Interview with Marielos Grijalva
As many of you will be aware, Rachael Rhude (née Ker) set up and ran the Centro Infantil Bellota with Guatemalan colleagues until her return to the UK in late 2007. Before leaving, she handed over management of the Centre to Marielos Grijalva, who became director in September 2007. She has been doing a wonderful job of running the Centre ever since. We asked Marielos some questions about her work and motivation.
We hope this will help to give you a better sense of the warmth, enthusiasm and commitment of the Centre’s director.
What do you do on a normal day as director of the Centre?
The day begins when I open the Centre at 7.30am, giving thanks to God for the opportunity of a new day and for the chance to make the most of it in the service of the children and the staff of the Centre.
I look at my diary for the day and begin with matters to be resolved within the Centre, leaving for later the matters which will take me out of the building (such as going to the bank, buying educational materials or certain food items, visiting children’s homes, making requests for support or other such activities).
I review the menu for the day and check that the food is being hygienically prepared and will be ready at the appropriate times.
I confirm the children’s attendance and receive calls from mothers if their child can’t attend that day. If a child is absent for any significant length of time, I phone to check what is happening for them.
The education co-ordinator and I review the education plans for that day’s activities. We ensure that staff have all the resources they need, and if anybody is absent for any reason, we co-ordinate cover for them.
At mid-day, I share lunch with the children, encouraging their good manners at the table.
In the afternoon I try to resolve any issues that were not already dealt with during the morning. I attend to parents who have questions about their children, or who wish to make a payment. [Parents are asked to contribute Q50 per month – just over £4 - towards their children’s care].
Then I leave everything ready for the following day, in accordance with the plans. Officially, my work finishes at 3.30pm, but I often leave later than this because something has come up that needs attention. If difficulties arise after I have left, staff call me and I return to the Centre. When there are meetings with the mothers, these begin at 3pm and last until 6pm, and I make sure I am there till these are finished.
What motivates you to work at the Centre?
The fact that we care for and help children in poverty, who are the most vulnerable and the most in need of our support. We share with them affection and understanding. The majority of them have suffered abuse, and come from disintegrated homes where there is domestic violence.
Knowing that people far from my country are bringing help to these children, receiving nothing in return, makes me feel that I should also be helping my own people.
How do your own experiences help you to understand the mothers of children at the Centre?
The experience of being a young single mother has helped me to empathise and to understand the need to move forward, to look for work to provide for children’s basic needs. There are many things that must be done, and sometimes this means leaving children alone or with people outside their family, putting them in danger or at risk. That is why it is so good that somewhere like the Centro Infantil Bellota exists, somewhere mothers can fully trust. They know their children are well looked after and above all that they are cared for. I think of the Centre as my second family or my second home.
What do you do to relax?
When the diary is a little full or overwhelming, with lots of tasks in the office, I go downstairs and involve myself for a few moments with the children. If they are playing, I join in their game. I don’t spend very much time with the children but when I am with them they come running to hug me and that makes me very happy. That gesture of kindness from them makes me forget whatever problem I had and makes me feel it is worthwhile continuing, finding solutions to whatever difficulties there might be, because it is for them. When I feel I’m ready to continue with my activities I return to the office to finish my work.
What do you like best about your job?
The fact that every day I see the children’s faces so happy to be in the Centre, and their gestures of affection. Many of them can’t express themselves with words, but their hugs and their affectionate looks say it all.
The work with my colleagues as part of a team, creating a pleasant and comfortable environment for everybody.
I set high standards for myself and so I like doing things well and seeing others also do a good job. This job is really a blessing for me. I enjoy what I do and how I do it.
What are your hopes and wishes for the Centre in 2009 and beyond?
One of my main wishes is to be able to continue bringing help to the children that we have at the Centre. I hope that the Centro Infantil Bellota survives and can open its doors to more children that need it. There is great demand for this care.
I hope that the support for the Centre continues and grows, with an increasing number of people giving to this good cause.
I hope to continue knocking on doors and touching the hearts of people in my own country.
I hope to have local volunteers, who are aware of the wonderful work carried out in the Centre and want to help.
In the longer term, I wish that the Centre might have its own premises with adequate education areas to carry out the High/Scope programme and above all with a green area with play equipment for all the children attending the Centre.
I would love to be able to attend a High/Scope training course [available in Mexico], to be at the forefront of this programme.
It would be wonderful to have our own transport, to be able to take children on trips to more places or to collect them and return them to their homes if they live some distance from the Centre.
There is so much potential!
I am so grateful to all those that support us and make the work we do with these children possible.
Thank-you!
Marielos Grijalva
Director of the Centro Infantil Bellota