Second UNICEF Field Notes Written By Clay

Clay's second field notes from Mexico have been posted at UNICEF's Field Notes Page. The field note entry is as follows:

[In the Field] Christmas Greetings from Clay Aiken in Mexico
UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken is visiting UNICEF projects for children affected by the recent floods in Mexico. He sent the following post from the field.

Merry Christmas to all from Mexico!

The past couple of days have been crazy – from delayed flights to lost luggage (yes, the airline lost all our bags – mine, mom’s and Brett’s – and mine’s STILL missing, so if you see it, could you send it my way?), to missed flights - if it could go wrong it did! But despite everything I couldn’t be happier than to be with my family and UNICEF in Mexico sharing the Christmas holiday with the people of Chiapas and Tabasco who have suffered such tragedy.

They have lost so much (much more than a few suitcases) but they have an unbelievable spirit and contagious joy. This is the holiday season and the spirit of family and giving is alive and well here.

Yesterday we were privileged to travel with the First Lady of Chiapas to the mountain village of Ostuácan. People here were severely affected by the recent flooding and mudslides. In fact, more than 2,000 people, many of whom are children, have lost their homes and are celebrating Christmas in shelters this year. But, they rolled out the red carpet for us and we celebrated the holiday together singing Jingle Bells and other holiday songs and even taking a whack at a piñata (and, believe it or not, I didn’t hit anyone!).

As upbeat and positive as the people are they still need our help. There is much to do to reconstruct their village and get their lives back to normal. Thank you on behalf of myself, UNICEF and the people of Chiapas for your generous donations… and if you haven’t already, please consider opening your heart to these wonderful people who have opened their hearts and homes to me.

More tomorrow from Tabasco… in the meantime, from my family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

CDD will post the next field report just as soon as it becomes available.