Jan 11 2010

Since today was a very normal day of more dodgeball and rowdy children, I have decided to dedicate today’s entry to educating those who are reading this about the conditions and the children of the Amistad mission. Cochabamba is the third largest city in Bolivia and is considered part of the third world. Walking through the streets the first thing you notice is the amount of stray dogs. It is gross how many canines crowd the dirty streets. Sewage runs through the paved canals under the roads and garbage is everywhere. Chris informed us that the garbage men have taken a break from their job because there is no place to put all of the trash. The landfill, which is located in a very poor part of town, is way over max capacity and has started to seep into the water supply. Along the outskirts of Cochabamba is the Amistad Villa. Amistad is a missionary program that funds a few projects, one being the orphanage. The villa is a compound surrounded by a barbed wire fence which is guarded by a gate keeper. As you enter the main gate you see the main building that contains the office, the gym, and the Sunday school classrooms. You might be thinking, “O they have a gym. This place must be pretty swank if they can afford something like that.” You would be wrong. The wooden panels of the floor are peeling up and the two basketball goals look like they could fall over at any minute. They have two foam mats that cover half of the floor but it is full of holes. Please do not get me wrong, the children are so appreciative and all the wear and tear is a result of constant love thrust upon it by the many children who play there every day. Once past the main building you see 3 rows of similar looking red-brick buildings. On the far right are Casa San Francisco, Casa Copacabana, and Casa San Martin, along with a house for one of the office staff members. In the middle is Casa Kantuta and Casa Semilla de Amor. And on the far left is the Montessori school, Casa San Miguel, Casa Amanacer, and Casa Esperanza. Even farther left is the park and the sport court. So that is the basic layout. Now inside a typical casa: All of the houses have the same architecture and most of the same simple furniture. All of them have an old TV, some of which don’t have video, only audio. Each house has a dining room table which is usually decorated with a stained table cloth that has seen the likes of many meals. The children all share rooms and have a community bathroom. There are around 7-10 kids per house. They take turns with chores and never seem to have a problem scrubbing toilets or taking out the trash. It is what has to get done for things to run smoothly and they all understand that. The kitchen is a very small room with a sink and a stove. It is often VERY dirty and there is no telling what you will find when you go in before a meal and ask to help out. They have refrigerators but they don’t work very well and they do not have freezers. The pantry doesn’t have a door, leaving food susceptible to creatures. Past the kitchen is the covered wash area. There is a big sink and hanging from the ceiling are many lines for items that cannot be hung outside. There houses are very simple and are composed of brick and a tin roof, but they are taken care of nicely and they get the job done. Now it has been brought to my attention that a few did not know that the villa was an orphanage. All of the children here, about 70 total, are either parentless, come from abusive or bad households, or were abandoned. Alex, a very independent 8 year old, was abused by his father and his mother was left with no other choice but to hand him over to someone else’s care. A 5 year old named Brian was looking at the sky with us one night and told us that him mother and father and all of his aunts and uncles where up there in the stars. I find it best not to become curious of the kid’s individual pasts. I don’t need to know. All the reassurance I need comes from knowing that these children are loves, perhaps not by their biological family, but a family none the less. They are cared for and brought up in a safe and nurturing environment. They may occasionally not have clean water, or fresh clothes, a satisfying meal, or grand living conditions but that just shows how little one needs to thrive. The kids here are truly happy. You can see it reflected in everything they do. They have a mama who loves them, so many friends and neighbors who care for them, and the basic life essentials. Although I am here for and providing community service, to give the children things to do in the afternoons, I feel like I am only an observer to the unconditional devotion that is nestled in the peaks of the Andes.