There, our guide Cliff gave a moving presentation about the work they do. On the left, you can see our entire group as we listened intently to his presentation. His personal stories were very moving!As a matter of fact, Cliff was part of the founding of the group and is active on its board! Basically, the organization offers help to the kids who make a living on the street. The program doesn't actively recruit kids for their program. Rather, it makes itself available to those who are interested in getting an education. Nevertheless, the organization has over 500 kids currently in their program! Public school is available to all Mexicans, however, students are required to have a uniform, shoes, tennis shoes, PE clothes, school supplies, etc. 
For too many kids here in Oaxaca, their families just can't afford it. That's were Oaxaca Street Children comes in. They provide kids with the needed materials. They also offer a nutritious lunch. Monday through Friday, the kids come in the front doors, wash their hands and receive a hot lunch. When they're finished eating, they wash their own dishes and brush their teeth. At the end of each school year, students must present their report cards in order to be eligible for assistance the following year.
For too many kids here in Oaxaca, their families just can't afford it. That's were Oaxaca Street Children comes in. They provide kids with the needed materials. They also offer a nutritious lunch. Monday through Friday, the kids come in the front doors, wash their hands and receive a hot lunch. When they're finished eating, they wash their own dishes and brush their teeth. At the end of each school year, students must present their report cards in order to be eligible for assistance the following year. The other school groups traveling with us were prepared and brought school supplies to donate. Next time, we will too.
Stephanie, a teacher in our group from Nebraska, is a sponsor of a little boy at the center. Today, she met him, his sister and mother for the first time. On the right, is a picture of Stephanie and her "godson's" mom hugging when they met. It was a beautiful and tear-filled occasion!
The two little kids were very popular with the teenagers in our group and LOVED riding on the shoulders of Sam (left) and Tom (right) in the photo below. By the way, I'm 6'4" and Tom is taller than I!
The kids joined us for the day and had a ball: riding on the bus, being treated to way too much candy, a picnic lunch that they devoured, and the tourist activities that we did.
Our first stop was the workshop of
Doña Rosa where we received a demonstration of how they make their special black pottery without the use of a potter's wheel. What makes their pottery especially unique is that the black color is not a result of a glaze or dye that is added but because of the natrual properties of the unique clay they use from their land. The photo to the right shows Samantha and Rory listening as Doña Rosa's son gives his demonstration. Of course, after the presentation, we all wanted to buy something from their workshop. There was lots of wonderful stuff to choose from and hardly anyone left empty-handed.Next, we made a quick stop in a family home where they make alebrijes. However, I was more interested in the woman (grandma?) feeding the chickens in their back yard.
After visiting the two workshops, we ate a picnic lunch in a park in town. Below you see from left to right, Derek (from Minnesota), Maggie and Rory finishing their lunches and chatting on the steps of a gazebo in the middle of the park.
From there, we headed back into the city of 
Oaxaca, dropped off the two little kids with their mom who was waiting on them at our hotel, and set out on a walking tour of Oaxaca. Our first stop was the local outdoor market, where we sampled chapulines (grasshoppers). The first picture on the left shows Sam with piles of
different flavored chapulines in front of her and on the right is Rory, about to enjoy one of the insects, which are a local specialty. Fortunately, our next stop was a Mayordom chocolate shop. As we arrived, they were about to mix a new batch of chocolate. In the photo below, you can see the chocolate and cinamon sticks in the top hopper and the sugar in the bottom. Mayordomo is my FAVORITE, so I ordered a hot chocolate before we left. Yum! (Plus, is was good to change the taste on my pallet.) :-)
As we headed back to our hotel, we walked past this artist recreating a scene on canvas using colored string. If you look closely, you'll see a blue building on the corner with a pink building to the left of it. The next building on the left is our hotel. It's kind of an orange/rust color.
As we headed back to our hotel, we walked past this artist recreating a scene on canvas using colored string. If you look closely, you'll see a blue building on the corner with a pink building to the left of it. The next building on the left is our hotel. It's kind of an orange/rust color.We ate dinner on our own in a restaurant on the main square and then went to bed.
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