La Aldea Infantil: Balloon Stomp

Lauren, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, tells us about a fun game with the kids:

This week we decided to teach the kids a new game. The game we decided upon was the one where you tie balloons around each person’s leg, then they have to stomp on each other’s without getting theirs stomped on and the last person who has their balloon is the winner. I have no idea what it’s called but we called it Balloon Stomp. As soon as we walked outside with the balloons, the kids went completely nuts! You would think they had never seen a balloon before in life. We tried to calm them down and tell them how to play, but they didn’t wait for us to say go, as soon as the balloons were on their ankles, they took off. Some kids got theirs stomped on right off, so we gave them another one since we had some extras. 

One little girl in particular named Sofia was very smart, she climbed up the soccer goals onto the basket ball hoop and sat there with her balloon and waited till everyone was done. Haha kids here tend to climb like little monkeys. However, when the kids realized she was up there, they started to converge and climb up after her. The game didn’t end up lasting more than 15 minutes, but in the end, that didn’t really matter. All that matters is that they had fun and enjoyed themselves.

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Learn more about La Aldea Infantil here and here.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Sergio

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

Since the kids have gone to school, we get more time with the babies

in the morning. I am so glad to have more time with them, they’re so

fun! I loved spending time with Sergio this week, who is the little

brother of Perla. He is about a year and a half old, and a little

underdeveloped. Since he has come to the Aldea, he has gotten better

at sitting up on his own and he can even stand with some help. We are

all really excited about his progress, and are doing all we can to

help him. We got even more excited this week when he started to crawl!

He sometimes needs a little help, but other than that he is a fast

little guy! I am so happy for Sergio and how much he is learning here.

He is such a cutie! Ever since he came I have loved playing with him.

His laughs and smiles don’t come easy but when they do they will melt

your heart. I hope he can continue to grow stronger, and I am so

grateful for all the help he receives. Before we know it he could be

running around the Aldea with the other kids!

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil here and here.

Learn more about becoming an intern!

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Fatima

Lauren at La Aldea Infantil introduces us to little Fatima:

This week has been so much fun. Since the kids are back in school, we end up playing with the little kids and babies during the day. There is one little baby who I have taken quite a liking to. Her name is Fatima and she is not quite 1 year old. She is so sweet and cute and I love making her smile and laugh. I got the opportunity to play with her several times this week and each time, i fell that much more in love with her. I have found that she is quite active when laying down and really likes to sit up and roll over to be on her stomach. Also, I can make her laugh when I blow raspberries on her belly, and her laugh is such a cute sound. Also, she can be quite vocal when she is in a good mood (which tends to be quite often). I don't think I have seen such a happy baby or such a calm and quite baby before. I will definitely miss her when I leave and almost wish that I could just take her with me when I go home!!!

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil here and here. Learn more about becoming an intern and ways to help children like Fatima. 

Many thanks to the Stowell Family!

Chris, our expedition leader reports on a very giving family:

The Stowell family came on a special Christmas expedition and fell in love with Mariluz. Her mother had abandoned her and her grandma is her gaurdian now. The grandma only speaks Quechua and doesn't have any resources or even the language skills to help the granddaughter. The Stowell family asked what would be the most important thing to help Mariluz, and we spoke with the grandmother and she said a new walker for the mountain terrain. Also the Stowell family said they would help get her to check with the doctor to see if she needed any addition physical therpy or some kind of treatment. 

We miraculously found a custom orthopedic walker maker and I went with the Stowell family to see what could be made for that kind of terrain. He was able to manufacture something specially designed for the mountains and out of a more durable material. Also it can extend for when she grows taller.

Thanks to the Stowell family for making this possible! These simple acts of kindness can change lives!

Learn more about helping others like Mariluz. 

Learn more about our exciting expeditions.

La Aldea Infantil: Birthday cards for Senora Blanca

Update from Jayde at Aldea Infantil

This week for our art project we had all the kids make a birthday card 

for Sra. Blanca, whose birthday is coming up in a couple weeks. She 

runs the entire Aldea and always works so hard, we want to make her 

birthday as amazing as she is. We got all of our paper, markers, 

feathers, googly eyes, ribbons, sparkles, and anything else we could 

find and let them at it. It was really fun to watch them get creative, 

I was so impressed! They all made such fun cards! I am so excited for 

Blanca to read all of them. It has always been easy to see how much 

the kids love her, and this was their opportunity to tell her.

Hopefully she can know just how much we all appreciate her!

 Maribel

Miguel

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Perla

Jayde introduces us to Perla:

Fairly new to the Aldea is Perla, an 8 year old who came with her
little brother. Perla is mentally handicapped and has the mentality of
a 4 year old. This can be a challenge at times, but she is looked
after and loved by everyone. In the few weeks she has been here, Perla
has greatly improved. She has learned how important it is to respect
others, and does so every day. She is very inquisitive, and likes to
ask me lots of questions. This past week, Perla has had to go in for
some check-ups at the doctors. She behaved so well! We were all proud
of how polite she was to everyone she met. She was very patient while
waiting in the long lines, maybe even more patient than I was! This
experience reminded me of how far Perla has come since arriving at the
Aldea. Everyone is rooting for her and willing to be patient as she
learns more and more every day.

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil here and here. Learn more about becoming an intern and ways you can help children like Perla.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Nicolas

An update from Lauren at La Aldea Infantil:

This week has been pretty low-key because all of the kids headed back to school. Since all of the older kids are at school in the morning and doing homework in the afternoon, we usually get to play with the little kids. This week I got the opportunity to spend time with a little boy named Nicolas. Nicolas is 2 years old and has 3 other siblings here at the Aldea. He is still fairly new to the Aldea, but fits in like he's been here for ages. He is a quiet kid but his face is so cute, you can't help but love him despite his silence.

Well, one day this week he was feeling kind of sad so I went over and asked him if he wanted to just hang out with me. He nodded his head and took my hand and away we went. After we just spent some time walking around, I asked him if he wanted to color in one of the coloring books. He got really excited as soon as I mentioned that and his head started to bob up and down furiously. I giggled and then we headed back to my casa. After getting out the crayons and coloring book, we sat outside on the front porch and colored til his little heart was content. I don't know how long we actually sat there coloring, but it was so much fun.

At one point, one of the tias came over and gave us both a slice of watermelon. It was a nice treat and so we sat there and ate our watermelon which was so messy and got everywhere. So, after he had finished, I took him in and helped him wash his face. It may seem very boring and uninteresting, but sometimes these kids just need to know that someone is there to play with them and not to harass them with questions or small talk. As the saying says: "Silence is Golden."

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil here and here. Learn more about becoming an intern or ways you can help children like Nicolas.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Andrea

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

Last week I ate at casa 8, which is where Andrea lives. Andrea is new to the Aldea, along with her younger brother and two older sisters. When I found out she was only three years old I couldn’t believe it. I had gotten to know a sweet little girl who was as smart as a five year old! Andrea knows her colors really well, along with her numbers. She is always so well-behaved at her casa and gets along great with the other kids. 

On Friday I finally got to see her amazing painting skills! She painted like a pro, and was a lot cleaner than the other kids. We were all impressed when she put all the lids on the paints. Andrea was so proud of the little monster she painted, and with good reason! She is such a cute, smart, and friendly little girl, and I love spending time with her. I’m really excited to see what other talents she’s got!

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil by viewing past posts or the Aldea page.

Learn more about becoming an intern on our website.

Learn more about helping children like Andrea.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Camilo

Lauren, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, introduces us to Camilo:

This week has been full of fun. But, with fun comes hard work. When we had some time to ourselves one day, I went outside and tried to study some Spanish. Not long after I had sat down and started, one little boy named Camilo came over and asked what I was doing. I told him Spanish and he took it upon himself to be my helper and teach me some new words. He would point to something, and then tell me what it was called in spanish. Soon, he would tell me something, then ask what it was in Spanish. The problem was that he doesn't really know English so he would say something like "Manzana in Spanish is what?" and I would repeat "Manzana". He would get so excited because he thought I was getting better and that he was teaching me Spanish.

Camilo is the cutest little boy. He is 6 years old and has both an older brother and sister here at the Aldea. When I first found out that he is only 6, I couldn't believe it because he acts so much older . He is always willing to help and the first to volunteer for things, no matter if they are fun or not. He always has a smile on his face and just brightens up your day when you see him.

To learn more about La Aldea Infantil, view past posts or the Aldea page. 

Learn more about becoming an intern. 

Learn about helping children like Camilo.

La Aldea Infantil: Capture the Flag

Lauren, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, tells us about teaching the kids to play "Capture the Flag:"

The week has been full of outdoor games. We have tried to come up with fun games to teach the kids that are also good exercise. So, we ended up teaching them all how to play "Capture the Flag."  We taught them the rules and then split up into teams. It was kind of difficult to come up with somewhere to put the flag that wouldn't be to easy for the other team to get. So, one of the kids ended up climbing up one of the many trees here and sticking it there. How he was able to climb this tree, I do not know because there were not branches, so he ended up sort of shimmying his way up the trees. When the game started it was fun to watch the kids run around and argue about whether they were actually tagged by the other team or not. We interns did play, but we left the flag stealing part to the kids since they can climb the trees better than us.

The first day we taught them, we ended up playing two games because after the first one, they all but begged us to play again. This continued on for the next 4 days because every afternoon they would always want to play and we would usually end up playing two, maybe three games each day. On Friday however, the kids ended up setting it all up by themselves and playing without the help of us interns. It was fun to watch them get their teams together and run around without us having to help out. I think that this new game will be a favorite of their's in the future.

Learn more about La Aldea Infantil by viewing past posts or reading the La Aldea Infantil page. Learn more about becoming an intern on our website.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Stephanie

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

Last week we had a big party for all the kids with birthdays in February. One of the kids was Stephanie, who turned 9 on the 26th. Stephanie is loved by everyone in the Aldea, and is a very important and unique member of its big family. It was really fun to celebrate her birthday with the other kids, they really know how to party! She is so cute and full of energy all the time, so seeing her get shy while we sang to her was different. I hope she could feel the love that we all have for her, because she does hold a special place in everyone’s heart. One thing that I have noticed about Stephanie is that she is always happy. Whether she is being silly with the other girls, trying to master the art of bracelet making, or helping with the cleaning, she always has a grin on her face. Her carefree and positive outlook definitely rubs off on you! I hope this next year brings Stephanie plenty of good times; I’m sure this happy girl will find a way no matter what!


Learn more about La Aldea Infantil by viewing past posts or reading the La Aldea Infantil page. Learn more about becoming an intern on our website. Learn more about helping children like Stephanie here.