Amanecer

Dear Family and Friends,

As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs (I know I'm well overdue for an entry about how the school year is going) Amanecer, the organization I volunteered with from August 2010 - December 2011, is in serious trouble. 

I first found Amanecer on the internet when I was looking for volunteer opportunities after graduation from ND.  Shortly after finding it online, a dear friend of mine, Katie Smith, who had studied Spanish in Cochabamba one summer at the Maryknoll Institute,  validated that it was indeed a real organization. After Katie's assurance I confirmed that I would spend 10 months after college in Cochabamba with Amanecer. As I spread the news, a connection in the Campus Ministry department introduced me to a couple who had graduated from Notre Dame several years before, Ricky and Kelly Klee, and who had also volunteered with Amanecer. These two small-world coincidences put me at ease in 3,000+ mile trip down to Cochabamba. And I find myself believing that this is where I was meant to be - maybe I can help to be a part of saving the organization that has brought so much joy and enrichment to my own life...

During my free time the past few weeks I have met with several of the directors and workers at Amanecer to help write a letter to all of our previous volunteers soliciting help. In Amanecer's history they have never actively solicited funds like this, they prefer to receive donations from those who have a connection to the organization, but they are desperately in need of help. Although this letter was written for previous volunteers and friends of Amanecer, I would like to share it with all of you because I believe that through my blogs over the past few years you have glimpsed into the world of Amanecer and can appreciate all of the wonderful and important work they do for the abandoned children of the streets of Cochabamba.

This is a subject that is extremely close to my heart and my heart breaks to think that the beautiful children of Amanecer would be in any way effected by the financial struggles the organization is facing. 

If you feel so inclined please contact me via email or facebook for any questions or suggestions of how to help.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for any and all help and support - even if it just means taking the time to read this blog.

Dear Friends and Volunteers of Amanecer,

Greetings from Cochabamba! We hope this letter finds you healthy, happy, and successful in all your endeavors. 

We are pleased to reestablish contact with you, a former volunteer with Fundación Amanecer, although we wish it were on better circumstances. As a previous volunteer, you are a crucial part of Amanecer’s history. You gave the children of Amanecer part of your life and changed theirs for the better. Without the help of dedicated volunteers like yourself, Amanecer would not be able to make a difference in the lives of 500 abandoned and abused children from the streets of Cochabamba every day.

This is a time of crisis for all in Amanecer, especially for those children who have no possibility of being able to return to their families.  For the last five years the government has mandated a very substantial pay raise each year.  Last year alone was 12% and this year is close to 10% including the increase in benefits.  There is also a law which requires that when a person stops working, either by his own decision or because the organization no longer needs him or cannot financially continue with his services, he/she is owed an extra month’s salary for each year of service, always calculated at the latest and highest level.  We have close to 150 workers and many have been with us for over twenty years.  Due to the increases in salaries we were forced to send a letter to all of our employees in July informing them that as of September 1^st they no longer have a job.

We are in the process of trying to sell the vocational complex, Yaykuna and one other house in order to survive.  If we can do this we hope to be able to continue, though with around half of our previous employees and consolidating a few of the houses. The legal requirements before selling a property in Bolivia are complicated, difficult and take months to complete. We are in desperate need of funds to get us through the next months. If you are able to help out in whatever small way or know someone else willing to help, we would be extremely grateful. We know that many of you are also with financial problems due to the world economic crisis, which makes it difficult even to find a job.  Many of you have young families and are trying to pay off college loans.  However, any small donation from all who care deeply about the children of Amanecer can be part of the total amount that will allow us to continue. 

As part of our efforts to raise these funds we have reached out to you, our previous volunteers, who have a special connection to our mission and understand the overwhelming need for services among the children on the streets of Cochabamba. We have sent this letter to all of the emails we have on file for our previous volunteers, however we know that there are a large percentage of volunteers who have changed their email or may not have had an email address at the time they were with us. We ask that you help us to reestablish our network by forwarding this email to any other volunteers with whom you are still in touch. Throughout the years we have lost contact with many of our previous volunteers and we are hoping to use this occasion to reestablish that contact and provide updates to you on a more regular basis.

We have always considered you to be a friend of Amanecer from a distance, but with the increase in technology we hope to bridge the gap and bring you closer to us.

We are in desperate need of your help. Please consider contributing in whatever way you can so that Amanecer can survive.

Sincerely,

Germán Sánchez M.     Hna. Catherine Feldewert         Hna. Mery Elko       Katie Weber

President Amanecer     Director Casa Nazareth             President Honoraria  Volunteer

Donations can be sent to:

CANADA

FRIENDS OF AMANECER

c/o Sherri Hohert

5451 Alderley Road,

Victoria B.C., V8Y 1X9

AMANECER

c/o Sisters of the Most Precious Blood

204 N. Main Street

O´Fallon, Mo. 63366

USA

If you have any questions or ideas, please contact us.

Hna. Catherine Feldewert

casa_nazareth@yahoo.com

Katie Weber

Kmweber2@gmail.com

FUNDACION AMANECER

Dirección: Pasaje Amanecer # 945 entre 9 de Abril y Litoral

Dirección postal: Casilla 2431

Cochabamba-Bolivia

Email: amanecer@supernet.com.bo

Web: www.amanecer-bolivia.org

2 days down...

So I've officially survived the first two days of school! They FLEW by...

I have 19 students - 11 boys 9 girls...3 teacher's kids and 3 new kids

The first two days were full of icebreakers, book distribution, inventory tests for math and language arts, and a brief reading assignment. I feel like I hardly have any time to get things done because we have eight 45-minute periods, but they're in specials 2-3 periods a day and they have two 20-minute recesses and a 30 minute lunch (that's them combining the american and the bolivian systems...most bolivian schools are half-day and still have 2 recesses) and even though the day ends at 3pm we have to have the kids out at the buses by 2:55 (that doesn't seem to make sense to me). PLUS there isn't any "travel time" built in to the periods, so when I have to take the kids to music, art, P.E., or computers I have to leave my own class a few minutes early because they feel like I'm not "respecting their class time" when I show up a few minutes late with the kids. Another time killer is that they switched cafeteria management/company this year and the new people haven't figured out an effective system for distributing lunch yet..and since 6th grade gets served last my kids are still in line when the bell rings for lunch to be over...they claimed to be meeting about that on Friday afternoon, but we'll see if anything changes on Monday.

All in all they seem like great kids - I think I'm really going to like this age - they're still young enough that there isn't too much drama, but old enough that I can joke with them and they can do some critical thinking.

I have a few challenges ahead of me that I've already taken note of, but I'm positive they will all be great learning  experiences for me. The kids have already asked me if I "like to be mean" because I was very strict with them the first day about making a line (which they have a hard time doing) and being quiet going up and down the stairs (because the staircases goes by the high school classrooms and they're on a different schedule)...good to know I've instilled a bit of fear in them already - let's see how long I can keep that up!

My favorite consequence to my class rules is the "speak in English only" rule - the consequence, starting Monday, is that they have to stand up and sing a song in English to the class. Oh the wonders of humiliation in the pre-adolescent years!

And with the start of the new school year came the start of another cold for me...I just got over the one I had when I got here, but here's to building up my immune system!

So I've survived the first two days, but we'll see how this week goes once we have to get real work done starting tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The week before reality hits

Okay, so I’m not off to such a great start with the frequency of my blogs. I’m hoping that once I get used to my routine it will get a bit better, but in the meantime I apologize for the delay!

I’ve officially started working, although classes won’t start until later this week. Last Monday started a week of in-service meetings – from 8am to 3pm every day. I didn’t think it would be possible to have that much to cover, but we managed to fill almost every day. Although at times it was a bit dry, as a new teacher and new to the school, it was definitely beneficial to have things so clearly laid out for me – we covered everything from icebreakers among the staff, to grading procedure, to going over the student handbook, to a presentation from the administration, to taking the MAP tests our students take (where I learned I remember NOTHING past 7^th grade basic algebra and reiterated that grammar was never my strong point), and much much more.

Classes were supposed to start tomorrow, Tuesday August 7^th, but due to a large amount of construction projects (they re-did the image of the school: logo, colors, some of the facilities, etc) wrapping up at the last minute they decided to push back the start until Thursday so that they could make sure everything was 100% complete, and safe, before bringing all the kiddos back. I guess even if you’re an American school in Bolivia, you can’t make things finish at an American pace!

As of now, I have 20 students in my class, 6^th Grade Blue (the other teacher is 6^th Grade Red), 11 boys and 9 girls - it’s a bit more than I originally thought I would have, but definitely a manageable number. I’ve gotten the low-down on each student (strengths, weaknesses, personality, etc) from previous teachers to help me prepare – they are very good about sharing information about students amongst teachers, which I really appreciate. Although a lot of people have made comments about this 6^th grade being more gossipy and, lets face it, more like the real adolescents they are, than previous classes – I’m more interested/concerned in what it will be like to have students who are learning in English for the first time, thus at a below 1^st grade reading level, alongside those who have a reading level of a high-schooler. Granted, the kids who are just learning English will be in ESL 3 out of 8 periods a day, but I had no doubt it will present its own set of complications and insights.

All in all I’ll have to admit I’m glad for the late start, mostly because aside from the construction projects, due to the fact that there are 20 more 6^th graders than there were last year, we are still currently 20 books short in everything (math, science, social studies, reading) and having to make photocopies of the first units of each book. The books were all ordered from the US but were delayed in Miami for some reason or another and won’t be here for at least another week or two (which, realistically, in Bolivian time, means a month). I bet you can’t wait to read that blog – the one where all the parents complain about why some kids have books and some kids have photocopies…just wait, it’s coming.

I’ve got a lot to do these next two days to get ready for classes to start on Thursday, but I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be….here’s to hoping I can keep my head above water!

Third Time's a Charm

And, I’m back! Back to the blog and back in Cocha!

I’ve officially been here a week and easily found my way back into the Cocha groove. Although, to be fair, I have been doing an extraordinary amount of sleeping due to a nasty cold and congestion that I’ll chalk up to the change in weather (at least that’s the Bolivian excuse).  It’s officially winter here in Cocha, which has me a bit confused because its 35 degrees out when I wake up but 82 my 1pm – and no indoor heating!! But that’s what the two weeks of adjustment time were planned for – being sick, moving in the apartment, starting my visa process, and, of course, visiting my babies.

For those of you who do not know, this time around I am working at the American International School of Bolivia (AISB) as a sixth grade teacher. You may be thinking, what credentials do you have to teach?! And the answer is….none…other than being a well educated, English speaking, creative thinking foreigner – which, apparently for them, is enough.

I’m renting a small 2-bedroom apartment that sits behind the house of another teacher from AISB. It’s centrally located, which is really convenient considering last time I was here I lived waaaaay down south and it was a pain to get anywhere. This location definitely adds to my ability to walk everywhere (except to work, which is about 20mins away on the north-west side of town).  It’s mostly furnished and I’ve been working on adding some personal touches – a painting, pictures, flowers, etc – and slowly but surely it’s starting to feel like a home. Diego has been a great help in accompanying me on my shopping trips, helping to move furniture around, and acting as my negotiator when the Bolivians want to try to hike up their prices for the gringa.

I’ve also been able to take some time and visit the babies at Solomon (who are no longer babies and talking, running, and growing more every day!), the boys at Nazareth, and the main office of Amanecer. I find that I’ve come at quite a crucial turning point for Amanecer as they struggle against the economic hardships and the change in labor laws (that have increased salaries by 30% since 2010). I’ll be sure to comment more on their situation in another blog, for the sake of keeping this one short, but I’m excited about using whatever downtime I have to help them brainstorm how to increase outreach and communication to former volunteers and involve them in helping to save the cause that is so close to all of our hearts.

I have no doubt that this year will bring it’s own challenges, adventures, and frustrations – as any first year of teaching will, but with a special Bolivian flare. And it will be interesting, seeing Cochabamba from the upper echelon’s perspective…I’m secretly hoping to win them over and convince them to give their money to Amanecer….but maybe I shouldn’t be admitting that quite yet. 

Hasta Pronto Bolivia!

My first weekend in Bolivia back in August of 2010 was the weekend of the 2^nd biggest parade/festival of the year here in Cochabamba. My last weekend December 2011 there was also a big parade of all the university dance clubs to celebrate the end of the school year. Today, Sunday, is also Dia de Peaton (Day of the Pedestrian) which means no cars (not even public transportation) from 9am to 5pm. Although in some ways the lack of transportation today made Fri/Sat a bit more stressful, I really can’t thank Bolivia enough for sending me off on a weekend full of music, dancing, culture, and tranquility – everything I’ve come to love about this country and more. I’m still not quite sure how I’m going to handle heading off to Santa Cruz tonight all alone or my trip back to the States tomorrow – but I couldn’t have asked for a better despedida (goodbye) from this beautiful country.

Hasta pronto Bolivia (See you later/soon Bolivia)!

But they're just like any other baby...

It’s a well-known fact that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with my babies. I think they are quite possibly the cutest kids in the entire world, they’ve completely stolen my heart. But over the last few months in the process of falling even more in love with them I’ve forgotten the cruel worlds they’ve come from – to me they just seem like any other happy kid most of the time, but my last week Christopher gave me a stark reminder of the harsh, challenging pasts they all come from.

There are always a good handful of volunteers working at Solomon, more recently than I’ve seen almost my whole time here. When I first arrived last August I was the only volunteer and now there seems to be a surpluss – which I consider to be a great thing. However, about 90% of all volunteers at Solomon are girls – there are currently two men – one in his 20s from the US and another in his 50s from France. Juan, the French man who comes every year with his wife Vivi for 3 months, is the handyman around the house – always going from one sala to another looking for broken door handles, water pipe problems, and any thing else that needs some fixing up. The other day he was working on something in the comedor (cafeteria) while Sala 2 was eating lunch and Christopher spotted Juan and started screaming “Papaaaaaa!” with a look of pure terror on his face (just like all women are “mama” all men are “papa”). This repeated the following three days – every time Sala 2 was eating and Juan would pass by Christopher would go into hysterics. It about broke my heart. There are other men who come around the orphanage – the gardener, one administrative staff, and visitors – and I’ve had Christopher in my sala for over a year and never seen him react this way to a man before. There are some kids who have a general fear of men (especially in the newborn sala and Sala 1) – but Christopher was never one of them. The mama’s working said not to give Christopher the time of day because one day they had taken him into the sala to calm down and he didn’t want to come back out again – apparently if I held him and removed him from the table I would only be encouraging him to do it again in the future. They all said it was just due to his wanting attention, but the look on his face was one I’d never seen before, like he was having a flashback of a memory of a man who looked similar to Juan who had maltreated him in his past. Knowing that Christopher most likely had this bad memory just broke my heart. So, seeing as it was my last few days anyway, I ignored their advice, picked him up, hugged him, told him it would be okay and took him into the sala to sit with him while the others finished lunch. Maybe it will make it more difficult for the mama’s in the coming days, but I just couldn’t resist the urge to comfort him. After all, every kid deserves to be spoiled every so often.

MIA

So I’ve been terrible at writing recently. Most of my lack of updates are due to the fact that there haven’t been any updates to give. I’ve spent the last two weeks being ill with some sort of stomach problem – still yet to be officially diagnosed, but mostly likely parasites of some form or another. It’s been a bit of a bummer because I feel like I’ve lost out on two weeks of being with the kids – but I just found that I never had the energy to put into work. There were days when I went crazy spending 24+ hours in the apartment, most of which in my bed, and wishing I could muster up the energy to go say hi to my babies or go swimming with the boys at Nazareth. I guess this is what I get for bragging that I’ve never had any stomach problems in Bolivia! Looks like I’m not super-stomach-woman after all!

But after seeing three different nurse/doctors who can’t seem to quite pin-down what’s wrong with me I’m going to get some blood/stool tests done on Monday morning which should hopefully give me at least enough energy to make it through these next three weeks before I head home. Wish me luck!