SOS Children's Village

The team I'm on turned "2" last Friday. We commemorated the occasion with some recognition of where we've been and what we've accomplished as a team (amazing!), and of course some cake. And then set off for the SOS Children's village, a NGO on the south side of town dedicated to helping abandoned children. It was an awesome team event. We didn't even fit into one bus, so split a bit...We got to tour the village and into some of the homes, where one "mother" looks after ten children at a time. It was really interesting and touching to see how these children were able to have a family despite really tough circumstances. Both of the houses we went into had cabinets for special things that included the Target dog...It was also interesting to see the standard of living, which really depended on your perspective. Compared to the heart-retching poverty on the street and the awful reality of seeing children begging, it was fantastic. But for me, it is still a reminder of how blessed our family is, and for right or wrong, sometimes so materialistic.
Just two days before this when I was getting Caden ready for school, I asked him if he had had good dreams "yep" and what he dreamed about "oh, my life" he replied. It's hard...I both want to shelter him from the poverty that surrounds us and show him it I suppose, that he might really appreciate later in life.On a lighter note, we had a good time playing with the kids. It was fun to watch the team interacting, and see how happy the kids seemed to play.After a group picture , the kids were fascinated by seeing their pictures and it was fun to take close up shots of each of them...some of my favorites... The classroom was cool too... neat to see how the kids were learning. The afternoon was a great capstone to two years of growth, innovation and impact. Congratulations FP&A Team! It's been a great journey so far, and I look forward to all that is yet to come!