Daniel (Janel)

Janel, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, gives us an update on Daniel:

Daniel immediately had my heart.

He has an outgoing personality and loves to be in the middle of the fun. Daniel is the best example of not caring what others think.

He loves to dance. For the Mother's Day presentation at the Aldea, Daniel performed to a song in front of everyone. Not that it's credible coming from me, but he is a pretty good dancer!

Daniel once had a bad fall and is missing his two front teeth, but this does not stop him from smiling constantly. Because of his missing teeth, he talks different and it can be hard to understand him, but he sure does hold his own and does not let anyone get to him.

He always wants to help out and loves to assist us push the food carts.

Daniel has so much love to give. He brightens up my day simply by being himself.

Read more about Daniel here and here.

Lucho (Hao)

The following is an update on Lucho from Hao, one of our interns at La Aldea:

Lucho is probably one of the cutest kids I have ever met. The first day I´d arrived at the Aldea, he saw me and then charged towards me with open arms for an embrace, which, for the first time in my life, "melted my heart." He is also extraordinarily understanding and helpful for a three-year old: When I am carrying things to another house or something, he always tries to take it away from me so that he can carry it himself. Also, when he sees scrapes on my arms, he always blows on them in an attempt to make me feel better. His compassion and love for others never ceases to amaze me. All in all, he´s the kind of three-year old that I want my child to be.

More about Lucho here, here and here.

Luis (Liz)

Liz, another intern from El Bichito introduces us to Luis:

Luis is one of the older boys who comes to El Bichito. He is fourteen years old and can sometimes be a bit of a punk. He is the older brother of Manuel, Aurora, Hector and Gwilso. Luis often stays and does his homework with us and participates in the activities going on at El Bichito. He is really good at taking care of his younger siblings and you can find him helping his younger siblings with homework. After school he likes to play soccer with the other boys here at El Bichito. He is pretty competitive and likes to win. His favorite class in school is English and math, and he often gets help with his English homework here at El Bichito. When Luis has a little extra spending money he likes to go to the internet cafes and play computer games. I love hanging out with Luis because he can be so funny. He likes to tease the other kids and interns and his jokes (when I understand them) are really funny. He can be shy when you first meet him, but once he warms up to you he is a great friend.

Renso, Sulie and Sara (Janel)

Janel, one of our interns at La Aldea introduces us to Renzo, Sulie and Sara:

Lorenzo, Renzo for short, is 19 months. He is a quiet and carefree stud that enjoys a good book every now and then and loves to take walks around the Aldea. Renzo's favorite activity is watching the cars pass. His head flows smoothly left to right 180 degrees as he watches the cars zoom past the Aldea.

Sulie, your average 15 year old, loves to dance! Sulie is outgoing and friendly and loves to be in front of the camera. Being older and more mature, she is the mediator and leader of her house. Sulie is an intelligent girl and told me she someday hopes to be an architect. She is internally motivated and naturally takes her school work seriously. In my attempt to help her with her homework, Sulie showed her personality of being hard working and persistent in her efforts. She is on the right track to doing good in the world.

Sara, 17 years old, is opinionated and clever. Sara is always willing to help, quick to correct my poor Spanish pronunciation. She asked me for my help with her English homework and we learned side by side. With an English/Spanish dictionary in hand, we successfully finished her homework, a team effort. I helped her study for an oral reading comprehension test, which Sara reported she did very well! Sara enjoys photography and is quite good at it. Sara wanted to trasnfer images from my laptop to her flashdrive. She was eager to learn and I was able to teach her how to do this. She quickly got the hang of it and soon after did not need my help. Sara shared her Spanish music with me, slowly translating each line as the song played. Recently at her school is a recycling contest. Sara has taken initiative and collected a truck full of bottles, with the help of her Aldea family. I helped her carry the large bags into school, where she proudly brought them to the back of her classroom. Sara is loyal and independent and helps the Tias care for the younger girls of the house.

Admirable Alida (Eliana)

Eliana, one of our interns at El Bichito in Cajamarca, introduces us to Alida:

Alida is a great example for everyone here. She is in charge of her 5 younger siblings. She is 15 years old and despite her age, she is very responsible. Alida takes very good care of her siblings and always makes sure that they have a happy day. She loves school and is very excited about spending time in El Bichito doing homework and activities with the others. One day, she wants to go to the university of Cajamarca and become a lawyer. Alida loves to play volleyball and likes a lot of ice cream and chocolate.

Learn more about Alida here and here.

Interested in sponsoring a child like Alida? Click here for more info!

Israel (Rosselim)

Rosselim, one of our interns at El Bichito introduces us to Israel:

Well, this is Israel. He is eight years old and he is the cutest! He LOVES drawing and painting... and for reals that he is really good at it. He has one brother and five sisters, he is in the middle. He goes to "el Bichito" because he likes the warmth that is given there. He is kind of shy when you first meet him but then he always has a smile for you, and the best part is that he is always willing to help you with whatever you are doing.

Happy Alfredo (Janel)

The following post is from Janel, a new intern at La Aldea Infantil. We appreciate interns like Janel who write these posts and wait for the slow internet connection to upload photos! (These took 3 hours for her to upload! Thanks Janel!)

Alfredo is one of the happiest kids I have ever seen. He is ALWAYS smiling or laughing. He is so much fun to be around because he has so much energy. Alfredo loves to give hugs, but never wants to let go! When we (the interns) were leaving the Aldea for the weekend, he walked us to the gate and gave me more than enough kisses to last the weekend. He kept asking WHY we had to leave. He wanted us to stay with him and was so persistent with his request, he almost sold me. I am convinced Alfredo will someday be a successful business man.

Meet Our New Interns: Amanda

*Amanda in Belize, where she did humanitarian work.

Amanda Quintana
Hello! My name is Amanda Quintana and I am a senior at Brigham Young University. This internship will officially complete my requirements for obtaining a degree in Public Health. I am a member of BYU's performing arts dance group Living Legends and am currently on tour with the group in Russia!! I love being here and sharing my Latin culture with the Russian people. I am fascinated by people, their culture, traditions, beliefs and values. I am so excited to dive in to the rich Peruvian culture and work with the people there. My interest in serving with Eagle Condor is derived from my deep desire to help others, especially children. I have dedicated the last few years of my education to the study of how to improve the quality of life of others. I know that I am going to Peru in hopes of helping the people there, but I also know that I have much to learn from each of them as well. I can't wait to go!

Meet Our New Interns: Hao

Hao Yang

I am a senior at BYU studying psychology. I was born in Beijing, China, but grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. I really enjoy playing with kids and playing sports, and my favorites are football, soccer, basketball, and frisbee. I know I am going to love helping the kids in Peru!