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.)

Semillas de Amor: Halloween

October 31
By Colby Thomas

This week we had a giant Halloween party for the kids at the foundation. Not only did we serve the regular lunch, but we had dance competitions, sing-offs, and played a few games with the children. Ben tried to teach the kids "We are the Titans" except he changed it to "We are Colombians." I did my best to help out but for the most part I couldn't stop laughing. It was so funny to Ben and I how the costumes in Colombia are no different than the costumes in the states. The girls were all Disney princesses, and the boys were a superhero of some sort. Their imaginations ran wild as they took some of the unused clothes from the clothing drive and dressed Ben and I up. Ben got to be some Greek God with a sash and a sword, and I was a nurse. I'm not bitter or anything, but I feel like the kids pulled rank on me since I've been here a month less :p At least I had a sweet afro. We also pulled together some money to buy the kids some cake, ice cream, soda, and candy. Too bad for their mothers though, as we sent their already hyper kids home even more energized. It was no doubt an exhausting day, but to see the happiness and joy on the children's faces made all the effort well worth it.

Semillas de Amor: Meet Yuladis

November 21
By Colby Thomas

This week I would like to highlight a special little girl named Yuladis. This little girl is extremely quite and shy, but perhaps the most polite child Ben and I have the pleasure of working with. She has the most beautiful smile, and if you can make eye contact with her, she can't help but laugh. She comes everyday, is always polite, and always does as her sister tells her to do. We're trying to get the other kids in the the foundation to behave and act like she does. We are so grateful to have such an awesome example. She will definitely be one of the hardest children to say goodbye to. For me, the greatest joy of working in Semillas de Amor is seeing children from bad backgrounds have a reason to smile and show their creativity in an uplifting environment. What might be a few hours of chaos for Ben and I everyday is a much needed way of relieving stress, energy, and emotion for these children--and when we look at our work through this lens, it helps us stay motivated. Yuladis is shown above with her trademark smile :)

El Bichito: Finger knitting

October 28
By Sunny Hicken

We continue to be as busy as can be here at El Bichito. Everybody’s minds and fingers have been busy as after each child completed homework, they could choose a ball of yarn and learn to finger knit. It was hard at first, but the kids caught on and started helping each other out. These kids love crafts. Our jewelry volunteer, Senora Tely, came again this Tuesday and brought all the materials for the kids to make bracelets. Later in the week we started making Math Machines—we’ll show some pictures of those next week as we finish them up.

We were able to have a few more house visits this week. I love getting to know these families better. Ana Maria and her brother Junior live just down the street, and Rodrigo and Nelida’s houses are close as well. I love having not only the kids now call my name when we walk through town, but the moms as well.

El Bichito: Crafting and computers

October 21
By Sunny Hicken

This week a woman who lives down in Baños del Inca volunteered to come teach a jewelry class. She brought all the materials and had a separate set of beads for the boys and girls to all make necklaces. I’ve never seen so many kids here and have it be so quiet! They were all working hard and absolutely loved it. She promised to come back this week again and bring materials for bracelets—but only for those who’ve done homework! (She used to be a teacher, and it shows. Hooray for teachers!)

We’ve taken some of the empty toilet paper rolls and boxes from juice and such and the kids have created a marble run, taped to the wall with masking tape. They bring marbles from home, but I hope to find some marbles in the market to give out as prizes because the kids love playing with it. And I would like to see them create more, as it involves so many great planning and engineering skills.

My husband was able to get one of the old laptops here running (after taking two of them into a shop and ordering parts and buy a new cord, etc.) It won’t charge, but if we leave it plugged in, the kids can use it. A contest is going on in El Bichito as we are using it with a typing game and Kai is keeping track of scores and teaching them how to type. We found that even the older kids typed with just two fingers, and we know that will hold them back. My husband works with a dentist, Dr. J. Tim Modic in Maryland (http://www.mechanicsvillefamilydentist.com/), who is donating three laptops which Eagle-Condor will be bringing down in November. Then we’ll really have our computer lab up and running! (As you can see, we even have a mom here learning to type!)

Semillas de Amor: Christmas in October

By Ben Haynes

An eventful week filled with pleasant surprises. Tuesday Semillas de Amor received another intern Colby Thomas, and I couldn't be more pleased. He seems like an awesome kid who will contribute a ton with an infectious smile. The highlight at the foundation this week was Wednesday. The Banko Almiento donated a bunch of clothes to the foundation and the greatest sort of chaos ensued. There were more people at the foundation than I have ever seen. Many of the mothers came out in support, and were incredible grateful to receive some much needed clothing for their children. It was Christmas in October.

Columbia: Week 5

By Ben Haynes

Just another wonderful week in Colombia. This week I am going to highlight Solmaira. She is a girl who has been coming to the foundation since the beginning. She is 18 years old and a very special case indeed. She loves the foundation and is incredibly dedicated. She has been a huge help so far. She shows up everyday and helps collect plates and cups for all of the kids. She stays and cleans once everyone has gone home for the day. Also she participates in all of the lessons, and encourages others to do the same. I am incredibly blessed to have met her. She makes the foundation a better place to be every day. In the photo she is the one rocking the sunglasses.