Miguelitto (from Janel)

Janel, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, introduces us to Miguel:

Miguel is accompanied in the Aldea by his older brother, Victor. The two have lots of fun with the other boys in house 2. Some of the boys are a few years older and do not always include the younger ones like Miguel, who is 7. One night after dinner, for English class, I made homemade word finds for the boys. The older ones loved this and raced to get done first. Miguel wanted to be included also. I gave him a word find and he was determined to finish it! It was well after the older boys had finished, but the smile on his face showed his satisfaction. Miguel is an active boy who loves to color and pull pranks. He races to be the first in the truck on the way to school so he can lock the others out. He loves to sit in the driver´s seat and act like he is driving. Everyday after lunch he practices his writing and is getting better everyday. Miguelitto participates in art class and loves to paint. Miguel is a kid who loves to laugh and have fun.

Double the Fun (from Amanda)

Amanda, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, introduces us to the twins, Fanny and Sofia:

Double the fun! Meet Fanny and Sofia--the twins at the Aldea. These girls are just precious. This week we have gotten particularly close and I am convinced that it is more than the mere fact that I give them candy :) Fanny and Sofia are 8 years old. They love to giggle, draw on the sidewalk with chalk, jump rope and help with the babies. Due to the fact that they are twins, I think that sometimes it is assumed that their personalities, strengths and needs are identical. After watching closely this week, however, I have come to realize that this is not the case. Sofia, for example is a star at math. She is doing well with her addition and seems to enjoy doing her homework while Fanny absolutely detests it. Fanny, on the otherhand loves to jump rope, outlasting most of the other children her age, and can climb a tree faster than you can say Aldea Infantil! Both of them work to overcome obstacles such as speech impediments and super short attention spans in order to continue learning and furthering their education. These girls are my new little buddies and they latch onto my hand the moment they see me. It is just too much fun spending time with them!

The brothers of house 5 (Janel)

A post from Janel at La Aldea Infantil:

"House 5" is a house full of 8 boys ranging from ages 1 to 16. This week I received three large packages full of goodies from a family I consider my own in Missouri. The packages were filled with books, small toys, arts and crafts, school supplies, and candy all for the children. I haven't seen the kids more excited! The small toy cars immediately caught the boys´ attention. They did everything from racing, trading, and even bartering them. The most interesting and humorous to me was the game of "Where is Obama?" Caesar (16) would line the toy cars like they were parading down a boulevard and Ruben, Jhonatan, and Jose would guess which car President Obama was in. The creativity of these boys is amazing. They make so much out of what they have that when given more they immediately jump at the opportunities.

I am impressed at how well the boys listen to the Tia and are willing and proactive in completing their chores. They have been taught well.

The boys watch out for each other and consider one another family. I asked Miguel if he had any brother or sisters. He told me he had 7. I found out later by talking with the Tia that he has no biological siblings.

Lately at El Bichito (Eliana)

Here is cute little project that the interns at El Bichito came up with to get the kids excited about healthy foods (from Eliana):

The kitchen here is really big and spacious and the walls are almost empty. We decided to ask the children what their favorite fruit, vegetable or food was. Then they began to draw and paint! The pictures were pasted on colored paper and then decorated the walls of the kitchen!
It is a wall full of colors of rich and nourishing things that our children like to eat. Every time they come into the kitchen, they identify their own drawing.

Thanks for the update and photos Eliana!

Miguel's Abilities (Amanda)

Amanda gives us an update on Miguel's abilities (versus his disabilities):

This is Miguel. Miguel is considered mentally handicapped by most people and by all technical standards. I would like to tell you a story about Miguel.
A group of us were playing volleyball--a past time that is rapidly increasing as a favorite of the older kids at the Aldea. Miguel was sitting to the side and I let him play with my camera (also a recent favorite past time of ALL ages of the kids at the Aldea). While we were playing I remember glancing over a time or two and noticed that he was pointing the camera at us as well as all around. He walked over to a Tia and her son nearby and talked to them for a bit. All the while we were playing volleyball. I didn't think too much about it until later that night after dinner when all the kids were in their houses and I sat down to look through my photos of the day. I was amazed! Miguel had not only figured out how to take photos on his own, but also how to record videos! He had received no instruction of any kind from anyone! I know some adults who cannot even figure out how to record videos on my camera and that is afterinstruction! :) Photos and videos taken by Miguel included us playing volleyball, the Tia and her son in obviously planned/choreographed poses, and simple beauties like the moon above. I will have to upload some of his photos to the blog. I sat there amazed. I had fully expected blurred photos of nothing but color like I see when I get my camera back from most of the kids playing with it. Instead Miguel had not only figured out the mechanics of handling a camera, but he was well on his way to mastering the art of becoming a professional photographer.
To some, Miguel may be labeled as something. The world categorizes him as a child with disabilities. To me, Miguel showed great ability! He has taught me that labels are only what the eyes see. What really matters is what is deeper. Gracias Miguel.

Other posts about Miguel are here and here.

El Bichito visits Senati

SENATI is a techinal training college located just outside Banos del Inca for technical careers such as electricians, machinery and engineering. Our awesome interns took the El Bichito kids on a field trip there to help them see the benefits of education. Thirty-six kids were in attendence!




The director took them on a tour of the facility and explained each study program offered by the institution. The director encouraged the students to stay in school and pursue a career.

To complete the tour of SENATI, the kids were taken to eat ice cream in an ice cream shop. Eliana said she loved seeing their happy faces, many of them had never visited an ice cream shop before this.

Once they were back at El Bichito, the children were asked to share their experiences and Eliana said she was happy to hear that many of them want to be future mechanics or engineers. It seems as though this experience has had a great influence on the lives of these children. The interns plan to take the children to a hospital next!

Also, Eliana got SENATI to install a water heater at El Bichito for free! Way to go Eliana!

Thanks to Eliana for the photos and description of this awesome field trip!

Pilar's Quincenera (Hao)

Hao introduces us to Pilar, who lives at La Aldea Infantil:

Pilar is a very nice but shy girl at the Aldea who does well in school and enjoys playing volleyball in the afternoons. On Friday, she just had her Quinceñera, which is a rite of passage in Latin American countries in which a girl symbolically becomes a woman in a ceremony that for some, is as big as, if not bigger than a wedding. She was excited and nervous for it, but seemed to enjoy it a lot even with me as her substitute Padrino (the father figure who is supposed to escort her in and symbolically set her free into the world). Ultimately, I believe that this young woman is more than ready to take on the challenges that the world will now present her.