El Bichito: Local volunteers

December 2
By Sunny Hicken

Something that has been great at El Bichito this last month or so is the help we have been getting from the local people. Some days I’ll have a mom come in to help with an activity, and other days we’ve had volunteers come help in other ways.  Here is a neighbor, Rosana helping with reading.

Gloria is a teacher we met who came to play math games with the kids. A woman who used to be a teacher has been coming on Tuesdays and teaching jewelry making and sneaking in some other lessons as well. One week she left a book and asked all the kids the read it.

 The next week, she brought her kids, and they put on a puppet show about the story, and she gave out small prizes to kids who could answer questions about it. It was awesome. We had a great group of kids all paying attention!

Another ongoing activity the kids enjoy here is jumping rope. Some kids come asking for a jump rope (“Una soga, por favor!”) before they even eat, but we tell them they have to eat and do homework first. Then when we get out the jumpropes, I ask them if they want me to say the rhyme in Spanish or English when they jump, and now several of them can say it in English themselves. It goes like this:

Tell me how many fish
Are there in the ocean:
1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

This way they practice counting in English. When they stop jumping, we ask what number it was in the other language. Here is the rhyme in Spanish:

Dime cuantos peces
Hay en el océano
1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

(To give crédito where crédito is due, I learned this rhyme from a bilingual song tape—yes, I got it a long time ago, it’s a cassette tape—called “Lyric Language” by Family Circus. It’s still around, I think.)

Columbia: Week 2 post from McCall

By McCall Plummer

July 18
This past week we sat down with the kids and facilitated a discussion on the effects of smoking.  It was well received and most of the children participated, but I was particularly impressed with the comments that Jose made.  He was the first to suggest that smoking heavily can lead to serious health problems including cancer. Also, he along with many others told us about the people in their life that struggle with this addiction.  It was exciting to see a kid like Jose engaged in the conversation.  It makes it all worth it! 

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: 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!

El Bichito: Meet Maria Alida

By Anna, an intern at El Bichito.

What an incredible feeling to watch a young girl take such a positive step in her life.  Maria Alida began her prep classes for University admission this week in Cajamarca.  Anna, Sandro, Alida's mother and I, all took her in to meet the professor and embark on a life-changing path.  Many of the young women her age and from her small rural town, Pullyucana, have already had children by this time.  In a lot of ways they have lost their chance at a University education.  Maria Alida is a dedicated, hardworking, and fun-loving young 17 year old girl who was working at her Uncle's restaurant in Pullyucana to try and raise money for school.  This will be her last year in secondary, or high school, and then she plans to seek a degree in civil engineering.  With the help of Eagle Condor, and their mentorship program, she receives money to take these classes and to commute to Cajamarca every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  I can't wait to see what the future holds for this bright young girl.

I have always had a passion for international development and serving those less fortunate in different parts of the world.  I have done construction projects, school lessons, and donated numerous amounts of school and medical supplies.  Though these are extremely beneficial, I am convinced that what I saw with Alida this week is the most successful and best way to truly fight poverty.  Giving someone an education is giving them a life.  The professor talked to Alida about his expectations.  He told her it would be difficult, and she would be the youngest girl in the class.  He too, was passionate about seeing her succeed.  He expressed his love for educating young Cajamarquinos and told Alida that hopefully with her education, she can go back to her hometown and help others find the same success.  She may be just one girl, but if this proves lucrative, Eagle Condor wants to provide more scholarships for the children that come to El Bichito.  If one or two kids a year has a chance at an education, think of the impact they will have on the youth in Pullyucana.  Kids will be inspired to learn and strive for good grades, because they will have a foreseeable tool to get to college.  Alida is an example to all of the persistence it takes to fulfill your dreams.  Thanks to Eagle Condor, she is now one step closer.

Watching Alida's mother as she beamed with pride, might have been the most touching part of my week.  Her mother is a stalwart farmer who has made so many sacrifices for her kids to live close enough to go to school.  Even her mother isn't entirely literate, and has spent her life farming and raising her kids.  She is a beautiful and warm woman, and I was so touched by how grateful she was for Alida's opportunity.  Their family is poor and rural, but now Alida has a chance to improve her circumstances.  If there is one thing I do this whole 4 months, I hope it can be to support and encourage Alida and her family through this process.  Then, I will feel that I have truly made a difference.

El Bichito: Full of light & happiness

The following is written by Anna, an intern at El Bichito:

Things are picking up at El Bichito this week.  Anna Gleave and I, the other intern have had the incredible opportunity to spend the past week really getting to know the children.  We have personally asked each of them about the lives, their hobbies, and what they want to be when they grow up.  We are trying to get an analysis on their health and family situations as well.  We plan to make a file for each child, with their information and picture, in order to keep better track of their progress, and to help future interns.  What a treat to spend one-on-one time with each of these kids.  They are full of light and happiness.

The focus this week was on nutrition and healthy eating habits.  Anna Gleave did a great job teaching the children about vitamins, protein, and where we find these in our foods.  We bought a bunch of mangos from the local market in Cajamarca, brought them to the center, and incorporated them into the daily meal as a desert.  The kids were thrilled and we hope to do this often in the future.

Collaborating with Feliciana we finally solidified a system to complete the backpacks we have been sewing for the kids.  I think I have now mastered the sewing machines that were brought by the last expedition, and I hope to soon help other women in the village learn how to use them.  A lady dropped in with her son for lunch one day and appeared extremely interested, so I am exciting to get going on that.

My focus this week has been on math and reading.  The kids are on summer vacation, so its crucial they keep their multiplication and other mathematic skills sharp.  I drew a giant calculator out of chalk outside with numbers from 1 to 9.  I would yell out an equation such as 3 times 2, and they would have to jump as fast as they could on the correct number.  I was so impressed how quick these children are.  Never would I have thought they would beg me the next day to play "multiplications."

We told the kids that if they read an entire book, drew a picture of the story line, and wrote a couple sentences about what they learned, they would receive one of our backpacks.  Edgar, above, was our first successful candidate.  He could barely contain his excitement as he vividly related to me what happened in his story.  The most fulfilling aspect of this experience was his desire to then start another book.

I am excited to continue to work with these kids and get them ready to return to school.  I can't wait for the future projects to come.

Aldea Infantil: Isaac

The following is a post from Shayla, who is volunteering at La Aldea Infantil:

Like Isaac, all of the niños in Aldea are learning to write. It is so comforting to hold a child in my arms and teach them something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

I believe that all children should have the opportunity to learn. I brought mini notebooks for all of the kids to have so they can practice their writing. Having something new to work with has motivated them to practice. Every day, I see different kids practicing their writing. Some even practicing in English! Knowing two different languages can open different job opportunities, and even confirm to the niños that they can do anything if they set their mind to it.

In some cases, there might not be opportunities to learn. This reality makes me determined to teach as many kids that I can, to effect multiple lives in my short time here in Peru. From the reactions I get while teaching, the kids grasp onto any moment when they are feeling loved. Giving the children here in Aldea “love”, in my opinion, one of the most important things that I can give to them. I can give this to them by spending one-on-one time with them teaching. Several of the children here have never had a family. Others, were abandoned, abused, or taken from their homes because of other circumstances. The kids live in a house with up to ten other kids and one tia (aunt). The tia has a big responsibility of taking care of the meals for the day, house care, and juggling 10 children. With all of the other things that need to be done, it is easy to put love on hold. My obligation is to spend individual time with the Aldea kids, and to show them the love they have been lacking.

El Bichito: Homework & reading program

**Note: Sorry things have been quiet on the blog lately! Our interns are still working hard and I have a lot to share! We will soon be all caught up with the activities and achievements of our awesome interns!**

From Stephanie, an intern at El Bichito:

May 10, 2012
This week we finally got to implement our new homework and reading program. We are getting a better hang of things and are better able to utilize our time and help the kids. I was really excited to help so many of them with their homework and see the excitement on their face as they accomplished their assignments and got to pick a sticker.

I particularly enjoyed the chance I got to work with a young boy named Hector who is always so shy! But as I consistently get the chance to help him with his homework he has been warming up and allowing me to read with him for a few minutes. He is learning lots of new words and enjoying the stories he reads. He is SO sweet! I love being here with the kids and interacting with them as they learn and grow.

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!

Homework at El Bichito (Cynthia)

Post from Cynthia, an intern at El Bichito:

It always makes me so happy when kids are excited to do their homework. While some of the older kids take some persuasion and prodding to admit they even have homework, our youngest kids are often those most willing and ready to work. This is the case with Mirian, a 7 year old here at El Bichito. Mirian comes to El Bichito with her older sister to eat a good meal and to receive tutoring on homework.

After we finish eating, Mirian sits down next to me and pulls out her notebooks and gets right to work. When she has a question she is not afraid to ask me or her older sister Margarita for help. Once homework is all done, Mirian's game of choice is usually "Rompe Cabezas" or puzzles. She will work patiently and quietly on a puzzle and is always so excited when she discovers where a piece fits.

Mirian was fairly shy for the first few weeks we knew her, but after working on countless puzzles together, this wonderful and sweet girl has opened up to me and I have a new friend here at El Bichito!

Flor Margarita

Post from Erin Collet, an intern at El Bichito:

Flor Margarita is one of the wonderful girls here at El Bichito. We saw her a few times over the summer, but I've had a chance to spend a lot more time with her since school started. She took awhile to warm up to all of us, but she's been great about getting her homework done and has stayed to play games and do activities a lot more recently. A few days ago I was helping her with her math homework. Usually math is my favorite kind of homework to help with because I know what to do and how to explain it. Unfortunately she was working on some pesky word problems. After a lot of difficulty figuring out what the problem said I was so excited when she finished the problem. Thinking that was it since it had been so hard and taken so long I gave her a high-five and a sticker. After I put a sticker on the homework chart she told me she still had more math problems- I couldn't believe it! We worked hard until she had to go and I was so proud of how she stuck to doing her work! I'm grateful for the lessons Flor Margarita has taught me about loving others, making others feel included, and working hard.

New Project for Interns (Cynthia)

April 5 update from Cynthia, an intern at El Bichito:

One of the best parts of working here in Peru is that we are always finding or creating new projects, which means that as interns we get to learn something new, get to know new people and challenge ourselves. One such opportunity came up as we offered our services to the local elementary school here in Pulyucana. None of us are certified teachers, but we all love to help and were willing to share what we do know. They were very excited by our offer and last week we became the four newest "profesores" at the elementary school! We take a grade every day and teach both English and Computer classes. The school had 3 computers donated a while back but no one knew how to set them up or really how to use them. We put them together, got them running and have started teaching the basics of how to use them. In English class we are teaching them simple greetings and fun ways to remember numbers or colors. It has been helpful to interact with the teachers and learn a bit more about the school system here. It is also fun to see our own kids from El Bichito in a different setting and we think they like that they are already friends with the newest teachers in their school. Although we only have a week left, we are excited for what we can teach them in that time and for the great connection we have now established at the school! We are excited that the next group of interns will be able to continue with these classes and help these kids even more!

Hard at Work, Hard at Play (Erin)

Reuben started coming to El Bichito when school started, so I've only known him for a short time, but he's already captured my heart! He is fun-loving third-grader with a lot of spunk. Sometimes it takes the kids a while to warm up to us interns, but from day one Reuben told me all about his day at school and what he wanted to do. I am always impressed how quick he is to take out his homework and get it done. He's a very bright and dedicated student. As soon as his homework is done though, he is ready to play! Whenever he notices my camera is out, he is quick to pose and ask for a picture. We made a goal tree today (we had the kids cut out leaves and write goals for school on them and then taped them ot the tree on the wall) and Reuben wanted to show me every leaf he made and read me his goals. They included reading more books and doing well on his homework. He gets really involved whenever we have an activity and is a great sport!