhood House in Melbourne could lead to such worthwhile and interesting experiences. I didn’t know that it would lead me to some of the poorer areas of Colombia where I too would be able to hand out a gift on a rural roadside.

Tonight I will buy Colombian food, raffle tickets, participate in bingo and buy drinks because I know that there are children in Colombia who will benefit from mine and all the other guests pleasure and participation. These children do appreciate the gifts, they do smile, they do deserve pyjamas, an education, a future.

“Hagamos Sonreir Un Niño” – may Jairo and Nury and the rest of the involved local Colombian community continue to succeed in their mission. I have seen the results, I have seen the work done on the ground by other Colombians in Colombia associated with this campaign. They help with purchasing, wrapping and distributing the presents.

ENTONCES: HAGAMOS SONREIR MUCHOS NIÑOS !!!