We arrived in the little village where our good friend Francisco and his family live with a small bag of things to donate. In the bottom of the bag were a couple pairs of new reading glasses that were not the right strength for me, but I thought might be good for someone Francisco knew.
I am happy that he is such a great help to us as a liaison into his community. As soon as he saw the glasses he got excited. In a tiny pueblo like that, there simply are no reading glasses to be bought and even if people could find them, most would not have the funds to buy them. Can you imagine, you are a Maya woman who has spent her life working with her hands. You grind corn and make tamales for your family. You weave beautiful clothing and are an expert at sewing things for your family. And then, in your mid 40's you begin losing your ability to see fine details. You can no longer sew. You have trouble cooking. They small things that have given you joy and a sense of purpose are falling further and further from your grasp. How frustrating!
Well, Francisco asked us if it was possible for us to bring more reading glasses. And wow!!!!! We started a campaign and put up bags in restaurants in Puerto Morelos to collect glasses. We got online and asked people coming from all over the world to consider bringing a few extra pairs to donate. And they did! We spent months collecting glasses and bringing them out to the pueblo and I think that in the end, everyone who needed glasses received the beautiful gift of sight! We forgot to count how many pairs YOU donated, but it was over a thousand!
Each time we brought glasses to the village, Francisco would invite people he knew who were in need and they came and tried on the glasses, held up things to read or view, and decided which ones were the best fit. So many surprised happy faces!
Here are a few photos so you can see. I love this kind of work. It is so simple. We find out a specific need and we do what we can to fill it. People bought glasses and brought them in their suitcases on vacation to the lovely Riviera Maya and we took them out to the people who needed them. And now.....happiness!
Loving that we can help!
laura