Sunny D´s point of view

The end is near... we´re flying home tomorrow with our spirits high after another great year in Mazatlan. It´s been amazing to see the same kids we met last year and see the progress that has been made through out the year. Seeing and using the bathroom that we started in Madero last year was awesome.

When we went to Stone Island this year we saw a building where there was just a foundation last year. The progress and growth there is encouraging.

When we went to the dump this year is was a lot less stinky then previous which was nice... this time we didn´t have to cook while gagging from the thick aroma. The garbage pile has growth taller from last year.

One of the coolest things to see was on the last day we went to a new building at the dump. Ryan Joel and myself went back to Madero where we handed out t-shirts the night previous. When we showed up the kids who got shirts the night before were wearing them and kids who got shirt from years previous were wearing there´s as well so it was cool to the impact and excitment we brought that community this year.

It´ll be amazing to see more growth next year when we come back. I´ve had a blast working with my colleges and getting to know everyone better.

note to self for next year:
bring tanning oil instead of lotion... i´m still white
don´t wear nice shoes when lifting rusty pipes
bring laundry soap to wash white shirts
airconditioning plus sleeping equals very stuff nose and funky colored spit
deoderant before boogy boarding gives you blisters on your arm pits
bring motrin for everything

that´s it for this year.
Chris Pond (Sunny D)

Moments of PS 08

I had the privilege to shoot the photographs for Project Smile once again. The trip was definitely a memorable one for me once again and how best to describe it to you but in pictures. Enjoy!

One Week, Many Stories

Well the week has been quite interesting, I am going to write a few highlights of my experiences. This is my first time with the team in Mexico so my experiences are all new.

Aimee did a great job of sharing the experience of feeding the people at the dump, I could not believe how many people were there and were so, so happy to see us. It was a bit overwhelming to see so many hungry people coming from every direction as we were passing out the hamburgers. Its strange that recycling exists here but no one seems to use it, but the people who live at the dump have developed their own system of collecting and recyling everything that has any value. You need to see the pictures to really know what it is like as words dont do justice. Check the photos out.

When we went to Stone Island I had the pleasure of getting to go to some of the peoples homes who could not come to the church for the groceries we were giving out. These houses consisted of everything you can imagine... cardboard, tar paper, plastic... I was warmly invited in to one home with Rob and Megan by a lovely woman who was about 85 named Sophia. We sat in her home which was about an 8x8 room and she explained she had no family here and consistanly fell down and hurt herself. The highlight of her week seems to be the visits that come from the people working at La Vina.

Rob and I were speaking with one of the little kids, and with Christmas around the corner Santa came up. This little boy was about 5 or 6 and told us there was no Santa. Rob asked a pretty normal question... Where do all the presents come from then? The boy told us there were no presents. Pretty hard to hear.

I met another 9 year old boy and his mother who is in a wheelchair because she was run over by a bus years ago. He pushes her through the sand 5 blocks to come to the church, I took her home and I am amazed that he is able to do this task at all... Not to mention the 11 block trip to collect the mail. Such nice people with open hearts.

There was another boy who has been getting up at 4 am since he was 5 years old to go clean fish with the men as he has no father and needs to help make money for his family. He doesnt go to school, cant read and will never have the opportunities that we have so bountifully in Canada. Eye opener for sure.

We did 2 days of hard labour, and when I was younger I did a little construction work... and nothing that compares to digging a cubic meter of dirt, sand, rocks and roots out by hand in the blazing heat. But it felt good to get done. Another day we mixed concrete for a floor in a 10x10 room. The differance here was we did this by hand and mixed the concrete, rocks and sand out in the street and carried the concrete in one bucket at a time to pour the floor. We worked with some great guys and I could not know what this would be like to do every day.

Last night we hosted a little hot dog party for 200 or so children in the area of the city rich in brothels. We have spent a few days at this location but this was the first time in the evening. It was quite the experience.. In the midst of a setting most people will only see on a movie there are so many wonderful caring people and we had such a good time. We had a raffle for some t shirts and the kids loved it! A new t shirt made the kids so happy. How happy does a new t shirt make us? Interesting how we take for granted the small stuff...

Over the week we have met some great families, children and people who work at La Vina. Im not really sure how to sum this all up, but I think what I have learned is a small gesture or hand to someone in need can be quite rewarding. A smile on both peoples faces is what its all about...

KS

Cake, Cookies & a Gang of Green

Friday morning was off to a bit of a slow start, but eventually we got to work organizing the storage area in the La Viña Vineyard Church. The Vineyard Church is the hub of the La Viña ministries in Mazatlan, and they´ve amassed quite a collection of equipment and, well, stuff over the years (all of which has been or will be used in good time). Needless to say, the storage area was in dire need of some organization, but team Suitcase made quick work of that. To everyone´s surprise, Trent and Tyler also resuscitated the church´s ancient Plymouth Satellite and took it for a brief spin around the block... where it stalled again, to no one´s surprise.
The Vineyard Church is located on Av. Camaron Sabalo in the heart of what´s called "the Golden Zone" -- an area that´s considered the safest and in which most tourists confine themseves. It is here that we meet each morning for breakfast and to calibrate ourselves for the day´s challenges as we step out of the Golden Zone and into the various other colonias served by La Viña (of which there are 10, I believe, with a vision for expanding to 12). I´d urge anyone travelling through the area to take the opportunity to visit La Viña and have them share with you their vision for their Mazatlan ministries... maybe even take you for a quick tour outside of the Golden Zone so you can see what life is really like for the people who call Mazatlan home. Not so golden.

After a brief rest and a sampling of some local fare near the church, we returned recharged to prepare for our farewell party in a neighborhood called Francisco I. Madero. This would be the third and last time we would visit this specific colonia this year. All of the kids are pretty familiar with us by now and as we return each time they come rushing up, grabbing at your arms and hugging you around the waist; a bunch of toothy smiles, laughter, and bare feet.

The concrete busting crew of the previous days set up to start cooking in the kitchen and, in an example of efficiency, churned out 216 hotdogs, each on a plate with some chips and toppings. The team got them out to the kids and we regrouped to attack desert. Swiderski engineered a perfectly orchestrated dissection of the rather massive cake, cutting it 20 times in one direction, and 10 in the other to net us with 200 pieces. The man is gourmet. The kids each got some cake, ice cream and some animal crackers with these ambiguous looking shapes - is that an elephant, a hippo, or a rhino? No one was really sure, but they tasted just like animal crackers do in every other country in the world - to quote Tyler, 'derrricious'.

As desert was being prepped the kids were receiving their very own bright green Project Smile t-shirts, and before we served the sweet stuff we rallied everyone around to take some group photos. Towards the end of the evening some of us cleaned up the kitchen while the others engaged in some very high energy, sugar fueled, final night hi-jinks with the kids. You could look out the window of the kitchen and see the floor of the church teaming with an army of green clad kids running around laughing and playing like kids need to be able to do. And as we left this place for the year, all piled in the back of this big, 1/2 tonne truck and rumbling out of the dusty alley towards the hustle of the night time streets, the kids all lined up on a concrete embankment, each reaching out to the open back of the truck for a series of full-team high-fives. I looked back and laughed as Trent maneuvered the passenger van close by the kids and embankment so that he could do the same.

We drove by the Madero community this morning, Saturday, en route to another colonia, and we could see some of the kids from the previous day waving at us. Word was that most all of them were wearing their Project Smile t-shirts that next day.

RH & KR

Just Do Something -- Every Little Bit Makes Change Happen

Hello Everyone ... Greetings from Mexico!Wow its hot here.

Its now Friday and we have been here for a week... time has sure been flying by! Make sure you check out the pictures at the link on the side of this page so you can see some of or journey.

The title of my blog comes from a conversation I had Rob Swiderski (A fellow Suitcase worker) yesterday while we were in a very poor community yesterday. The community or colonial as they call it here in Mazatlan was located at the city dump… thousands of poor people live in this area.

“Just do something” is the title of this blog and I will explain why I feel this way.
In the colonial we were in….. Most of the homes are made from tarpaper or garbage that people throw away, yet the people within in this community are brimming with Smiles when they see us pull up in the mobile kitchen ready to serve them a tasty warm meal… In return the team smiles just as big as we have the opportunity to serve these beautiful people. Yet thru the smiles I still see a sense of big need. Everything inside me wants to solve all their problems…. Thoughts run thru my mind…. “I wish I had so much money so I could take all these people from poverty”, “I wish we could help every child get a great education”, and list of wishes run thru my mind like crazy. A sense of frustration overwhelms me.

This is when Rob came up beside me and we went for a quick walk. We talked about lots of things…. How it was so overwhelming that people live in such poverty. It’s simply heartbreaking we agreed. Both of us began to share our feelings and ideas about ways we could help… Rob has so many great ideas, and one day maybe we can implement them…. But at that moment and time the needs are simply mind blowing. As we walked talked we agreed the only true answer at that moment in time was that you simply must “just do something”…. We both smiled and understood that this is what Project Smile is all about. The answer seemed so simple but became so much more powerful to me when thru our guide Dave one of the ladies that lived in the dump shared with us how much it means to her son that we visit them. She said it’s the only real meal they have every week and they look forward to it. What we were doing made a difference in their life and to me that was huge.

So yes…. I would love to solve the poverty cycle that continues in these poor areas… and yes I have belief that one day all those beautiful children will get the education they deserve. I also hope that we (Project Smile) can be part of the solution, and I commit the rest of my life to trying to be part of that solution. But yesterday Rob helped open my eyes again, and ignited my drive to continue on the path we are travelling thru our conversation about just simply doing something. When the task seems so huge its easy to just walk away and say to yourself that it simply can’t be fixed, or you can choose to do something so small, even if you doubt its making a difference. For me I choose the latter, and I am so proud to be part of a team that chooses to do that too. So even thou yesterday we did something small in the grand scheme of things at the colonial (aka – city dump that people call home) I am humbled by the fact that we able to help in a small way.

Thanks so much for following our blog and supporting us and our cause. Without everyone's help and support this simply wouldn't be possible.

Ryan

Lunch at the Dump

After another wonderful breakfast at La Vina yesterday, we washed down the Mobile Kitchen and headed to Sam's- Mexico's version of Costco- to pick up some groceries. We left Sam's with 270 hamburgers, buns and all the dressings, as well as 12 bags of Cheetos.

The whole team drove down to the dump where we set up the Mobile Kitchen and started the hamburgers on the grill. While some of us prepared the food, others played soccer with the children, or participated in the puppet show. Before lunch was ready we even had a chance to do the chicken dance for the kids along with a couple other silly dances.

The second the crowd was told lunch was ready, there was a huge line in front of the Mobile Kitchen. We handed out the plates of food and glasses of water. Everyone was very thankful to be eating lunch that day.

Once everyone at the bottom of the dump had full bellies, we drove to the top to hand out the rest of the food. It was shocking to see how many people were up there gathering cardboard, cans and anything else they could get money for. As soon as we parked, people started coming to us from all over the dump. You could see people coming to the Mobile Kitchen from every direction. We even started cutting the hamburgers in half to make sure everyone had at least a little something to eat. When all was said and done, we had fed close to 300 hungry people.

We have seen many unbelievable conditions the week we have spent in Mazatlan so far, but seeing families call the dump a home was devistating. We may not have been able to change the conditions in which they live, but we were able to fill their bellies and bring smiles to their faces.

Aimee Gray

Stone Island

Stone Island was the destination on Wednesday for the Project Smile Team. We started the day at Sams Club, getting items to put in food bags for families. We made an assembly line in the parking lot and quickly made 150 bags,with things like oil, tomato sauce, noodles and rice.
We soon learned the reason why we needed to double bag the groceries,after getting as close as we could to the dock to head for Stone Island, we had to walk all the bags a couple of blocks to the boat. After getting to Stone Island another line quickly formed to get the bags from the boat to the waiting taxi. A third time being placed in the community centre, needless to say the double bagging was a must.
We then broke into teams of 4 and headed out around the community to hand out the tickets for the food bags. The families arrived shortly later to get thier bag.

After a quick lunch we got to work painting and digging a hole. We even had Rob H be the Project Manager to over see the progress, so we felt right at home still. The guys who volunteered to dig the hole for the light post had to move rocks first, about a city block away, to neighbour that needed them for some sort of construction job. The rest of us started painting for the afternoon. I felt right at home at the top of a ladder doing trim work. We were able to paint 3/4 of the inside of the community centre before we ran out of paint. This community centre has seen a lot of progress since last year. Last year it only had a roof and was open all around. This year, it is all closed in, kitchen being tiled, and bathrooms with running water.

We of course also played with the kids, soccer balls and badminton racquets were a hit. Chris, Warren and I made a side trip to see Chewy a young boy that has Muscular Dystrophy that hung out with us last year, but was unable to do so this year as he has a broken foot.

On the walk back to the boat kids were asking when we would be back, we unfortunately had to tell them next year, but that we were looking forward to playing with them again.

Lisa

PS oh 8

Project Smile 08 has been a blast so far. This has been our third day and everyone seems to be settling into the Mexican pace of life quite nicely. The scorching sun seems to slow everything down to a much more desired pace of life. We got here on Friday evening and went straight to our favorite Mexican restaurant for some authentic enchilladas and of course the non~negotiable tequilla shots on the house. The next day we were up bright and early to go cook hamburgers at a little community called Modero. It was great to see progress on some of the facilities we were working on last year. Their feeding center and washrooms help provide basic needs to so many less fortunate people in that area.

After filling about 200 little bellies we hung out and played games with the little ninos. There was the likes of Chicken fights (also known as Cherry drop or Shoulder wars) nurf football, potato sack races, basketball and cut the pickle. To start to ease into our upcoming days of manual labor we even changed a light bulb. Needless to say there were a few jokes about how many Canadians it takes to change a light bulb.

After a couple days off, an unnecessarily large Mexican buffet, 1 senile Magician, 1 trip to the hospital, a skinless dead horse and a lot of boogie boarding we are back to the trenches for the next 5 days to spread some cheer in the form of groceries, hamburgers, pancakes, soccer and I'm sure plenty of shovel inspired blisters on our soft web designing hands. It's great to be back in Mazatlan and to see lots of the same little faces and all the progress made over the last year. Thanks to everyone that has helped this happen and continues to support a great cause down here in Mexico. Stay tuned for lots more stories to come this week!

Trent Martens

Project Smile is back in Mazatlan!

We all arrived safely in Mazatlan Mexico on the 21st of November. We will try to keep you posted as often as we can while we are down here.

Tim