Semillas de Amor: Christmas in October

By Ben Haynes

An eventful week filled with pleasant surprises. Tuesday Semillas de Amor received another intern Colby Thomas, and I couldn't be more pleased. He seems like an awesome kid who will contribute a ton with an infectious smile. The highlight at the foundation this week was Wednesday. The Banko Almiento donated a bunch of clothes to the foundation and the greatest sort of chaos ensued. There were more people at the foundation than I have ever seen. Many of the mothers came out in support, and were incredible grateful to receive some much needed clothing for their children. It was Christmas in October.

Columbia: Week 5

By Ben Haynes

Just another wonderful week in Colombia. This week I am going to highlight Solmaira. She is a girl who has been coming to the foundation since the beginning. She is 18 years old and a very special case indeed. She loves the foundation and is incredibly dedicated. She has been a huge help so far. She shows up everyday and helps collect plates and cups for all of the kids. She stays and cleans once everyone has gone home for the day. Also she participates in all of the lessons, and encourages others to do the same. I am incredibly blessed to have met her. She makes the foundation a better place to be every day. In the photo she is the one rocking the sunglasses.

El Bichito: Healthy eating & recycling

By Sunny Hicken
October 13

A while ago I brought out some carrots sticks to share with the kids, and they gave me pretty wary looks. But one kid tried it, and now when I bring out a bowl of carrot sticks, I get mobbed and I have to emphasize “Just take one!” I keep telling myself I need to take time to prepare more carrot sticks more often. After all, I can get a whole kilo of carrots for just one “sol” if I make it to the market in downtown Cajamarca. But there’s always so much to do and choices to make! At least the short supply keeps the demand high.

We have made a few things out of recycling, such as the beginnings of a marble run out of toilet paper rolls that we are taping onto the wall. Alex brought in a box and made himself a radio, that the kids all loved.

El Bichito: Meeting families of kids at El Bichito

By Sunny Hicken

October 13

Some of the things that have been going on around here. First of all, washing big pots! We love the ladies that come and cook for the children each day. They are great women, mothers, and a grandmother! (One just had a new grandson born last week! Her sons’ families live in her home, too.)

We are trying to have the children take us to their homes so we can meet their families (usually their mom and younger siblings) and learn more about them and their needs. Here are pictures of Milagros with her mother and little brother and of Alex with his mother and little sister. They are two of our most dedicated homework-doers! It was neat to see where they live and tell their moms how great their kids are when they are at El Bichito. They are two of our most dedicated homework-doers!

Here is a photo of Milagros and my daughter Sierra who love doing their homework together. It was neat to see where this child lives and to tell her mom how great she is doing at El Bichito. Milagros’ home is just down the street from us—we didn’t even realize that we pass her house every time we take a bus/van anywhere. Now we look every time to see if we can wave to her.

Alex’s house is up on the hill, a pretty hike from El Bichito. On the way, we saw other children we knew and promised to visit them soon. 

 We also saw Marco, sitting in the field behind his home. He is older, but is crippled from polio. He comes to the center for lunch often, but we had not seen him in a while. It was good to check up on him and let him know we missed him.

 I wish I had gotten a picture of him with his rose bushes, just out of the picture of him, but here is a picture of the rose he picked for me, that we have been enjoying having on the kitchen table in El Bichito the last few days.

We have great things planned for next week—I just hope we can get to half of them!

El Bichito: Soccer & manicures

October 7
By Sunny Hicken

It’s been fun to have Anna Gleave, intern earlier this year, back with us this week! The kids were thrilled to see her, and she has been heading up some classes and activities here at El Bichito. She and local college grad Mateo put on a boys’ afternoon and then a girls’ afternoon, where they led an activity particularly enjoyed by the children (soccer for the boys, manicures for the girls), talked to them about their good qualities and choices to make in life, made them fruit salad as a treat, and had a movie. The kids have loved the extra attention! It has also been great to have some extra hands around here, being able to focus on homework with one or two children while others participate in another activity outside and such.

El Bichito: Impromptu moving library

The latest from Sunny Hicken at El Bichito:

September 29

This last Friday was a field trip day for the whole school district, so lunch and activities at El Bichito were cancelled. Our youngest, Lily, is attending the Jardin de Ninos here in Puylucana, so she had a field trip as well. The young children had their mothers, and some of their fathers and siblings, along for the trip, and we all ended up together on a long bus ride. I had tucked three lightweight books into my backpack to entertain Lily on the bus, and little did I know what a hit they would be! By the end of the trip, we had a regular lending library going on inside the bus. Kids would come down the aisle, borrow one book, bring it back a little later, wait for a different book to be returned, and take that one back to their seat. Once they read all three books, they would start over again. I read to them some (when we were stopped for construction or just waiting—I get sick reading while in motion, and Peruvian mountain roads are certainly no exception), but they would take the book to their mothers or older siblings, or just look at it. The boy next to me who came along with his mom and little brother read through “Big Dog, Little Dog” several times, and each time he got through it a little faster. I got to know his mother, who helped make it clear to the other children that no, they could not take the books home but could only borrow them while on the bus. Her husband drives a moto for a living, and she has a hard time making ends meet, and we talked about El Bichito. Two of the books were also in English, and sometimes the kids or their mothers asked for me to read to them in English as well. Another brother and sister who were enthusiastic about reading the books recognized the name “el Bichito” inside the cover and said they used to come, and I invited them to come again. It was a fun experience to see how these children loved the books and how their mothers were also glad to see them reading them. It was definitely some positive outreach for El Bichito and for developing a culture of reading for fun and to our children.