Child care, disability and poverty in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Our son Chris continues his work supporting Pasitos de Luz, a charity that offers day care for children with disabilities whose families lack the resources to care for them during the day. We met a young mother who had applied for day care for her son Héctor. Héctor’s mother has been struggling against the impossible challenge of earning a salary while caring for her son. The young mother was thrilled that Héctor had been accepted.

Pasitos provides a safe environment, good food and therapy for children whose conditions range from Downs syndrome or cerebral palsy to learning difficulties. One little boy was born without eyes, is on the autism spectrum and had to be taught to walk. Jan and I helped with feeding at breakfast and lunch and with play for children who cannot participate in classroom programmes.

Here are some photos from our day. The first two are the charity's current list of needs:

Breakfast with Mia:

  César after eating his banana:

Manuel in the air-conditioned playroom. Air-conditioning is expensive and beyond the means of many parents:

Enrique, aged six, after a hearty lunch. Enrique loves his food and dances in his seat to a tune with a good beat:

Xochi, aged five on the left. She has three siblings. Xochi loves to talk, ask questions, and can be quite bossy in a way that is impossible to resist. She has palsy so her mobility is very restricted. To the right are Manuel and Mateo:

Lunch for (left to right) Axel, César and Kaleb. Axel and Kaleb are twins:

In the classroom with new books donated by Thames & Hudson. More are needed as are other learning materials: