Peru Expedition Update

Quick update from Chris, our expedition director, about one of the latest expeditions to Peru: 

The Stowell Family and I worked at a rural school in Lucre Peru,  a community that was hurt by severe flooding a few years ago. The school was made of adobe so water damage had messed up the plaster walls. We re-plastered, painted, and also put in a cement floor to their kitchen. The Stowell family bought and brought blankets, toy cars, and dolls for the children's hospital in Cusco. 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this expedition!

Learn more about traveling and serving with Eagle Condor Humanitarian on an expedition here.

Aldea Infantil: Luis Fernando

Jayde, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, introduces us to Luis Fernando: 

Lucho and Luis Fernando

This week we got to spend a lot of time with the 3-5 year old kids, which is always a blast! I got to play with Luis Fernando almost every day, and he is such a sweet boy! He has been at the Aldea for less than 6 months, and already he has stolen the hearts of the other kids. For a 4 year old, he is very obedient. When we tell him something is bad, he always listens. He will ask, “Malo?” and when we say yes, he makes sure to stop. He is one of the smartest in his group. Luis Fernando is also a very good brother to Matías, who is only about one year old. He always gives his little brother hugs and kisses, but makes sure to save some for us! Luis Fernando is a very fast runner, and is also really good at the monkey bars. I think soon he’ll be able to do the big ones all by himself, but for now he needs a little help. Luis Fernando is such a fun, sweet boy who is learning more and more every day! 

Luis Fernando and Jayde coloring :)

More info about La Aldea Infantil.

More posts about La Aldea Infantil. 

How to contribute to this orphanage.

La Aldea Infantil: Swim Time!

An update from one of the Aldea Infantil interns, Lauren:

This week so much better than the last week, meaning that we were given a schedule for the kids. In the mornings we play with the smaller kids, then we play in the inflatable pools that the older kids play in, and in the afternoon we do art and exercise.

On Tuesday, I went with a group of kids to an actual swimming pool that is located close to the Aldea. The fact that none of the kids had swimming suits did not deter them, for they just jumped in anyway. Soon to find out, very few of the actually knew how to swim. So myself and another intern who is here through another group called Project Trust decided to try and teach some of them how to swim. Let me tell you, that teaching is much harder than doing. Many of the kids did end up picking up on some of the basic strokes, now they just need to continue to practice.

Also, we tried to teach some of the kids how to dive. This was actually quite comical because this resulted in many belly flops from the kids. We finally got them to understand that they need to do more than just jump in with their arms up…but it is definitely a work in progress.


More info about La Aldea Infantil.
More posts about La Aldea Infantil.
How to contribute to this orphanage.

La Aldea Infantil: New Intern- Jayde

From Jayde, one of our new interns at La Aldea Infantil: 

This has been my first week here at the Aldea and I am loving it! All of the kids are so fun and welcoming, and within the first day I had already made so many friends! They are all very eager to get to know us and help with our Spanish. One of the kids that I've been able to spend some time with is David. He is so sweet and helpful all the time, and I have had so much fun with him! He is always kind to the other kids and willing to share. David is constantly smiling and his cute smile is enough to get anyone to smile with him! He finds it hilarious to tease us and call us "Guacamole". Though he can be a little trickster at times, he is such a sweetheart! And he is probably the most patient little kid at the Aldea. When we play games, he always waits his turn and is a great example to the other kids. I have loved getting to know David the past few days and I hope that I can get to know him even better!

More posts about La Aldea Infantil

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Photos of Cajamarca Expedition

In a previous post, we mentioned toys that were given to the children that visit El Bichito. Here are the photos of those sweet moments. Thanks for all who contributed to make this a great Christmas for the children at El Bichito! (More about El Bichito).

Recent update on the latest Colombian Expedition!

The Colombia expedition could not have gone better! It was amazing! Everyone worked so hard and under tough conditions. The Heyland family dug a 6 and half foot hole for the septic tank, Natalie and the other girls all helped mix cement, put up cinder block walls, the McGhies were amazing! Everyone did great, no real injuries, everyone was safe and had a great time with the people and this beautiful country. The island excursion was fun and very well needed, we saw dolphins (the girls got to swim with them), we all played in the warm crystal clear water, and went snorkeling and some went kayaking (for free!). 

Here are photos of everyone working on the building at Semillas de Amor:

We went to Barranquilla with the Alpes ward to see the land where the temple is going to be built and to have a devotional.  The interns are getting to Peru in the next few days and things are going well with getting them to the right places. This had been a exciting, difficult, and adventurous 5 weeks!

Thanks to all the families and individuals who made this expedition such a success!

Cajamarca expedition update!

Here is an update on the expedition to Cajamarca and the work done at El Bichito:

The party was amazing! We got cakes, candies, and a ton of toys for all the kids. All under the donations sent by the Canadian group. We took lots of photos and this little girl gave an amazing little thank you speech. We were able to get every older girl a Barbie and the little girls a doll. We got the bye Ben 10 figurines and race cars. When we had the older girls receive there gifts their eyes lit up and some of them looked like they were going to cry! It was an awesome party! The third floor is looking good and looks structurally stable. Housing is all set for the volunteers. We also looked at fridges at different places and found a great Samsung brand with a 4 year service warranty. Its energy efficient (15 soles a month) and can take being turned on and off and opened and closed a lot. It also also has setting adjustments for when theres not a lot of food. Sounds like the school director in Puylucana wants us to do summer classes.
 

Thanks to all of the volunteers that contributed to this expedition!

More info about El Bichito.

More posts about El Bichito.

The latest on our most recent expedition!

Here is a great update on the latest expedition in Colombia from our expedition and project director Chris:

Arriba Colombia!!!

We are here working hard in Cartagena! It has been a crazy but rewarding week so far.  After some issues with flights we all made it safe and sound and started work on Wednesday. The expedition participants are amazing. All twelve including the teenage girls are shoveling, mixing cement, digging a latrine, placing cinderblock, carrying mortar, and having a great time with the community. The kids have come to help and even some young adults. I almost wanted to cry to see all these people from all over working together on a project that has cost so much sacrifice and hard work to get going. 

Thanks to all of the volunteers that contributed to this expedition!

More posts about Semillas de Amor. 

More info about Semillas de Amor.