After School Program (Mike and Natalie)

We have been here for three-and-a-half weeks, and things are going smoothly. In the school here in Porcon, we have been able to help the English professor in her classes. We have also established an after-school English club and about 20 kids show up for that each time. We've already picked a very capable student from the club to make sure it continues after we leave. He accepted and he will work with the professor to keep that club going after we are gone. We were hoping to get some teenagers from El Bichito to come to Porcon and work for a little while, but they all wanted to learn mechanical-oriented trades. We talked to Don Alejandro, Pedro, and Jacinto about what jobs they could do in Porcon and they were excited to have them work in the sawmill, as that would have been the best match for their interests. Unfortunately, though, the kids decided in the end that they were not interested in that. But we are going to give Pedro's and Jacinto's phone numbers to Feliciana so that in the future if there is a child who is interested in working in Porcon, she can set that up. We will also let Pedro and Jacinto know that she will likely call them in the future.

The Jenson's are leaving in one week, and the Huber's two weeks after that. We have all been making arrangements for local people to volunteer at El Bichito so that the after-school program continues after we all leave. We all decided it would be best for us to move down to Cajamarca and work in El Bichito after the Hubers leave. That way we will be able to keep it going until we leave and make sure that the people here are very familiar with the after-school program. Yesterday we had about 6 students from the University come and donate fruit and other food and they said that they will continue to be involved. Also, Natalie and I have met a man named Juan who works in Porcon and lives in Cajamarca. When he found out what it is we do, he said he would love to volunteer often at El Bichito. He used to work in another orphanage here, and he said he wants to get back into doing that and helping the kids. We are going to show him where El Bichito is so that he can stop by on weekdays to help out. So things are going well, and one of our main focuses right now is arranging things so that the programs we have started keep going after we are gone.

Thanks,

-Mike and Natalie