El Bichito: Fun activity with Stephanie

With the change of university semesters comes new interns! First up is Stephanie who will be spending her summer serving at El Bichito. Enjoy!

Stephanie, an intern at El Bichito, shows us a fun activity the interns did with the kids earlier this month: 

We decided to appreciate nature a little more and get creative about it! We took the kids for a little walk and had them pick some flowers and other miscellaneous plants around the area, so they could bring them back and create pictures! It was really fun to see them get creative with the plants, flowers, crayons, and glue. The kids really enjoyed going outside and we loved seeing their creative minds at work.

La Aldea Infantil: Parting thoughts from Lauren

Lauren describes her thoughts as she leaves the Aldea:

Wow, where have the past 4 months gone? I can't believe that tomorrow

morning I will be boarding a plane to take me back home to the States.

My time here as been beyond amazing, and I will never ever forget not

just the wonders of Peru, but each of the kids at the Aldea. Each one

is so sweet and special, I can't help but not love them with all of my

heart. Leaving them on Friday was probably the hardest thing that I

have ever had to do in my entire life. There were definitely many

tears shed.

Because of my experiences here in the Aldea, I have not only learned

about the culture and such, but I have also learned a lot about

myself. One in particular is that no matter a child's family

situation, they are still a child. They still want to have fun, go to

school, make friends, do sports, and so many other things. They don't

want you to feel bad for them, they just wanted you to love them for

who they are. Once you have learned that, there is no going back, you

are hooked. When they smile, you smile, when they laugh, you laugh,

when they cry, you cry, etc.

Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to go to Peru and love

all of these children here. I am leaving a better person than when I

first came here. These experiences here will not only last my entire

life, but will also, hopefully, inspire others to embark on their own

journey's towards self-discovery. Thank you!

Thanks Lauren for your generous service! We are sad to see you go!

Learn more about becoming an intern here.

La Aldea Infantil: Saying Good-bye

Jayde tells us about her last week at La Aldea Infantil: 

This week was my last week at the Aldea, and it couldn’t have gone any

better. I had such a great week with the kids! We were able to have a

bonfire on Thursday night with all the older kids. They loved it and

so did I! I was so glad for one last opportunity to hang out with the

older kids that I have gotten so close to. We consider them good

friends and this was our way of letting them know. After a night of

dancing and S’mores-making we were pretty tired, but the next day we

did it all over again at the birthday party for all the April

birthdays! This was quite possibly the most fun birthday party yet! I

love when everyone in the Aldea gets together and I can see just how

close they all are. They really are one big family. I am so grateful

for the past 4 months and the opportunity I had to become a part of

that family. I will never forget the friendships that I gained and the

memories we made together.

Alondra, Jean Pierre, Briyalyn, and Zuly

Zuly and Pilar

Thanks Jayde for your wonderful service! We and everyone at the Aldea are sad to see you go!

Learn more about becoming an intern here.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Danery

Jayde introduces us to Danery: 

Danery & Sophia

This week I got to know Danery, one of the shyest girls at the Aldea.

I spent more time with her as I ate and hung out in her casa and as I

did I saw what a cute girl she is! She always listens to her tia and

respects the other kids. Danery can be really quiet, but once you get

to know her she is such a fun girl! She is 6 years old and has only

been at the Aldea for about a month. She has become friends with the

girls in her casa since then and is often running around giggling with

them. I could probably spend hours talking and laughing with Danery,

she is so funny! When we play games with all the kids she is always

polite to the others. It makes me sad that I have to leave so soon

after making a new friend, but I’m glad for the time I have with

Danery.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Maribel

Lauren, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, gives a perfect example of the purpose of our interns and how they can make a difference: 

This week, I ended up working with a girl named Maribel. Maribel is a

17 year old girl who doesn't get the opportunity to go to school. She

is special and because of this, the schools here aren't equipped to

help her learn in a productive way. Because of this, I decided to have

her practice writing. I sat down and wrote down her name, the

alphabet, numbers, and some words. I wrote them in dashes then left

space for her to actually copy them down to practice. It took some

time to do this, but it was worth it. Maribel did so well; she really

hates to write and can’t read so I had to tell her what she was

writing. I know that Maribel doesn’t like to write because she knows

she can’t but I think that if I make her practice, she will improve

over time. After she finished, I told her what a good job she did and

that seemed to just make her day. I hope that by doing this, she will

now be more willing to work and practice her writing.

La Aldea Infantil: Meet Sarali

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

This week was pretty low-key when compared to other weeks that I have

had. That doesn't mean that it wasn't fun though. When I look back on

this week, there someone who continually sticks out in my mind. Her

name is Sarali and she is very outgoing. She has a sister named Dina

who is also living at the Aldea, and is 11 years old. Whenever she

sees you, even if it's only been a short time since the last time, she

will come up and big you a great big hug. She is such a sweetheart and

knows exactly how to make you feel better. During the week we played

in the tree  that is located in the middle of the Aldea. Sarali was

there and let me just say that she is quite the climber. She could

climb up a straight pole and do it in half the time that it would take

me to even try. haha She wanted to show me what she could do and did

many different tricks in the tree like hanging upside. It was quite fun!! 

La Aldea Infantil: New recycling program

**I apologize for the lack in posting lately! The next few days will be full of everything our interns have been up to in the past several weeks!**

Update from Jayde from April 9:

This week, the Aldea introduced various recycling bins to all the kids

and faculty. They held meetings to teach everyone about the importance

of recycling and caring about the environment. I was so proud of all

the kids, they took it seriously and I could tell that they want to

help out. The older kids understand that they need to help the younger

ones with recognizing which bin to use. Tia Blanca, Tio Cesar, and

others on their committee each took turns explaining it all to them

and then let them ask their questions and give their input. I was so

glad to be able to take part in such a huge step for everyone at the

Aldea! They will stop burning their trash and start recycling

everything they can. It will be a big change for us the next few weeks

but we are all willing to do our part! Everyone at the Aldea truly

cares about their impact on the environment. Though I won’t be here

long enough to see the long term effects, I’m so glad I got to help

out with the beginning!

 Tio Cesar and Tia Blanca explaining the recycling program.