The Little Bug Expedition - Day One (Pam)

(Note: Our latest expedition left for Peru just after Christmas. Pam has been sending me daily reports - while she's been on several Southern Cross expeditions, this is her first trip to The Little Bug "El Bichito").


It feels at home to be in Peru -- the sounds and the smells and the warmth of the air. Of course, we don't really get a sense of the real Peru until we arrive in the Andes Mountains tomorrow. Lima is a noisy city. People are always out and about. Salsa type music is always playing, and the Peruvians don't mind playing it loudly.

After resting at the hotel for a while today, Wayne, Cameron, and I went out for dinner. We sat OUTSIDE for our meal. I had "pollo y papas fritas" which is always a safe bet. I'm not sure all what Wayne and Cameron ate, but there was a little heart and stomach in the pile of meat. We visited the mall close by, which was very busy for the time of night. Apparently the mall doesn't close until 11:00 pm. That was a good thing because the TSA took my hairspray at the Salt Lake airport and I needed to replace it. There's not a blow dryer at the Manhattan Inn here in Lima, so the hairspray's not going to help anyway. Flat hair tomorrow.

Wayne and I are just loving the warm night air. We have to open the window at the hotel because it is so stuffy inside, and that means that we're privy to all the sounds from the city, including the fun sounds of children playing in the streets.

The bulk of the expedition participants fly in early tomorrow morning, but we do have three flying in late tonight. Thank goodness Cameron (our fearless expedition leader) will be meeting them at the airport. Wayne has done really well with his back. He's hurting quite a bit tonight, but overall, we are amazed how he has faired the trip. It was 17 hours from the time the plane left Salt Lake City to the time we landed in Lima. I slept for the whole 7 hour trip. We stopped at Guatemala so some passengers could disembark and others board the plane, but I wasn't even aware. I woke up as we were flying into Costa Rica. I think that's why I feel so good tonight. Plus the warm weather is kind to my body. By the way, would I have had to have been awake in order to say that I've been to Guatemala? I hope you had a marvelous Boxing Day. Pam

my topsy turvy life...

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Personally, I've been having blogging withdrawals. Although it's a constant pressure that weighs on my shoulders, thinking and writing about the little orphan kids in South America helps me maintain a sense of balance and perspective. It also helps me from becoming totally self-absorbed.

But...I think I need to take a bit more of a blog hiatus. We're remodeling our home (in hopes of bringing one or more of these children from South America into our home - there I said it - it's official) and had to move to another place for a couple of months.

I'm unsettled. In a lot of ways. But I'm also settling.

So please be patient and wait a bit more - I'll introduce you to some more adorable children and tell you some exciting jungle news.

Natalie

meet the other twin...Fany!

Fany is the identical twin to Sofia and the younger sister to Ruben, Jose Antonio, and Benjamin. She likes to play volleyball and climb around on the trees and jugglegym. She is strong and doesn’t cry very much but she also has a soft side. She wants to be a dancer when she grows up.

Flashback Friday (Natalie)

My sister's clothes dryer broke down this week and she's been having a hard time getting someone out to fix it. On a normal basis, she tries to do at least one load a day. With 3 kids and a husband, you can imagine how her laundry is piling up. After spending almost 3 hours in the laundromat her first time, we decided she'd use our dryer.

I can't convince her to just drop off her dirty laundry and let me do both the washing and the drying so she washes a few loads, puts 2 loads of washed clothes in a hamper thing (what IS that called??), loads them into her SUV and drives them down to me. I dry them, fold them and she picks them up when she drops off her next 2 loads of wet clothes.

It's quite a process, but we've got it down. And it's fun seeing my sister every couple of hours throughout a day. We laugh and say things like "how did mom do it with SIX kids?"

So what does this have to do with my Flashback Friday you ask? Well...

Have you ever done laundry for 30+ kids in a third-world country that doesn't have a washing machine, clothes dryer let alone RUNNING WATER?

Let me tell you, THAT is a process. I remember just getting all the kids together with the laundry bags and their laundry tubs was an exhausting task. Then we paraded down the hill about a mile carrying these heavy bags of clothes. Then we washed EACH piece of clothing one by one in freezing river water. The first time we didn't even have enough tubs or hand brushes to go around. And let me tell you, it goes a lot quicker when you have brushes. When you don't, you just hold fabric in each fist and rub the fabric together. The kids would laugh because my fingers were all cut up.

After we got the clothes all washed and rinsed in the (not so clean) river water, we twist and twist the clothes to get as much water out before we hauled the wet clothes back up the hill a mile. Did you know that wet clothes are MUCH heavier than dry clothes?

Then we'd hang the clothes out to dry for the day.

So yes, it's a total pain for my sister to bring her wet clothes to me, but she's got nothing on those Peruvian kids.

meet Daniela!

Daniela is a very responsible teenager. Because of her older age, she happily helps out the tias of the house and says that she likes to work hard. This is true as she works at a bakery in town during the week and then goes to school all weekend so she can graduate with work experience and an accelerated secondary school education. She loves school so much that she wants to be a professor when she grows up too. Daniela has one sister in the Aldea, Elvia.

Flashback Friday (Natalie)

Next Monday my husband and I as well as about 25 other people are getting together to see two special little people. I've been waiting for this reunion for a long, long time.

There are two boys from an orphanage we worked with in Peru who were lucky enough to be adopted by a loving couple earlier this year. Their mom tells me they are adjusting very well. Apparently they LOVED Halloween. But what kid coming from an impoverished third-world country wouldn't? You dress up and then walk around to people's houses and they give you candy??

In fact, I wonder what else they found fascinating about living in the U.S. Once in a while I try to see my world through the children of Peru's eyes. What would they think about Costco? I'm sure they'd love the free samples as much as I do. But what would they think about the giant packs of food? About the Christmas displays already set up? I'm sure they would stare with eyes wide and mouth open at people pushing enormous shopping carts overflowing with food, snacks and a ton of non-essential, non-important STUFF.

As I watch Christmas advertising, I have to stop myself from judging our commercially-minded society. I have to remember that even though a child may have more toys than they will ever need and still want more, that's just how things are here. It doesn't make us bad people - just amazingly fortunate and blessed.

And given the chance, I know every poor child would do the same if given the chance. I guess that's what I want for Christmas - for every poor child to have more food, more toys and especially more LOVE than they will ever need.

meet Luis!

Luis Humberto came to the Aldea when he was ten and is now 17 years old anxiously awaiting his 18th birthday in October. He is in his last year of secondary school and is excited to graduate. Luis likes the career explorations class by the volunteers and has decided he wants to work in international business when he grows up.

meet Ana

Ana first came to the Aldea when she was 2 years old and, after a period out of the Aldea, returned at 13 years old. She recently celebrated her Quineaños in the Aldea with a big party involving everyone in the Aldea including some of her friends from school. Ana enjoys playing sports, especially volleyball. She also enjoys dancing and theatre. Though normally pretty shy, she is very kind to others and makes friends very quickly.

happy birthday LAURA!!

A very happy Halloween birthday to Laura!

Top 10 things I LOVE and ADMIRE about Laura!

10. She has sacrificed time, money, talents, and basically her life to help others.

9. She is GREAT at connecting people.

8. She has a heart of gold.

7. She has a wonderful sense of humor - which has got us through many rough times!

6. She is a dedicated wife, mother and friend.

5. She works tirelessly night and day to help others.

4. She is amazingly talented - have you ever heard her sing??

3. She is also very humble - which is why you may not have heard her sing.

2. She would rather have someone else take the credit - even though she often is the one who deserves it.

1. She is someone to whom I know I can always turn to if I need help - anytime, anywhere, anyplace. I know she'd be there if I needed her.

Thanks for all you do for at-risk children, for Southern Cross and for all of us! Have a wonderful birthday!

meet Sofia!

Sofia has 4 siblings in the Aldea: Fany (her identical twin), Jose Antonio, Benjamin, and Ruben. Her favorite movie is Shrek which is perfect for her because she loves to laugh and play make-believe. She likes to play tag and color pictures with her sister and best friend, Fany, in her free time.

what animal would you like to be? (Brian at Aldea)

Tuesday afternoon was English class which was kind of hectic. I had the translations for the questions that had been made the previous day and asked everyone to pick one question they wanted to learn.

I ended up getting sidetracked with the question, “What animal would you like to be?” and teaching the game King of the Jungle to everyone. We played the game with some really shy kids who wouldn’t participate ‘til peer pressured to do so.

After that we had Art with all the little kids ages 8 and up. A few of the kids from English class stayed to help with Art and I rewarded them with candy for doing so. I ended up drawing for a few of the kids. One picture was a Superman drawing and the other a Spiderman drawing. They loved it and everyone wanted one, which makes me think. These kids would LOVE coloring books! For now though, why not find some drawings online and print them out? I downloaded some drawings and hope they’ll suffice for art this week! Art is so fun! Everyone wants to draw and play and colors get all over the place! It’s a good thing they’re washable.

meet Hector

Hector came to the Aldea in January of 2004 and is now 14 years old. He doesn’t like reggaeton music, like many of his friends, but instead enjoys tradition Peruvian cumbia music.

He is known as the comedian and when he’s not cracking jokes, he is playing soccer and marbles with his friends outside. His favorite food is arroz chaufa.

flashback friday (natalie)

Remember Daniel? He's the REALLY cute kid at the Aldea who needs some medical testing to find out the cause of his challenges. Well, in our last newsletter, we decided to dedicate the money raised from the "Goodsearch" site to Daniel's medical fund.

So I just checked our Goodsearch site, and we already have $33.04 raised in October. It may not seem like much, but Daniel really only needs abouut $100 US to get his testing started, so Goodsearch should do it for us in just a few months at this rate. What's Goodsearch you ask? Well....

Goodsearch is a search engine powered by Yahoo and is dedicated to helping non-profit organizations such as us. You simply go to www.goodsearch.com and enter "Southern Cross Humanitarian" under the "Who do you Goodsearch For" line. If you want to use it as a search engine, we receive a penny per search. But the BEST way to use this site, is to use the Goodshop feature. Everytime I rent a car, book a flight, buy something on Amazon, eBay or a BUNCH of other companies, Southern Cross receives a percentage or a small donation. At first it was a pain to use, but then I downloaded the Goodsearch TOOLBAR and now my searches and my purchases AUTOMATICALLY go to Southern Cross.

It appears from our increase in money earned this month that many of you have answered the call and downloaded the toolbar. Daniel only needs less than 300 soles (about $100 US) worth of medical testing (that we know of so far) and at this rate, we'll definitely have it soon!

To re-read our intern Brian's account of Daniel's need...see below.

Thanks again....keep Goodsearching and Goodshopping!

Natalie

From Brian:

This week, I have noticed a few things. There is a boy named Daniel in the Aldea. He lives in Casa 1 with Tia Alejandrina and a number of younger children. He has some mental difficulties that affect how he behaves. It's not to say he misbehaves and fights with others. Just the opposite. He's socially awkward. He has a hard time listening well and chooses to ignore instructions at times when they are given, especially when he is being corrected for the better by the Tia who runs the house. He needs help. He's a good boy and the Aldea is waiting to accumulate funds to continue running tests on him to see what is wrong.
I talked with the Aldea nurse, Martha, this last week and she says the Aldea needs about 280 soles (about US $97) to continue running tests on him. There are also at least two other children with speaking difficulties who need some specialized attention from a Speech or Occupational Therapist. They are both under ten years of age and are the cutest kids you've ever seen. I know the nurse has seen these kids and that things are not progressing as rapidly as they could. The Aldea needs funding to run these kids through tests to get them to the therapy they need fast and the sooner the better. These two kids are growing up fast and the longer we wait to get help to them, the harder it will be to correct their impediments.

meet Rochi

Rocio, nicknamed “Rochi,” is a 16 year old with lots of personality. She likes to study for her history and social studies classes because she likes to learn about other cultures. Rochi would like to be a psychologist when she grows up.

Meet Alfredo

One of the exciting things about Southern Cross is our partnerships with new homes. Our interns Brian and Carrie have been hard at work taking photos and writing little bits about the kids at Aldea Infantile. So we're proud to introduce you to the children of Aldea....meet Alfredo!

Alfredo is one active little boy. He loves to play on the Aldea’s jungle gym and be thrown in the air by the other kids. He is a 4 year old with no fear. Alfredo loves to learn songs in kindergarten like “Arroz con Leche.” He has a speech impediment like his older sisters, Blanca and Miriam, but he sings happily anyway. He has an adorable smile and a tender heart—though he’ll never admit it!

we need shoes (Brian at Aldea)

ALL of the kids in the Aldea need a pair of good shoes. They all have sandals and some have casual shoes that get them by okay, but many of the kids only have a pair of sandals and maybe some pair of dress shoes for school and that's it. I know of a local church who has scheduled to come out on with donations for the Aldea. The Church will also be putting on activities that entire afternoon for the kids. I had the opportunity to meet with the adults in charge of this effort and recommended the need for shoes and anything else they can come up with. We talked as a group of at least 6 adults for an hour and a half or more about planning the activities, what to look for in donations and how to manage what is donated, and food. The kids are provided for with basics like food, basic clothing, beds, and shelter, but they lack in other areas (shoes, for example, and modest clothes that fit well). The Aldea also has a great opportunity to advertise itself to the community as a quality place that really cares for the kids who call it home, but that it is what it is in part because of the local community. This is EXCELLENT advertising and would build a stronger positive reputation for the Aldea. Thank you for your support and care! We all need more of it here!

our first sponsor for our Aldea kids!

A huge thank you to the children at Paramount Elementary school for sponsoring Blanca at Aldea Infantil!

Blanca is 5 years old and is in her first year of primary school. She loves to do art and to paint and her favorite classes are math and communication. She also has been practicing her cursive and has been doing very well—the tias all agree she has the neatest handwriting in the Aldea. Blanca has a speech impediment which makes her difficult to understand at times but her smile is a language everyone understands.

The students at Paramount Elementary are collecting "Change for Change" so they can earn money for the children of Southern Cross Humanitarian.

Watch for more updates and spotlights on the children coming up. If you're interested in becoming a child sponsor, check our website or shoot us an email. 100% of every sponsorship dollar is sent to South America to help the children.

Thank you for helping us care for these children!

Thursday (Brian at Aldea)

Thursday we taught physical education. They all wanted to play volleyball instead of exercise and stretch out, so we combined the two. If you want the kids to do what you have planned, you have to bend and do what they want to do with them too. Obvious. We stretched and did some basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and wall sits and did several reps of each. Then we played volleyball,

At 5:00ish, I met with Luis to do the Professionalism Class. When I came to help and ask if he was ready to build a resume, he said he had asked about help with homework. The homework he had done with Kayla had been lost or stolen or something! I didn’t know what to think. He’s a good kid but had lost or trashed his homework. I didn’t know if he was using the gringos to pawn off homework, but I helped him out.

While we were cooking in Casa 1, the men outside were harvesting avocados from the tree outside. One of the Tias asked me to get in a picture with the men so I did and shoved avocados up my t-shirt sleeves as biceps for the pic.

English class followed and I reviewed the fruit names and names of the month. We played “Fruit Basket” too to remember the names of the fruits and the kids ate it up!

flashback friday (natalie)

I still remember my first trip to Peru back in June 2006. Laura, Arnold and I decided to add on a trip to the Amazon Jungle prior to our expedition with Southern Cross. Starting with a sketchy prop plane ride into the jungle and landing on a grassy field, to riding for hours on a long boat along the rivers, and then watching monkeys playing over our heads and macaws flying by, it was an amazing trip end to end. But my favorite memory is meeting little children on our many stops along the way.

On one stop, we met two little girls sitting by the river. With our limited Spanish, we couldn’t communicate with them so we did what tourists do. We took out our digital cameras and took pictures. I think it was the first time those little girls had ever seen a digital camera. The look of amazement and delight on their shy faces when we showed them their photos was like that Visa commercial…priceless.

On this and every trip since, that is one of the children’s favorite pastimes. Looking at photos on cameras. On a recent trip, I took it one step further. I brought my laptop and camera to the children’s dance rehearsal. I would video the kids dancing and then immediately download the videos to my laptop so just minutes after they danced, they could watch themselves on my laptop. Soon a dozen or so kids were climbing all over me trying to see the magic on my laptop screen. We had the kids take turns watching the videos. I can still see their little faces as they watched themselves dancing. I can still hear their laughter and their little voices as they yelled “there’s Maria! There’s Joel!”

I miss those little faces, the voices, and the laughter. Along with the memories, I brought those pictures and videos home with me. And from time to time you can catch me with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes as I look at the pictures and watch the videos on my magical laptop.

candy or competition? (Brian at Aldea)

Last Thursday I went and helped with the strawberry harvest in the Aldea’s farm for an hour. It was fun to get dirty and sample some of the Aldea’s homegrown food! Really tasty! I look forward to helping em out even more as time goes by!

After an hour of helping there, I went back to play with the young children who weren’t yet it school. They just wanted to play on the swing for an entire hour. I just stood there and pushed Eunis. He’s new here at the Aldea and can’t talk. Just says, “Eh?” when he doesn’t understand, nothing at all when he does, or a more positive sound when he does. We played for an hour on the swing.

After lunch was English class. We reviewed pronunciation of the twelve months of the year in English. I gave away a dozen M&M’s, skittles, and starburst combination to the kids who pronounced the months correctly in English. Not a bad idea but when candy runs out, what then? I decided not to use candy as much but to make games for learning. The kids LOVE competition.

An Interns "To Do List" (Brian at Aldea)

(Note: interested in being an intern at one of our homes? Our interns teach skills and provide invaluable loving care for the children. But it is work! Here is Brian's to do list...)

To do this week:

-Prepare houses, sheets, showers, meal schedule, etc for volunteers who are to come this next week.
-Meal schedule especially for next month since Margarita will be out on vacaciones for the month of September.
-run classes as requirements (phys ed, dance, English, career prep)
-create resume guide and interview tips for kids on paper for career prep
-Translate and print out copies of each recipe in Carpeta for Tías in Aldea
-Birthday party for Aldea on the 28th
-Games for English class like Imitations, long-term projects the kids can work on by themselves and rewards for completing hard goals.
Pass off English verbs 20 at a time to only have to meet with kids 5 times to reach 100 memorized and mastered verbs. Which verbs?
- To make, to do
- To should
- To want
- To eat
- To sleep
- To laugh
- To love
- To be and to be (ser and estar in Esp)

a day in the life of an intern at aldea (brian)

So today was a full day. I have a lot to do here this week still! Today I did some English teaching, we’re making Mud Puddles this Friday as a dessert with the Tias. I enjoy it and it gets people really excited and the Tias here LOVE cooking new things!

I went to all the houses and told everyone about today’s plan and had about six kids show up for English Club. We learned basic fruit names in English and people who memorized the fruits we revised were given a candy. I used Kayla and Della’s fruit pictures and names to teach. I wish I had had more kids there and more of a fun game to play instead of just a lesson with a candy as a reward. I have a mini project for the weekend now!

I have an idea about what to do for the Physical Education classes I’ll be doing here. I need to find a scale and measuring tape. I’ll take measures of everyone’s arms and get everyone’s weight and note it all down on paper. As we go exercising throughout the semester, learning how to stretch, build muscle, gain strength, and maintain good health, we’ll record how the kids do so they can mark and monitor their own progress. We’ll have prizes for each child to meet along the way as motivators to continue exercising on their own initiative and get in shape. Prizes will have to be exercise related. Hmmmmm….something cheap and valuable. water bottles, headbands…

I also learned that the boys here LOVE to play around with the girls their age and flirt. If given the chance, they’ll do it without hesitating for a second.

After English, just the girls here and I practiced “Thriller” and then I taught Country swing. It was fun.

Then I went outside and played volleyball for a bit with the girls. I went around asking the Tias if anyone in each house needed help with homework. Only one child asked for help with spelling in Spanish. Everyone else had finished class and homework.

I’m bushed.

reflections (brian at aldea infantil)

When am I really going to realize how incredibly blessed I am?

I was born to parents who love and teach their kids. I am going to school at an elite private university where education services and opportunities are available without parallel elsewhere in the world. I know how to access the truth and have a long long long long long long long ways to go before I will understand and comprehend how to use it, though I am trying to scratch the surface now.

I belong to a family where quarrelling, anger, spite, contention, and hate are not fostered; rather, love, charity, respect, patience, long-suffering, tolerance, brotherly kindness, forgiveness, faith, hope, service, selflessness, positivity, and sympathy and empathy are taught among many other values. I have family and friends who love and care for me without being asked. I am prayed for daily on multiple levels. I have a family who is willing to sacrifice for me to provide the brightest kind of future for me that it can.

I am currently learning how to love more than I thought I could before.

to me, this is what it's all about... (natalie)

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to our annual banquet last Friday! I loved seeing friends from past expeditions and meeting new friends.

Thanks to everyone's generosity, we raised money which will be used for the construction of The Little Bug. Right now, The Little Bug (El Bichito) is a drop-in center, but we are helping them convert it to a home.

We had both a silent and live auction. Both fun. After the auctions, we told the story about little Delia shown here. Delia is one of our El Bichito children and she came for a medical exam with the doctors on our summer expeditions. They found a fairly large tumor in her ear that needs to be removed. Telling someone down there that they "need to see a doctor" does no good. They don't have the money so they simply won't see a doctor.

Last Friday we outbid each other for Jazz tickets, for vacation packages, for chocolates and other goodies. But when we simply asked people to help us pay for Delia's surgery without anything in return, several hands went up.

And that's when I cried.

So thank you. Thank you Annette Bell, Morgan Humphries, Ron Steele, Grant Southworth and Wayne and Pam Merrill. Thank you for taking care of Delia.

And I WILL keep you informed of Delia's progress.

Our 1st Expedition Winner!

Congratulations to Karen Auman who won our first drawing for a FREE expedition! We'll be doing another drawing tonight at our 3rd Annual Banquet - if you still want to get in on the drawing, send me an email at natalie@sxhu.org.

For every 20 entries, we pick a winner - so you have a 1 in 20 chance of winning!

We're excited for our banquet tonight. We're raising money for the kids at the Little Bug and for a few of the medical needs including Delia's ear operation and Daniel's testing.

Thanks to all for your support and for helping us take care of these little ones!

Natalie

Daniel (Brian at Aldea)

This week, I have noticed a few things. There is a boy named Daniel in the Aldea. He lives in Casa 1 with Tia Alejandrina and a number of younger children. He has some mental difficulties that affect how he behaves. It's not to say he misbehaves and fights with others. Just the opposite. He's socially awkward. He has a hard time listening well and chooses to ignore instructions at times when they are given, especially when he is being corrected for the better by the Tia who runs the house. He needs help. He's a good boy and the Aldea is waiting to accumulate funds to continue running tests on him to see what is wrong.

I talked with the Aldea nurse, Martha, this last week and she says the Aldea needs about 280 soles (about US $97) to continue running tests on him. There are also at least two other children with speaking difficulties who need some specialized attention from a Speech or Occupational Therapist. They are both under ten years of age and are the cutest kids you've ever seen. I know the nurse has seen these kids and that things are not progressing as rapidly as they could. The Aldea needs funding to run these kids through tests to get them to the therapy they need fast and the sooner the better. These two kids are growing up fast and the longer we wait to get help to them, the harder it will be to correct their impediments.

(Note from Natalie: we are creating a new medical fund at Southern Cross. If you'd like to donate to the medical fund for Delia or Daniel, please contact Natalie at natalie@sxhu.org or Laura at laura@sxhu.org or simply donate on our website. 100% of your medical fund donations will be used for the children - you can even specify which child you would like to help. Thank you!)

Live Archeology Dig! (intern Brian at Aldea)

Trujillo, Peru: While in Peru this past summer working as an intern for Southern Cross Humanitarian, I, along with Della Humphries and Kayla Barclay, had the opportunity to take part in a live archaeological dig.

During a weeks time, I gained a better understanding of Peruvian culture, both ancient and modern.

Under the supervision of the Head Archeologist, Doctor Cristobal Campana, we were able to be witnesses to the uncovering of ancient Peruvian relics including the uncovering of a human sacrifice. During this time we also helped the Peruvian people on both a national and local level.



At the archeological site the directors have created a program where children come to view their ancient ancestry and take part of it so that they will be culturally aware of the importance that these discoveries have in their lives.

We accompanied one such group of children through the archeological site and participated with them in discovering their heritage. Perhaps the most important thing that was accomplished was when Kayla used her title as Miss Utah 2008 to promote local and national involvement in the archaeology. Although interest in such archaeological endeavors has decreased amongst the Peruvian population in recent years, the archeologists were able to promote interest by showing that Miss Utah and other "gringos" were taking time out of their lives to learn more about the national heritage of Peru. In these ways we helped the Peruvian people while at the Archeological site of Chan Chan."

win a free expedition! (natalie)

If you've ever wanted to go on an expedition, but thought you couldn't afford it, here's your chance!

For each $100 donation between now and next Wednesday, you will be entered into a drawing for a Free Expedition. Expeditions are $1850 and do not include airfare. For every 20 entries we will draw a winner!

To buy a donation ticket:

· Go to Southern Cross website at www.sxhu.org under Donations and fax or mail in donation form with number of tickets (Fax:801-397-5579) (Address:1492 S. 800 W. Suite A., Woods Cross, UT 84087)
· Call the office and give your information over the phone (801-397-5578)
· Go to our Paypal account and send in donation with contact information
Pre-banquet winners will be drawn next Wednesday at our Executive Meeting and announced via email that very day!

Good luck!!
Natalie

we need shoes! (Brian)

ALL of the kids in the Aldea need a pair of good shoes. They all have sandals and some have casual shoes that get them by okay, but many of the kids only have a pair of sandals and maybe some pair of dress shoes for school and that's it. I know of a local church who has scheduled to come out on with donations for the Aldea. The Church will also be putting on activities that entire afternoon for the kids. I had the opportunity to meet with the adults in charge of this effort and recommended the need for shoes and anything else they can come up with. We talked as a group of at least 6 adults for an hour and a half or more about planning the activities, what to look for in donations and how to manage what is donated, and food. The kids are provided for with basics like food, basic clothing, beds, and shelter, but they lack in other areas (shoes, for example, and modest clothes that fit well). The Aldea also has a great opportunity to advertise itself to the community as a quality place that really cares for the kids who call it home, but that it is what it is in part because of the local community. This is EXCELLENT advertising and would build a stronger positive reputation for the Aldea. Thank you for your support and care! We all need more of it here!

it takes a village (natalie)

That old saying is so true. Let me share my village story with you...

For about three years now, we've been sponsoring a boy named Wilfredo. I've talked about him before, but he is such a gentle, quiet boy. He was abused as a child and doesn't have any parents. He is a hard worker and just wants to be a good boy.

Earlier in the summer, another expedition group called Wings World Wide went to the orphanage. Wings World Wide is a non-profit group that does free dental work - a wonderful group of people. I emailed April, one of the expedition members, and asked how things went. She told me that Wilfredo had broken off half of his front tooth and they tried to salvage it, but weren't able to and had to pull it. He was now missing one of his top front teeth. She said he needed to be taken to a local dentist to have a bridge put in.

Another friend went down to the orphanage a month later and saw Wilfredo. She said he was so embarrassed that he would't look at anyone and wouldn't smile. He didn't want his picture taken either. That broke my heart. She tried taking him to the dentist but wasn't able to while she was there.

Another month went by and another expedition went down. I emailed four expedition members and asked them to take Wilfredo to the dentist. They took him and he ended up getting a root canal and a bridge put it (and all for $280 which I thought was a great bargain). Jenni and Kathy also took him to lunch and had a sweet little conversation with him. Here is Kathy's email:

...He continued eating, then stopped and said, "Natalie, Jenni and Kathy take care of me like they are my mother, and I have never had a mother." I could barely hold back the tears. It was a very neat experience--one of many incredible experiences I've had on this trip.

So thank you April, Chuck, Jenni and Kathy. Thank you for taking care of the children. I couldn't have done it without you.

ps: the photo above is Wilfredo with his new tooth!

pps: Wilfredo and other Sunflower children can be sponsored through Generations Humanitarian.

A little more about Aldea Infantile (Carrie)

During our time this summer in the Aldea, one girl was adopted by a nice family from Italy. This is the first adoption they have had in 20 years! The orphanage is supposed to be a temporary living place for children, aiming for no more than 2 years, but unfortunately most of the children have been there more than 2 years and many have been there their whole lives. We wanted the website to help with the adoption process so the children can have families and homes that are more than just temporary. Also, I saw how a few benefitted from having sponsors in Peru, just having someone who sent them clothes, goodies,or cards on their birthday, and I wanted to set up a Sponsor-a-Child program with the United States so every child could know someone, somewhere out there is thinking of them. I don't have quick, easy answers to these problems but I know I want to help and maybe you do too. I also know that millions of people out there believe in that a “global” village raises a child. We need more willing hands and open hearts to help the Aldea Infantil, or the Children’s Village of Peru. Hopefully the volunteers of Southern Cross can help be a part of this equation.

Web address for the Aldea Infantil: www.regionlalibertad.gob.pe/aldeainfantil English version coming soon!

To sign up to be a child sponsor, please go to our website: www.southerncrosshumanitarian.org or email natalie@sxhu.org.

Thank you!

Come help Delia! (Natalie)

Among the many fun items that will be auctioned at our 3rd Annual Banquet coming up on Friday, Sept 25th, is a chance to help little Delia.

If any of you read the blog during the summer, you might remember a report from our summer expedition to The Little Bug. We had doctors on that expedition who examined the kids (and many adults) and they found one little girl who needs surgery as soon as possible to remove a large tumor in her ear.

We've been trying to find an ear doctor who could go down and help Delia, but we decided that we'll try to earn the money for her operation and have the local doctors operate on her. Past operations on children have been about $500 or so, so it's FAR below U.S. costs.

So come and play for a child at our golf tournament. Come and be a part of our auction for a child. Come and be a part of Delia's life.

(Note: see our website www.sxhu.org for banquet details or email me at natalie@sxhu.org.)

A little info about Aldea Infantil (Carrie)

(Note: Our intern Carrie has since returned from her summer at the Aldea, but she is continuing to help us spread the word that there are kids here who need your help!)

The Aldea Infantil is an orphanage that is home to nearly 70 children outside of the colonial city of Trujillo, Peru on the northern coast. It is set up like a small community (Aldea Infantil translates to"children's village") with 10 houses to house children, interns, and supplies. The Aldea also has an office, nursing station, library, kindergarten, and a variety of sports fields. They are known for their strawberry and avocado production. They also raise guinea pig, chickens, sheep and have a start to their own dairy. All of the Aldea Infantil children attend school--including those who are special needs. In fact, it is the only children's home in the area to send special needs children to school. The Aldea Infantil also encourages children to learn trades or gain work experience so some girls attend cosmetology classes during the week and others spend every day gaining work experience in a bakery and attend speed-schooling programs on the weekends. This orphanage is one of the most well-known and most successful in the country--of course I wanted to tell people about it! I built the website for the Aldea Infantil this past summer so I could tell the world about its achievement and invite others to become a part of something great. While this children's home is one of the most exceptional in the country of Peru, it still is not at its very best. This is where Southern Cross can help.

The Best Experience of My Life (Natalie)

(Note: Natalie is another one of our summer expedition members...)

I had the best experience of my life in Peru. I went there not quite knowing what it would be like and I am a little high maintenance but as soon as I saw those kids at El Bichito, I fell in love with them and it seemed like nothing else mattered.

I am a dental hygienist and so it was my job to give all the kids dental exams and TMJ screenings. Most all of the kids had dental decay. We actually decided that the most prevalent disease among all of the kids was dental caries. But there wasn't much we could do.

At the El Bichito the kids would come up on the second floor of the building which had no roof and no privacy. There we would have them sit on kitchen chairs or benches and using flashlights, give the exams.

All of this was going on while others in our group along with volunteers from Porcon were building brick walls to start finishing the second level. That is not a very good environment for doing invasive dental treatment.

Hopefully there will be a dental and medical group that go so that they can do something to help. They desperately need it!The kids were so patient with the surroundings and also with all of us who only knew patchy spanish. It was fun to see them laughing at us when we said something wrong! But they helped us to learn how to say new things and I found out that they really love "football" i.e. soccer. We were also able to give them oral hygiene instruction- Mainly just how to brush their teeth- then we passed out toothpaste and toothbrushes. We had all the kids gather in a big group outside and then a few of us demonstrated brushing technique while Carmeron interpreted. I think it was pretty fun for all of us. We had one big toothbrushing party.

I hope that one day I can return to El Bichito to see the progress on the building and to spend more time with those wonderful, sweet kids. This experience has changed my life.

The Little Bug (by Michelle)

(Note: This is from Michelle who was on our June 09 expedition to The Little Bug.)

I was able to be a part of the first group ever that went to the El Bichito. I have to say that the effort that is put into helping those children is truly amazing and the kids are very deserving of it! Many of the kids were very sweet and willing to do anything that we asked of them as we poked and prodded them for their physical. It was very sweet to see them warm up to us and ultimately let down their guards and play games with us. I loved seeing all of the smiling faces and couldn't help but take pictures of them all! My favorite part was sitting with a group and taking their picture several times while showing them after each one how beautiful they are. Their entire face lit up when they would see themselves. I know without a doubt that the new addition to the El Bichito is for a worthy cause and those children will benefit greatly. I loved my experience there so much that I would love to go back to see my friends again and see the good of what became of something I got to help start!

PS: Remember our banquet on Fri. Sept 25th at Thanksgiving Point. See our website www.southerncrosshumanitarian.org for more info!

fun stuff ahead... including our 3rd Annual Banquet!!

I've received a LOT of fun stories and photos from our interns lately, so stay tuned for those updates - I'll have those up next week.

In the meantime, we would love to invite you to our 3rd Annual Banquet on Friday, Sept 25th at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. This year we're combining it with a golf tournament (the rumor is our new board member Kate Keethler is flying in from Chicago to take the tournament).

So come and join us - it will be great fun! For more, see our website: http://www.sxhu.org/ or call Pam for info on the banquet at 435-790-3013 or call Kenny for info on the golf tournament 801-557-0048.

Oh, and if you have something you'd like to donate for our auction, you can email me at smartnatalie@hotmail.com. We have some great items already, but need more! We'll market your product or company in appreciation for your donation.

Thanks for your support! We hope to raise enough money to finish off the dorm rooms at The Little Bug - there are kids waiting for rooms...

Natalie

we'll be back...I promise!

So I've been very negligent in updating our blog...But I've received some great stories and photos from our interns, so stay tuned! I'm going to be on hiatus for another week or so and then we'll be back!

We've got some great things going on both down in South and North America.
Thanks for all your support....it means everything to the children.

Natalie

Our great trip to El Bichito (Julie)

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been more than a month since our great trip to El Bichito. Traveling with our Southern Cross expedition group was truly an incredible experience. What a great group to travel with! Under the leadership of Cameron and Laura we all had a great time and appreciated the unique and memorable experience that they made possible. We were the first expedition to Porcon and to El BIchito. We were all inspired by the beauty of the people of Porcon and children of El Bichito. My daughter Emalia and I had an incredible experience, it will truly make a difference in our lives.

As a nurse I have years of experience working in Public Health, but nothing compares to the feeling seeing the good work that Southern Cross is doing for the Children of El Bichito. We accomplished a lot in our few days of hard work and were able to provide some very basic health care for the children. But more is needed. We need to see if we can provide follow-up for a 5 year old that needs an ENT to evaluate a mass in her ear. Hopefully our efforts of raising money at the garage sale will be a start.

Let's continute our efforts and not forget these special children now that we are back home.

I look forward to the reunion of our expedition members and continue our efforts!
Julie

The Little Bug (Chelsea)

(Note: Chelsea was on our June expedition to El Bichito - The Little Bug)

El Bichito is a special place. It is a drop-in center, meaning that it is a safe place for poor children to come to have a healthy filling lunch, and get their homework done. When we arrived we were very anxious to meet the children. We had the opportunity to move bricks to facilitate the building of the walls on the second story. We were fortunate to have a Doctor, Nurse, and a Dental Hygienist with us. They did health screenings and created medical records for the children at El Bichito. The children were rewarded with sublime chocolate and stickers. The greatest concern was the large number of dental problems seen in this group of children. Toothbrushes and toothpaste were handed out. The children were also given instruction on how to brush their teeth properly and they were encouraged to brush often. The greatest pleasure was interacting with them, and seeing the smiles on their face. We spent the last day with them playing games on the grass. We taught them partner tag and red light green light. Jump roping and volleyball were also popular activities. The line for ice cream was very long, but I think all the children felt that it was worth the wait.

It is exciting to see the service provided at this facility. We are excited to see it's progress in the future.

Quick Internship at Aldea (Joanna)

(Note: Joanna is an intern who went to Aldea Infantile for a couple of weeks. She sent us a quick report about what she did in her few weeks there.)

At the school in Porcon, we assisted in the English classes everyday
and also taught Physics to the older students twice a week. The best
way we could help with English was in pronunciation. We played lots of
games with the kids to get them excited and more involved in the
lessons, which covered everything from family relationships to colors
and numbers. In the physics classes, we covered basic laws and did lots
of practice with vectors. It was a very rewarding experience.

The Children at The Little Bug (Laura)

These are just a few of the 81 children who come to the El Bichito for daily meals. According to the principal at the local school, Carlos, these meals have made a huge difference in the academics this year. He stopped by just to say "thank you" when he saw us gringos working there.

The smiles on these children's faces weren't as evident when we came at the beginning of the week. They couldn't quite understand why we were there or what we were doing, but they soon realized we were there to help and warmed up quickly. The big break through came when Randy, one of the men on the trip, went all out playing tag in the grassy area we rented next door to the El Bichito. The kids got the giggles when they saw Randy run as fast as he could to catch them, reach out for the "tag", miss and fall to the ground rolling and spinning! No wonder they all started making sure Randy was "it".

Mother of 67 (Carrie at Aldea)

I’ve made lots of new friends while here on my internship—like Clare and Becca (the other interns from Great Britain), Leticia (my teenage Spanish maestra), and Luis (my teenage pastry chef)—but perhaps some of the best relationships I’ve built here are those with the tias.

First off, I’m convinced that the tias are angels. They work 5 days on (working, sleeping, eating, living in the Aldea) and then 2 days off so they literally spend more time with the Aldea children than with their own. What’s amazing is they don’t do it with resentment; instead they take these children in as if they were their own. How noble to be a mother to 67 children! Angels, exactly.

Mami Olga in casa 10 (girls ranging from 8-16) is one of those busy,angelic tias. The only time tias get to rest (even a little) is after dinner while children are cleaning up and getting ready for bed, but even then Mami Olga is spending time with the children, helping with homework, or teaching trades. This week while eating in her house I got to see her teach Peruvian traditional dances to the girls, one from the jungle and one from the plains, to perform at a birthday party. Even in her possible downtime she is working to help these children to grow to well-rounded adults.

I have learned a lot from my friendships here—British words, more Spanish words, and how to bake a Peruvian cake—but some of the greatest lessons haven’t been formally taught. Mami Olga teaches by example and I hope one day to be like her. A cook, a teacher, a seamstress, and a mother (maybe not to 67 but hopefully at least one). Until then I will be the pupil watching the angels at work.

Princess Antonina (Carrie at Aldea)

One of my projects here is to build a website for the Aldea so the world can see how wonderful our children are! It’s not finished yet so, for now, these lovely, little blog updates will have to do. I want to share with everyone one of my favorite little dolls here in the Aldea: Antonina. Antonina is 4 years old, has chipmunk cheeks, ponytails, and a permanent smile. She is nicknamed Princesa (Princess) because she really is one. When other kids throw temper tantrums, whine, or disagree with one another, Antonina doesn’t. She is so mild tempered that I’ve never heard her cry, yell, or whine—how unfortunate that I can’t say that for some of the other 4 year olds!

Antonina is also incredibly fortunate because she is sponsored by the vice president of the state of La Libertad. He brings her goodies, hugs, and new clothes whenever he can. She’s always very excited to see him. With him being such an important man, maybe this makes her even more of a princess.

Now here is my shameless plug for child sponsorships. Unfortunately, not all of the children are as lucky as Antonina. They do not have padrinos (godparents) to bring them sweets, little toys, or no clothes. They don’t have someone to visit them on their birthday or send them a card. You certainly don’t have to be an important person like vice president Napoleon to sponsor a child. Anyone can and the kids would be more than happy to have even just someone. As volunteers in the Aldea, we do our best to be their somebodies but sometimes it’s just not enough. If you read this and want to be somebody’s someone, then consider sponsoring a child like Antonina. Nothing would make me happier than to see the other little ones in the Aldea that I consider little royalty to have padrinos and madrinas so they, too, can feel like a prince or a princess.

notice anything different? (natalie)

So, you might have noticed a few changes around our blog. Since we've added a few additional homes to the Southern Cross family, we changed the name of our blog. If you've bookmarked our blog address - please take a minute to change it.


Also, you might notice the Sunflower postings are missing. While Southern Cross still has interns down at the Sunflower who are taking care of the children, the child sponsorships are now going through another organization called Genhu. It seems there has been some confusion during this transition so Leo, the director of The Sunflower, asked us to remove the Sunflower postings.


I love the Sunflower and the children there. I know Leo, the staff and the interns are caring for the children. Hopefully there will be a new Sunflower blog soon, but for now, enjoy the stories from Aldea Infantil and The Little Bug.


My grandpa used to tell me that a child's cry is the same in any language. How true that is. We're just getting to know these children at Aldea and The Little Bug. How adorable they are, how resiliant they are and how deserving of help they are. Stay tuned as we share their stories...

The fun stuff on an Expedition (Laura)

This afternoon we played with the kids in the lawn area we "rented" next door. Two hours cost 10 soles (3 soles is about one US dollar).

After the games we got ice-cream for all the kids (so much for the dental hygiene lectures!) from a local guy we saw pedaling by yesterday with whom we made arrangements with for today. He was thrilled! Most of the kids have had very little ice-cream, so Felicianna, the home director, said this is what they'd enjoy most.

We played volleyball, a little soccer but the big hit was a tag game where we rotated partners. At first the children were hesitant to play, but after seeing Randy Jenson (one of the men in our group) run as fast as he could, roll and tumble after a near grab, they all warmed up quickly! We played that for over an hour until the adults got too tired to continue!

Man, it was great seeing the kids laugh, play and giggle!

Visit from the Humphries (Jason at Aldea Infantile)

I really enjoyed the visit this week from the Humphries family. They are humble and very caring people. They don't even speak Spanish and they donated their time, a couple of cows, their money (to come to Peru) and their family (a couple of their sons are serving here in Peru at different sites).



They didn't care so much to see the cows they donated as to see and spend time with the children and to take their pictures to cherish those memories for years. But, the most touching was when Mr. Humphries was asked to give some words at a meeting with the children and some of the tias that work their. He cried as he said that as he looked into the eyes of the children he could see the goodness and light in them.

I am sure that some of these children feel a loss, not having the traditional nuclear family, but they do still have that light in them. I hope that after this internship I will see them again, just as Mr. Humphries wished.

Birthday Wishes (Carrie at Aldea Infantil)

So my birthday was Monday but I didn’t get back to the Aldea until Tuesday night due to a hospital check up for my stomach (I'll spoil the ending and say that I'm all better now).

Cakes are different here so I wanted to learn how to make a traditional Peruvian cake, and what better opportunity than my own birthday cake? This week I’ve been eating in the adolescent boy casa and making a cake with 10 hovering, hungry vulchers (I mean, boys) was definitely difficult. We put the cake in the oven pretty late at night with most of the boys asleep and it was going to take 2 hours to bake so Luis, the oldest boy and my head chef, told me he’d take it out and I could come eat it in the morning. I showed up to the casa the next morning excited to have a breakfast of something other than bread and milk but ALL of the cake had been eaten except for 2 tiny pieces—one for me, the other for Rebecca, Clare, and Jason to share—and no one left in the house. Haha, I should have known better than to leave a perfectly good cake in a house full of teenage boys. At least later the boys said they enjoyed it and I enjoyed it too, the thievery and all.

I wasn’t the only one with a birthday this week though. Ana Quesada turned 15 on Thursday and we all had a huge fiesta for her quincenera. In Hispanic culture, turning 15 is a huge turning point in a girl’s life—it’s when she closes the door of adolescence and enters into womanhood. Quinceneras are full of cake (the boys waited patiently), speeches, and waltzes with the audience clapping off beat (ever tried clapping to a waltz?). The decorations were beautiful, Ana was dolled up by the tias, and everyone had a great time.

My favorite part of the night was 7 year old Jenifer leaning into me and asking, “Will I look just as pretty as Ana when I turn 15?”

Though I won't be here to see Jenifer or the other little girls turn 15, it was still adorable to see them watch Ana waltz with her older brother and dream of when they too can wear lipstick, pretty dresses, and dance a special dance on a day just for them. “Yes, you most definitely will,” I said.

Actually, I lied, that's a party I won't want to miss.

Photo Captions:

Ana is normally pretty shy but she really lit up when everyone sang her birthday song and then she got to cut that gorgeous, glorious cake.

It's tradition that the birthday girl dance with every man in the room. Yeah, it takes a long time and some "men" are still just awkward boys.

Our directora, Blanca, giving a wonderful speech about Ana to everyone.

Ana being escorted by her brother, Walter.