Yesterday was my Goodbye-Party at the Centre Infantil Estrellitas Waritas. I had bought a plant to say my thanks to the team, and every kid received a little plastic bag with sweets, a pluch animal and a "soga" (I have no clue what the English word for Springseil is..). I was very happy to see their eyes shine so happily, about something to small. These are all the kids that were left in the center, minus Paola, who for some reason didnt want to be in the picture. From bottom to top: Alejandra, the girl in the wheelchair; Milka, Emelie, Micaela; Elian, Angela, Abigail, Maria José; Mariana and her sister (of which I still dont know the name, since she usually isnt in the center), Mateo, Reina, Nicole; Yola and her sister Olivia (which is hidden by Mateo in this picture), Adrian, Erik, Wilma, and the little Josué on the top stairs.Btw.. dont I look like a real teacher already?? :D
My best friends amongst my colleagues: Daniela (to the left) and Micaela (to the right). Daniela is a social worker, and Micaela is a teacher.
More colleagues! Daniela, me, Soledad, a woman living in the center and responsible for the bread production, and Vivian, another teacher. To the right is little Marvin.
Daniela, Vivian and Soledad.
Another picture with Danicita, Micacita, me, and the famous plant. Sadly it lost its flower by transporting it in taxi.
Teacher Trio! Vivian, Micaela and me!
Some pics from the kids after they received their gifts. From left to right: Mariana; her sister; Maria José; Wilma; Elian.
Mariana and Maria José.
Jesus, a boy who used to come to the center but who, due to his age, is not allowed to come anymore (the center is only for kids from 0 to 12 years). He is helping his sisters Abigail and Micaela with her gifts.
Jesus and Richard. Jesus seemed very sad when we saw him again after he left the center, but when he finally went home after having received his gift, it seemed to me that he was a little happier. After their time in the center, those kids dont have much joy in their life, which makes me truthfully sad.
My sunshine Mateo, with his pluch tortugita!! Mateo has gone through a tremendous development, the time I knew him.. from a real brat to a real nice and sweet kid who listens to the teachers and likes to cuddle. My supervisor, Maria del Carmen, said that this was my merit, for taking the time to care for him, talk to him and play with him, something noone else could or wanted to do. The second thing she said was that Mateo, until recently, did not have a birth certificate. The center helped him get one, and I have to say, I did not imagine a piece of paper could be so important for a 7 year old kid. Sadly, many kids especially in the countryside of Bolivia do not even exist legally.. and never will.
Josué, Richard and Erik. Erik himself is a very very difficult kid, even though I believe I have seen the start of a development in a good direction recently. Sadly I wont be there anymore to follow through this :( I still hope though he continues on this good path and that there will be somebody to care for them like they deserve and need so badly.
Josué loves to pose, and to jump into every possible picture. In the back is Oscar, a 12 year old boy that recently came to Cocha from the countryside. To the left is Elizarda, a girl from the afternoon group I usually didnt have much contact with, since I was mostly responsible for the morning group.
Paola, after finally deciding she wanted to stop being gloomy and get a gift too.
Little Wilma,
and her sisters Olivia and Yola. All three are Quechua speaking, and really horrible brats. Their mother has no authority over them, and they basically do whatever they please, just because they are so neglected. Until very recently, Wilma did not even have shoes.
My boys: Erik, Elian and Richard.
My little Mateito, and his turtle. He wanted it to be in every single picture!!
The kids at play, after they received their gifts. Funnily, they automatically split up in groups: The girls in the front, the boys in the back.
The boys...
The girls!
They were playing "family". From left to right: Wilma, Reina, Paola, Mariana's sister, Maria José, Mateo and Erik.
Josué and Erik playing with their sogas.
Nicole, Angela and Jhennifer. Angela and Jhenny are from the afternoon group, but Nicole is in my morning group. She just got her head shaved, because those kids have so many lice and their moms dont want to/dont have the time to take care of them. :(
Milka and Mariana.
Yolanda with her beaver pet.
Little Alejandra with her carebear. Alejandra has not always been in a wheelchair. But when she was little, she got sick and from that moment on, her legs have been paralyzed. This illness is basically eradicated in developed countries, since we vaccinate kids from the very start on against it. Here, on the other hand, people have neither the knowledge of these illnesses, nor the money to vaccinate their kids against it.
Yola, Alejandra and Mariana.
Alejandra, Mariana and her other sister, Cody, and Josué, posing again.. :p
Mateo and Richard, doing the "cool" guy thing.. o.0
Mateo, Richard, and..... Josué. Oh, and the turtle, of course..
Richard and his lizard. In the back is Oscar with his skunkie.
Little Cody trying to play music.
The good bye from my colleagues was so warm and caring, I will never forget. From left to right: Vivian, Maria del Carmen (my supervisor and the centre big boss), Dona Ale and Dona Evelina, the good souls of the kitchen; Daniela and Lisa, another German volunteer, in the back; Marisol, the centre psychologist, Soledad (almost hidden) and my best friend and teacher colleague, Micaela. I will miss her and have learned from her so much, I will never forget her.
The kids created a collage with signatures and good bye wishes for me, and I couldnt help but crying when my colleagues handed it to me.
Here it is! Vuelve pronto, it says.. that means "Come back soon"! I may..!
The gift from the kids, and another one from Soledad, with a poem about friendship and a personal message saying thank you. On the back, all my colleagues signed and put little messages. It was truly touching.
In the end, I would like to say thanks to all the people that have made my stay at Estrellitas centre so enriching and beautiful. My colleagues were the most supportive and caring people, and the kids have given me so much of their love and trust, I shall forever treasure that. Even though there have been hard days, I feel I have truly grown in these few months I could spend with them, and I will try to continue in this direction for the rest of my life.
Thank you INFANTE, I hope I will see you again!
Thank you Papa and Mama, for your financial and moral support through these months. I owe everything I am to you guys; thanks for helping me making this happen.
