El Bichito: Intern room update

Our El Bichito sponsor Lily Cole just returned from El Bichito and writes the following: 

All the rooms are finished and you should be very proud of the job done by all the people here.  Everything is ready for the next group of interns. They have new beds that have all the bedding, portable heaters, night stands, lamps, and they are all ready to be put to use. The third floor is going to be completed exactly in two weeks.  It is wonderful to see all our dreams come to light and the positive effects to the children. 

El Bichito: The start of classes

By Anna Solomon
The start of classes for the kids here in Pullyucana has brought on new challenges.  Along with these challenges have come new faces, new activities, and so much fun.  Classes started last week and on the first day only 10 kids came to eat.  I was so worried we were going to lose all of our kids and progress.  I told Feliciana it had to be because I smelled bad.  But really, they were all just out buying their school supplies.  By the end of the week we had about 20 kids coming for lunch, and now we get 40 plus everyday.  At approximately 1:00 in the afternoon, all the kids come streaming in and I can barely keep track of them all!  Many of them eat within 10 minutes and rush back out the door.  We are trying everything we can to get them to stay so we can help them with their homework and teach them.  So far, I think we have been pretty successful!

 Within the past two weeks we have played:

 Concentration with math equations: We came up with a list of 15 equations and 15 answers to the equations.  The kids had to figure out which answers matched the equation and then had to match them, until all the pairs were found!

 Math Bingo:  We called out an operation, they had to figure out the answer, and if they had that number on their card, they could mark it off.

 Math Tic Tac Toe:  We split the kids into two teams, team X and team O.  We took turn asking the teams math questions and if they got the answer right, they placed an X or O on the board in one of the slots for the tic tac toe chart.  Whoever got three in a row won!  Just like normal tic tac toe, but using a little more arithmetic!

 Roll The Dice and Hit the Target:  I wanted to get the kids outside this day so I drew a huge target out of chalk with quantities of 200, 100, and 50 inside the 3 rings of the target.  I brought these giant dice from home and gave the kids the chance to try and roll the dice onto the target.  If they landed on 100, they multiplied the number they rolled by 100.  So if they rolled a 6, they got 600 points.  The only rule was that they had to tell me the right multiplication, or they couldn’t get the points.  The kids loved trying to hit the bull’s eye!

 A Version of Farkle:  We all sat in a big circle and took turns rolling the dice.  The game is played as follows; you roll the dice and add the two amounts together to get your points. BUT if you roll a 1, you don’t get any and you lose all your points from that turn.  If you roll two 1’s you lose all of your accumulated points.  This was a great way to get the younger kids learning how to add!  The same rule applied that they could only get their points if they could tell me the correct addition.  They loved the suspense of the game and couldn’t stop laughing anytime someone rolled a 1 and lost their points.

 Antonyms vs. Synonyms:  After talking to some local Peruvians about what the kids will need to know for standardized tests, I discovered that understanding synonyms and antonyms is very important.  We created a list of 20 words and posted them on the board.  We then gave one team the pile of associated antonyms and the other team the synonyms.  Whichever team could successfully match their piles of words with the words on the board, won!  The kids definitely struggled with this, but they learned a lot.  Now we know we need to keep working on this with them!

Since so many of the kids have an interest in being civil engineers, next week we are holding “Science Week” at El Bichito.  We have a whole schedule set up of simple science experiments to show the kids.  Hopefully they become even more enthusiastic about the wonders of science.  We also have lined up a “Parents Night.” On Thursday we went to most of the kid’s houses with them after lunch and personally invited their parents to come to our parent’s night.  We are going to talk about all the resources we have to help them learn, our large library of books, and we want to ask their permission to let the kids stay after lunch.  Wish us luck!

One of our visits was to the house of this beautiful little girl Flor.  Her father abandoned her family, and her mom works cleaning houses to try and take care of her 5 kids.  We went to visit her mom to see if there was anything we could do to help and she was so grateful.  She is renting a house from a little closer to Pullyucana from her uncle, so the kids can be closer to school.  She really loves her kids and wants them to get the best education they can.  Flor, Miriam, and Edwin are so smart.  They love to read with me and they are usually the first kids to answer all of my math questions.  I really hope we can continue to help this beautiful family out."   

El Bichito: Reading Harry Potter

By Anna Gleave

My first week at El Bichito, I noticed how bright and eager to learn Katherin was, so we decided to start a book together. I suggested we read Harry Potter, since I loved the series growing up, and she quickly agreed. I told her that as a reward, we would be able to watch the movie together after we finished the book. So we began reading together nearly every afternoon. I would read a few pages out loud to her, and then she would read a few; she also read on her own with her older sister on the days we couldn't read together. Once we were about half-way through the book, I caught her looking down at the page number, and the biggest grin creeped across her face. I asked her how many pages we'd read, and she said enthusiastically, "137!" I then asked her if she had ever read that many pages in a book before, and she shook her head no, still smiling. Well, you can imagine her excitement when we finished the entire book! She kept saying it was the most "bonito" book she had ever read! We watched the movie together that afternoon, and she got so excited every time she recognized a character or scene from the book. I promised her that if she kept reading the rest of the series, I would make sure future volunteers would watch the movies with her, and she agreed! She was so thrilled and excited about the series, and she was very proud of herself for accomplishing such a feat. The rest of the kids were also proud of her and made note of what a unique accomplishment this was! 

I see so much potential in Kathy and know she can do great things with her life if she has proper guidance and opportunities. She wants to be a doctor and is absolutely intelligent enough to become one; I hope that she can. 

P.S. Check out the article BYU Public Health did on our very own Anna Gleave. We are so proud of our interns!

El Bichito: Trip to the University

March 8
By Anna Solomon
Watching the kids say goodbye to Anna this past week was truly heart wrenching.  Though it has only been a short two months, we have all grown so close as we have learned together about nutrition, washing hands, and the importance of taking care of ourselves.  I am really grateful to have worked with Anna Gleave and have learned so much from her.  Together I feel we really showed those kids as much love as we possibly could and sacrificed whatever we could for them.  I hope they recognize how important they are, and that their dreams are attainable.  When all is said and done, I think that’s what Anna and I wanted to get across the most.  After all, there is nothing more healthy than fulfilling your dreams.

The girls heartbroken to see Anna leave.

One dream we personally have for all of the kids, is to see them go to college.  I believe that Anna, Matthew, and I are all passionate about our university education.  We are each studying different careers, but can all agree that we are grateful for the chance to progress academically in life.  This past week we took the kids to visit the National University in Cajamarca.  Our lovely tour guide showed us through the main buildings, talked about the different career opportunities, and of course we had to see their numerous collection of alpacas, pigs, ducks, and slew of other farm animals.  My favorite part of the day was watching our little friend Elmer with his arm around the tour guide, pestering him with all manner of questions in the world.  Elmer is one of the most troubled, poor, and struggling children at El Bichito.  To watch him so excited about the University, answering all the guide’s questions, and so filled with excitement, really touched my heart.  I hope more than anything we can get Elmer out of the hole he is stuck in, and into the University.  Especially considering that as of now, his parents hardly care if he goes to school or not.

Elmer with his new best friend, the University tour-guide.

Antoni, our más chicito field-trip goer with the president of the University!

The kids listening intently as our tour guide talked about the University's greenhouse.

Vicki getting a little pig kiss!

he fieldtrip to the University was apart of our “Career Week” for El Bichito.  On Monday we had our friend Mateo come up and talk about Civil Engineering.  Engineering is the biggest and most profitable career here in Cajamarca, due to the mine.  At the national university, engineering is the most funded and researched discipline.  Mateo is one of the top students in his class, and did a great job engaging the kids.  He brought different rocks with minerals to try and get the kids excited about learning.  The kids couldn’t get over the tiny specks of gold in one of the rocks. His calculator and other math tools also amazed the kids.  He motivated them to work hard in school, and especially in math.  Thanks Mateo for all your help!

On Friday we brought up another friend of ours, Rosangela, who recently graduated from nursing school.  She now works in a small clinic and really makes a difference in her community.  We brought Rosangela in to talk about the importance of medicine, nursing, and the role of doctors in our lives.  The kids shared stories of times they had been sick or hurt and we all talked about how we would suffer so much without medicine.  Rosangela talked especially to the girls about nursing and how great of a career it is.  The girls were so excited to see Rosangela’s pictures in her nursing outfit at her promotion and her work in the clinic with sick babies.  Finally, she let the kids take turns using her stethoscope to listen to their pulse and sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure.  By the end of the day the kids were all pretending to be doctors and didn’t want to stop listening to our heartbeats.  The most impactful part of Rosangela’s visit was when Feliciana and Melchora asked her to come check on their sick father.  All the kids who had been listening to her lesson, followed her upstairs into the room where their father was recovering from a recent appendix operation.  He had been complaining of a fever, and all the kids watched in silence and awe as Rosangela took his temperature, and then taught Feliciana and Melchora how to use the thermometer.  She then suggested some aliments for recovery and tips for helping take care of him.  In that moment, Rosangela did more than she knew.  She was so powerful with her ability to help this family, while at the same time being such an example to all those kids.  By the end of the day, we couldn’t get them to stop telling us they wanted to be doctors when they grew up.  I am so grateful for my time here in Bichito.  To watch these kids find inspiration and hope in pursuing dreams and goals, makes me want to keep pursuing my own dreams.  I love how service does that do people.  You serve and serve and serve, and yet you will always get so much more back.  That’s how I feel everyday I spend here in Peru.

The beautiful, talented, and smart Rosangela! Thanks for the awesome lesson on nursing!