Photo Credits: Liz Cheng Morales
December. It’s the month of Santa Claus and jingle bells, of gifts and warmth. It is the most anticipated holiday of the year, which has finally come upon us: Christmas, the “best” time of the year. And while most of us are used to celebrating it to the fullest, there are those without families, lacking the basic needs we are used to having. For these reasons, the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) hosted their first Christmas Celebration at the Hogar de Protección Pajarito Azul on Wednesday December 6th, from 2:30 to 4:30pm, with about 40 NJHS members and their 5 respective officers (Ameer Khatib, Patricia Lanuza, Vanessa Ocampo, Anna Paula Silva and Giulianna Benard).
The Hogar de Protección Pajarito Azul is a non-profit institution that provides care to children, adolescents, and youth nationwide who are in situations of abandonment and abuse. The ‘Hogar’ (home) becomes their house, where they live as a family, finding warmth, understanding, affection, education, rehabilitation, vocational training, recreation, and specialized attention.
The celebration began with a short Purisima celebration, in light of the upcoming Griteria celebrations across Nicaragua. Bags of candy, pizza, juice and donuts were shared, while songs played in the background.
With an arduous preparation beforehand, NJHS members bought and wrapped gifts for all 75 orphans. It quickly became a heartwarming experience, as people who didn’t expect to receive gifts or experience joy this Christmas had their faces light up when they received their gift.
It also really goes to show the impact and importance community service has in our Nicaraguan community, and how we can all achieve great things.
All in all, it can be said NJHS has had a great year, from participating in the Fiestas Patrias Celebrations, the Fall Festival, and now hosting a Christmas Celebration at Pajarito Azul. So far, we have achieved great things, and there is more yet to come in 2024.
But although this time it was the National Junior Honor Society, in another time it can be you. I suggest you take this event as an example that we can all do great things.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
One Response
Great article !