Aldea Infantil: Update on Fabricio

An update on Fabricio from Jill, who is volunteering at La Aldea Infantil:

Learn more about Fabricio from past posts here, here and here.

June 10, 2012
Fabricio is 2 years old and can't sit up or stand or anything on his own. He came to the Aldea when he was 4 months old and has made a TON of progress since then. However, he still cannot sit up on his own or support himself yet. He attends physical therapy so he can learn how to do so, and this week I got to take Fabricio to Trujillo for his physical therapy. He has an appointment twice a week, which is good because it gets him moving and stretched out. During therapy, the therapist showed me the routine and taught me how to work with Fabricio, so we (at the Aldea) can start helping him learn to sit up on his own. He still can't hold himself up yet without help for longer than a few seconds, but he is making progress! We are going to start working with him every day so he can progress more quickly!

Semillas de Amor: Helping Hands & Frisbee

June 5, 2012
Welcome to another wonderful week in Colombia at Semillas de Amor. 

As you all know we are working on developing an after school program for children in Nueva Colombia.

I have just arrived, and I didn't know what to expect. We prepare lunch for the children, bring it and serve it to them, and then do a learning activity afterwords. 

The first day as we were arriving to the site the children came running out with open arms to help us carry the food in. I was instantly with a wave of love that surrounds that place. There is something special there that I have never felt elsewhere. I look forward to going every day, it is truly the best feeling in the world. You are instantly wrapped with a the feeling of genuine love from the children. Though we the necessity of food, I truly believe the best thing we can bring these children is love. By showing our love for them, we are giving them hope and happiness.

This past week we were able to go up to a neighboring field and reward the kids for good behavior by playing Frisbee. These kids had never seen a Frisbee so explaining it to them was an adventure in itself. Once they got the basic figured out we were able to enjoy a wonderful day playing Frisbee games with the kids. They were so excited and all wanted a chance to throw the Frisbee. It was a beautiful moment. It is such a wonderful thing to be here with the children.

Katy, Izumi, Ryan 

Semillas de Amor: Meet Victor

Ryan, an intern at Semillas de Amor writes about a young man who has been helping around the center:

Only 14 years old, Victor seems too mature to be considered a child.  The youngest of four, he lives in a house made of wooden planks and a thatch roof where he chops wood for his mother to cook with and cares for the donkey and various chickens that roam the yard providing the family with transportation and food.

 As he watched from his front door the construction of the dining hall and storage rooms occurring across the street, Victor quietly approached and began to mix the cement we had prepared for the cinder blocks that would form windows for the building.  As the days progressed, so did Victor´s revelation of his bricklaying skills.  Rather than stopping with cement mixing, Victor helped me to measure the sand, rocks, and water required to make a mixture and then helped to haul each of the materials to the construction site.  With a self constructed sieve made from plywood and scrap metal from the donkey´s feed bin, Victor insisted that the cement mixture be sifted before the water was added in order to guarantee that the mortar set right.

Although Victor continues teaching me about brick laying, I´ve learned more from him about the importance of hard work and example.  Victor is a leader at his school and in his small community.  He works hard at home and he cares about what happens outside the home.  With limited funds, hiring labor to build a dining hall and storage rooms proves to be an impossibility.  But Victor´s actions have encouraged other children in the community to collaborate on the project.  With their help, the walls go up brick by brick.  Although the process is slow, the experience has proved invaluable-- maybe not for Victor, but for his community of peers and for me. 

Semillas de Amor: Learning to dance

Such a sweet post from Ryan, who is volunteering at Semillas de Amor:

May 28, 2012

¨Uno-dos, uno-dos, uno-dos,¨ Yuniris quietly counts.  She is teaching me how to dance and I´m sure it´s obvious that dancing is not ingrained in my culture as it is in Colombian culture because she laughs every time I try to do anything except step twice to the right and then twice to the left.  She´s already explained to me that each region in Colombia has it´s own typical form of dancing.  The ¨champeta,¨ for example is indigenous to Cartagena near where I live.  In other areas it´s the ¨fandango.¨  And still in others, ¨merengue.¨ But Yurinis prefers ¨salsa.¨ I wish she didn´t because the rhythm is too accelerated for me to get much out of a lesson from her.

Each day after school, Yurinis, ten years old, and a few of her friends practice for an upcoming presentation for their mothers.  Yurinis plays the part of a mango who falls in love with a lemon in the tree next door.  The only chance they get to talk is when the branches of the trees in which they live blow close together in the wind.  Each time this happens, the mango and the lemon dance.  Yurinis definitely dances better than her partner, Señor Lemon.  ¨But it doesn´t matter to me how well he dances,¨she tells me.  ¨Only that he tries.¨ I hope she is as patient with me.

El Bichito: Glitter and feathers

May 23 update from Stephanie at El Bichito:

May 23, 2012

This week we had lots of fun making masks for the kids. They LOVED the glitter and feathers it was awesome! This is Hector and I; he particularly enjoyed loading up on the feathers! The kids are doing so great and excited to create fun stuff.  They are also working really hard with the reading and homework program we have been using with them. I love them SO much!!!!

El Bichito: May 18 update

Update from Stephanie at El Bichito:

May 18, 2012
Things at El Bichito are going great! the kids are really getting used to the routine of Homework and Reading. We are so happy to see them excited about learning. I often get the chance to work with Wilson and Hector, and I just love being with them. They are both working so hard and I am proud of them. They are very patient as they work through all their assignments.

Otherwise the kids are keeping busy and loving life. We appreciate the sweet spirit that they bring to us everyday.

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.