9
Location: Anegada
It was the tip of the morning when the staff awoke us. We gathered around the breakfast table at 7 and enjoyed delicious cereal with cold milk. We all have become extremely thankful for any cold drink we can get. Staff told us to gather our belongings needed for a fun beach day, and we were off in the dinghy to the dock where we met 60 YEP (Youth Empowerment Project) children. Every Lifeworker found their suited YEP buddy and hopped into the taxis to go to the Anegada Rock Iguana Head-start facility. Every pair of buddies was assigned a project. Some painted the iguana cages army green or beige yellow, while others cut up lettuce and carrots for all the baby iguanas. Next was the fun part: stealthily placing the bowls of food and water into the cages without the iguanas escaping. Excitement stirred as the children would rush to open and close the cages. Although there was a word that these creatures were super fast, they weren’t in too much hurry to eat. Once we were all heated to the core from the blazing sun, we all headed to the most beautiful beach, Cow Wreck Beach. First, we all made many sandwiches to satisfy our grumbling stomachs before YEP kids and Lifeworkers ran to the sand and water for some playtime. Some played basketball, soccer, Frisbee or volleyball, while others built sandcastles, snorkeled or turned the children into mermen or mermaids. Once everyone was super sandy, we then all jumped into the water to swim and have a rowdy game of chicken fights. The YEP children’s faces light up with enjoyment from the day’s events. We stayed at the beach from 12-5 and then loaded the YEP children into the taxi to say our goodbyes at the ferry dock. It was quite a day chasing tireless kids around and defiantly wore us all out. We are now all looking forward to the next play day with young island children after this amazing day. It is going to be an early night for all of us, so goodnight all readers!!!!