The Basketball

My parents Rotary Club donated sports equipment to the school in Monte Bonito.  I had the equipment at my house before I brought it over to the school.  The neighborhood kids and I got out a basketball to play.  We spent a long time running around, throwing the ball, yelling, and laughing.  We had so much fun all the kids were back the next night ready to play.  The first throw and the ball is punctured by something, who knows if it was the glass on the ground, a rock, the zinc roof, or the barbed wire fence.  I was super bummed.  Day two and we already broke a ball.

The children begin to rally, they strategize, and then pool their pesos. They bring they ball to someones house who fixes moto tires, he can't fix it, they try and buy a patch at the colmado, they're all out, at one point they tape up the hole, nothing worked.

Lastly, they come back from the colmado with super glue and ask me for laundry detergent.  We mix the two things together, like we were told, and spread it on the ball.  Viola, it's good as new, but a little deflated.

They let it dry for exactly 2.5 seconds before starting up their game again.  I loved seeing all the children come together and try so hard to fix the ball.  It makes no difference to them that it is broken.  They would have continued playing with it had it been beyond repair.