A small group of 'Friends of Hogar Nueva Vida' recently met with Patricia (Tricia, or Paty) the new director of Misión de Amistad. She tells us “I am finding my experience as a former volunteer at the Mission of Friendship, and as an elementary school teacher invaluable as I begin leading the Nueva Vida. Cari and Marilyn are also guiding me from afar for now, and will probably arrive back in Mérida in October for their last season here before retirement.” Cari and Marilyn have been the Directors of HNV for many years, and are finally, and this time for real, RETIRING. In fact they are in the States right now attending to business. But that is their story.
Tricia also thanks all of those who have generously given of their time, talent, and financial resources to enrich the lives of the girls living at Hogar Nueva Vida. She is excited by the possibilities before us, and your willingness in continuing this work.”
HNV began this year (2012) with twelve girls ages seven through twelve, in first through sixth grade; They can accept up to eighteen girls. There are eight women on the staff, including the cook, the two women who spend the nights with the girls, the three women who take care of the girls and attend to their school needs, and two women who come for the sole purpose of tutoring. The high staff-to-child ratio helps ensure that each girl receives lots of personal attention.
