Batida de Leche & "Para la sonrisa de un Niño"

On December 21st we had what is known to be one of the La Paz Red Cross' star activities, known as the "Batida de Leche". Old volunteers derustify themselves and show up spontaneously every year, it's amazing. This year there were about 40 of us, we arrived in the afternoon t0 start prepping material and at night it was on! Basically, we prepared huge pots of warm chocolate milk and went to distribute it to all the children (sometimes with parents, sometimes alone) who start lining up in the morning and wait over 24h to get into the Stadium and Open-air theater where, under the name "Para la Sonrisa de un Niño" (for the smile of a child) shows are organized by different institutions and end in a massive distribution of toys, pro Christmas spirit. We also attended the "Para la Sonrisa de un Niño" event to make sure everything went smoothly. This involved helping lost children find their parents or relatives and reminding parents over and over again that a stomach ache from not eating in 24h is best cured by food rather than a pill... But it was great to see the kids leave happy, with their toy in hand.

Photos are a mismash of scenes from the "Batida de Leche", with one of Sofia and I (with pigtails! seemed appropriate...) and a close-up on Silvana helping a little girl warm up with hot chocolate, and one image of Lizet and Janeth at the day event, making sure no one got hurt on their way out.