El Bichito: Self-worth

By Anna Solomon
One of the things we really want to emphasize with the girls at El Bichito is their self-worth.  We hear too many stories about domestic violence and abuse.  These young girls are at a crucial time in their lives and we want to have a positive influence on their future.  We want them to know they CAN get an education, they CAN play sports, and they CAN do anything they set their minds to.  We even created an acronym to help them remember who they really are.

Confianza
Hermosa
Inteligente
Cariño
Atlética

We celebrated these concepts this week by holding a "noche de las chicas" (a girl's night).  We bought a volleyball since most of them don't like to play soccer, and walked up to a near-by school with a volleyball court.  We couldn't really stop some of the boys from coming, so we ended up playing a game of boys vs. girls.  The girls dominated!  It made me so happy to see how excited the girls were when they won.  They felt validated and in power, and I don't think this happens enough in their lives.

We became acquainted the past week with a lady named Marivel, whose family owns a restaurant up the road from El Bichito.  We found out that she does manicures, pedicures, and hair. went to cosmetology school for two years in Cajamarca.  I told her about our girl’s night and she was so excited!  I asked her if she would like to come help talk to the girls about the importance of taking care of themselves and valuing their appearance.  She brought all of her supplies and gave all the girls manicures for free! She talked about how no woman in the world is ugly, and how important it is to value who you are.  I talked to the girls about how Marivel has this skill because she went to school and got an education, and now she is able to have this job!  They were so thrilled about their little makeovers and left feeling proud to be girls.  Marivel is such a good example to them of an innovative woman, and I think she had as much fun as the girls did!

On Friday we had originally planned to take the kids to visit the University in hopes to inspire them to work hard enough in school to go there one day.  Some logistics fell through and they told us it would be better to come back on Tuesday.  When we arrived at El Bichito only to inform the kids they couldn't go anymore, they were heartbroken.  We couldn't really bear the fact not doing some sort of field trip with them, so we acted fast and took them all down to Baños de Inca, the nearest large town.  We spit them up into three teams and had a photo scavenger hunt!  They had to search for statues, purple flowers, an animal different then a dog, and so on.  They then had to take a picture with our cameras and whoever completed all the tasks first one!  The kids had a blast running all around the Plaza Del Armas.  And what's better to cool down then ice cream for everybody?  I think we did well in making up for the University!  After, we walked up to a large lagoon where we let them fish a little for tadpoles and enjoy the serene beauty of the afternoon.  I love watching kids and their fascination with animals.  These kids are so bright and curious about the world, and I sincerely hope they never lose that curiosity.

El Bichito: February 4

By Anna Gleave

After weeks one, two, and three of teaching hand washing, nutrition, and teeth brushing, we decided it was time to move on to teaching physical wellness and about the importance of exercise. We decided to engage the kids in physical activities every day, so we spent the week taking walks through Puylucana and exploring the beautiful Andean surroundings and playing various games. The kids brought us up to a local elementary school where we started a ritual of (almost) daily soccer games. The school has an incredible volleyball/basketball/soccer court, and the view is stunning! We always feel as if we're on top of the world while we're playing! We split the kids into two teams; Anna's team is Peru, and my team is Real Madrid. We choose new captains every day and make up new cheers to get the kids excited about playing. We're still having a hard time getting a lot of the girls to play (because of cultural norms and a lack of confidence), but we are continually encouraging them to participate! 

To go along with our physical activity, we had small group chats with the kids about the importance of exercise and taking good care of your body. The kids seemed to realize the importance of exercise, and we hope our lessons and daily games will help instill within them a love for sports and exercise that will last them a lifetime!