However, there are also many things that could be improved, such as the public school system, the healthcare system, social security, etc. We at Aledia Tours are, of course, too small and have too little influence to effect major changes here, but we still want to make a small contribution and at least bring a smile to a few children's faces. Therefore, we regularly travel to Mayan villages far removed from tourism and take toys, coloring books, crayons, dolls, toy cars, stuffed animals, children's or baby clothes, and similar items with us to give to the children there. The sparkle in their eyes is something truly special, and the parents are always very grateful, as many cannot afford such things. Tourism has created jobs in many villages near the tourist routes, but the remote villages can still only dream of this. We are therefore happy to accept donations of goods from our customers: these can be toys (not battery-operated) and stationery (not school notebooks, as Mexico uses different formats), but also new or gently used clothing. Everything is welcome.

Once a year we also travel to Cuba, where we visit small, much poorer villages and surprise the people there with gifts.

Those who would like to deliver their gifts themselves can do so with our Mayan family in Coba and also in the village of Punta Laguna, which we will visit next. The families are generally very large with many children, who live spread across different villages and are therefore always very grateful for even the smallest gesture.

Here in Mexico, we say: "Poner mi granito de arena." Literally translated, this means: "Add my grain of sand." This means that even if your contribution of just one grain of sand seems tiny, with the help of many grains of sand, you can eventually build an entire sandcastle.

Who else would like to add their grain of sand?