This post features student writing.

A typical day at AVEH entails putting smiles on the childrens’ faces by spending time playing with them and assisting the staff with the noon meal.

Lunch at AVEH requires the children to gather in the dining area, which has a set of benches fitted with soft black plastic where the children sit to receive their meals. Under the guidance of the women who work at AVEH, some volunteers from our group methodically and, with care, spoon-fed the children one-by-one. Some kids gobbled their meals right up while others were pickier eaters.

During lunch, I assisted a child who was bound to a wheelchair. I took the spoon and dipped it into the rice and bean mixture. I gently held it up to the child’s mouth when the woman observing me took the plate and pushed a spoonful towards the child’s face, which he swallowed down completely! With three-fourths of the plate finished, I attempted to finish feeding the child when he started crying. The child was full and was unable to communicate his feelings. The women kept placing spoonful after spoonful into the child’s mouth. With tears in his eyes, the child began to refuse the food by spitting it out onto his bib. Due to their physical limitations, without direct, sustained assistance in eating their meals, the children of AVEH would not be able to eat. The experience made me reflect more on the challenges that the children here experience, as well as those of their caregivers, who provide both love and support for all the children at AVEH.

–Nelson