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