Semillas de Amor: Construction progress

The following is a post from Katy, who is an intern at Semillas de Amor:

July 12
This week has been awesome in Colombia!! We have completed the floor of the main room in the construction site, which is a big step forward. The process to set the floor was amazing to watch unfold. First, twenty buckets of sand had to be poured in with one giant bag of cement. After a good mixing, eight bags of rocks and ten buckets of water were added into the pile, completing the cement. Then the floor had to be leveled flat with sand dug up from a giant well being dug in the back of the construction site. Once all of this was set in place, the cement was poured, and then smoothed down with wooden poles. Once it was harden a red paint powder was smeared on top to make the floor even more beautiful! Everyone came and looked at the finished product and the kids were so excited to be one step closer to having a finished place for them to play. One child, Neiker, was so happy about the finished floor that he came running in during a tropical rainstorm two days after the floor was finished to make sure the floor was okay. He mopped it and then carried buckets of water off of the floor to keep it protected until we are able to put the roof up! 

Alegria de Vivir: Meet Jhon Felipe

The interns at Alegria de Vivir, Katy, Ryan and Izumi introduce us to Jhon Felipe: 

Introducing Jhon Felipe! This five year old boy has an amazing spirit. He has a wonderful smile and a cute and quirky sense of humor. In November, the Alegria de Vivir foundation was able to raise up enough money to send him to Bogota to receive a much needed surgery on his legs to help him walk. The surgery was successful, but unfortunately there wasn't enough money raised to be able to purchase a brace. Since November Jhon Felipe has been practicing walking, but without a brace he is unable to learn the proper leg movements. With the help of a brace and physical therapy he will be able be contribute to society with his sweet and caring spirit. With the help of Alegria de Vivir and Eagle Condor these children like Jhon Felipe will be able to live a happy and healthy life.

Katy, Ryan, Izumi

Semillas de Amor: A walk without shoes

Update from Katy at Semillas de Amor:

June 13, 2012
This was a week that caused some deep reflection on the part of the interns. We were able to go on an enjoyable hike to a local tourist spot. On the way back, we took our shoes off for a little less than a mile. While the pain we felt on the rocky, unpaved, dirt road was certainly on our minds, the main thing running through our thoughts was how the children we are here to help walk roads like this everyday without even the option of shoes. With every step the thought kept running through my mind, "Because I have been given much, I too must give." The Universtiy I attend at home does a "Day Without Shoes" each year to raise awarness for child poverty. While I participated, it didn't affect me until I had to walk a mile without shoes on the roads these children walk.  We need to take a stand, like a local hotel here that donated shoes for each of the kids in Nueva Colombia. 

They now proudly all wear the donated shoes each day. In the fight against poverty, we need to stand up and walk with those that are affected. Please take a stand by following and supporting our cause.

Aldea Infantil: Katy's Final Post

Tio Pepe got the kids together to take group pictures. He tested their skills to coordinate and work together. They had to stand on top of chairs in a circle and put their heads together. With arms around each other, a blanket was then thrown over all of them and Tio Pepe took a picture from underneath. The pictures turned out really well, but they went so much smoother with those who were willing to do and to listen. That is an example that we all learned from. The pictures were hung from the ceiling of the multi-purpose room for a fiesta to celebrate the anniversary of the Aldea. Cute kids!

Thanks to Katy for this great post and all of her hard work as an intern at the Aldea! She will be missed!

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More info about La Aldea Infantil.

More posts about La Aldea Infantil.

How to help children like these.

Aldea Infantil: Running Trail Celebration

Katy, an intern at La Aldea Infantil reports:

We saw a lot of success and achievement this week at the Aldea. The running trail project was completed and that called for a celebration. In connection with the 22nd anniversary of the Aldea Infantil on August 12, Friday was set-up as a day of races. There were several races, each according to the ages of the children. Tio Pepe was the announcer and pulled out a loudspeaker. I was chosen to lead all the races to show the way to go. The kids all wore their athletic school uniforms, and were matching in blue shorts and white shirts. The rush of excitement for racing affected so many of the youth, not only the winners but many participants. Smiles abounded and everyone cheered so loud and fervently for their friends and schoolmates. It was neat to see everyone so bonded and excited about physical activity.

The completed trail after a competition to place stones on either side of the trail. The boys on the left and the victorious girls on the right!

Everyone getting ready for a race!

Alfredo helps Benjamin with the number on his back.

Lining up for the first race of the day! Some are nervous!

Fany takes first place in her age group!

Jose Antonio finishing strong to dominate in his race.

More posts about the Aldea.

More info about the Aldea.

La Aldea Infantil: Vacation Week

Katy tells us about this past week, while the kids were out of school at the Aldea:

This week at the Aldea, the kids were out of school for vacations. This allowed for lots of fun and learning in the outdoors. We spent time playing in the trees and moving our bodies. Some of the tias held picnics outside and other activities. Two more interns arrived this week (Elliott and Ali) and the interactions have been great! We have continued the trail project and gotten the kids involved with that as well.

Fun in the avocado tree!

Elliott was teaching all the kids to compartir (share and take turns) and he did an impressive with 12 of the kids as they waited to swing and jump off the rope swing hanging in a tree.

Vacation time so we painted our nails!

La Aldea Infantil: A running trail!

Benjamin (red shirt) was the hardest worker with the shovel!

Katy, an intern at La Aldea Infantil, got a running trail started on the inside walls of the Aldea! Don't forget to check out the video at the end of this post :)

Read her story:

What a week at the Aldea! I began construction of a running/walking trail around the inside perimeter of the site and had some help from some of the kids. We tried out new portions of the trail by running and skipping and making animal noises haha. We are wearing it in! This is a part of a goal to increase the physical activity and health of the children at the Aldea. Many have been quite excited to run and get moving! I was so excited today because the kids have no school and they totally wanted to help make the trail and chip in. I was so impressed with how hard they worked and with their sharing and helping each other and how creative they got with adding plant clippings along the sides!

A finished curve in the trail

Lucho touching the finish line (the truck)

David, Fany, Alfredo, Victor Manuel, Katy, Camilo, Benjamin

The twins Fany and Sophia, Jose, and hop around the new trail:

Pizza! (from Katy)

Check out a pizza-making activity that Katy and Amanda headed up at La Aldea Infantil:

What an exciting week at the Aldea! Rumor has it that the building with the bakery equipment is opening back up for bread production. The kids entered the Panaderia to help sweep, dust, and provide lots of energy! There was a house of boys that was especially hard-working, so this week spotlights on Casa 5. As a reward for working so hard, Amanda and I made pizza with them. They had never had pizza before, but sure wanted to try some. They were eager to help pat out the dough, spread on the sauce, and sprinkle on the cheese. It was a bonding experience and helped them all work together to create a masterpiece. Everyone helped and some good principles were taught amidst the fun.

We even mastered our pizza tossing!

On goes the sauce! Cesar headed this task.

Katy, Miguel, Jose, Amanda, Gabriel, pizza, Juan Carlos, Ruben, Jhonatan

A Piñata Fiesta!

Leticia and Katy with a piñata

Blog post from Katy, a new intern at La Aldea Infantil:

This week was the last week for Janel and Hao. We had a fiesta on their final day, and this included piñatas which we had been working on making. The kids were so excited and some had never before even hit a piñata. They would race and collect the candy and goodies with each smack that was made. The tias were quite good athletes themselves! The day was full of smiles and fun, as we celebrated the hard work and time that Janel and Hao had dedicated to the kids at the Aldea.

Janel, Hao and Amanda with some boys from casa 5

Victor Manuel takes a swing!

Katy's First Week

Katy, a new intern at La Aldea Infantil, fills us in on her first week!

My first week in la Aldea Infantil! I feel like I have already been here for much longer. The kids are so welcoming and accepting of others, so it was easy to begin my time here. This week, there was a special visit from a religious organization from Texas and they brought some treats and toys for the kids. The children were very excited to see a group of people of another nationality than their own and were so inviting to them as well. We had a clean-up crew for the candy wrappers and trash around the Aldea after the visit, and the children and I collected an entire bag of garbage. Que bonita the grounds were afterwards!

Meet Our New Interns: Katy

Katy Andrews
I am a senior studying Exercise & Wellness at Brigham Young University. I was born and raised in California, but I love exploring new places. I am a runner and so enjoy being outside, but also like to bake bread (my all-time favorite food). I like to meet new people because everyone is so unique with a different story. I try to uplift people I meet rather than bring them down. I look forward to working with the kids in Peru and hope to influence them positively, and in return I bet they too will brighten my life.