“My dream is to see my father again, I miss him so much.”
Leonel (pictured above) is 9 years old and lives with his mother and older sister in San Salvador. Most days, he spends time with his maternal grandmother, who sells food and drinks in front of the central market. It’s a busy place full of informal vendors and local families.
Leonel often accompanies his grandmother at her stall, helping out and watching the activity around him. Recently, his grandmother was informed that she will have to move her stall as part of the municipality’s redevelopment plan.
Despite the uncertainty, Leonel’s grandmother makes sure he stays connected with the project activities nearby. A member of the VIVA project team in El Salvador shared;
"Leonel's grandmother is very committed to her grandson, she takes him to and from school and looks after him in the afternoons while his mother works. She told us that she brought up her children in the market but that she fought for them to also have other options in life, now she expects the same from Leonel. Her desire for the child to have a good future has been one of the reasons why she wanted Leonel to be part of the activities that we develop in the project."
Pictured below: Leonel with his grandmother.
Leonel first joined the Toybox-supported project in 2022. At first, he struggled to settle in. A project worker remembers:
“At the beginning of the project Leonel showed a lot of anger, he even went to extremes of banging on the door when he felt this way. He got frustrated when something did not go well and he did not play much with the other children. However, over time we have noticed significant changes in his interpersonal relationships with other children and in his attitude and interest towards the activities.”
Through workshops on teamwork, emotions and educational support, Leonel has found things he enjoys and is good at. He shares;
“In the library we have books about animals, those are my favourites, because I know a lot about them.
Through his involvement with the project, Leonel has grown in confidence, developed new friendships and improved in reading and maths. He particularly enjoys building with wooden blocks and solving puzzles. He shares,
“I like to come here, because there are things for children. My dream is to see my father again, I miss him so much.”
Leonel’s grandmother recently completed a positive parenting process through the project. She’s now a leader in the market community and actively encourages other families to take part in the project’s activities. She shares;
“Children should not be mistreated, there should be love and respect.I was not brought up with respect, but I didn't want that for my children, I wanted something different.”
In a busy market environment, Leonel's involvement with the project has given him a safe space to play, learn and simply be a child.
Pictured below: Leonel reads his favorite book about animals. (L) Leonel skipping. (R)
