I am posting this email I received from a German friend of mine. I know everyone is tremendously strapped for cash at the moment, and please do not feel obliged to offer what you really cannot afford, but if anyone has a few spare pounds/dollars, a little goes a long way in Bolivia.
My dear friends at home and all around the world, wherever you are now,
with this email I would like to share a very deep experience of the last few days. As you know, I have been working for the last three months for the centre Ñanta, a word in Quechua, which means “the path”.
Ñanta is an open educational centre (www.centro-ñanta.org) for about 250 registered children from and around Sucre, who work in the streets: they clean shoes (per pair they get 1 Boliviano = 10p), they sell newspapers or chewing gums, help at the market or even in the mines, normally walking for hours every day to get to work.
Ñanta ensures, that all children get a healthy lunch in the centre every day, for which they have to pay a symbolic amount of 0.50Bol. Every day around 130 children come there. Fully trained local teachers, social workers, doctors, musicians as well as volunteers help with homework, the children learn to play traditional and folkloric instruments, do exercises, paint, do artscraft, learn carpentry, baking bread, they get medical support and education, they do excursions – i.e. recent activities: we went to the Tinku Festival in Macha recently (see my Facebook fotos), we went to see Evo Morales in Ravelo, for the day of the environment we went to the countryside to clean up parts of the local river.
What fascinates me, is that most trainers and educators are former working children themselves and with their education are now examples fort he others. Furthermore they understand the kids completely differently than as Europeans of course.
A very important aspect for Ñanta ist he co-operation with parents, to ensure parents understand the importance of education of their children as well as visits to doctors or healthy eating. Recently, for mothers day all mums were invited and given self made cards and little boxes, filled with a cookie. For the 64 mums who were able to come along also a lunch was cooked.
Well, that is the centre itself. Because of my other job during day time I cannot spend much time there. I am mainly there during special events, like tonight when the kids give a folkloric music concert. I spend my time for Ñanta in a house with 12 boys between eight and seventeen years of age . This house is currently the only one that Ñanta has and can afford to run. Here live the kids who have especially bad living conditions within their families or where a survival for the kids would be critical. The house consists otwo dormitories and a tiny room with two beds fort he two 17-year olds. Furthermore they have a kitchen, a small bathroom and a room where we all meet, eat and live, everything extremely basic.
Four times a week in the evenings I help Ricardo, Alberto and his brother Dadeo, Francisco, Mario, Constantino, the three brothers Mario, German and Jose Luis as well as Antonio, Natalio and Segundino with their homeworks, we practice reading (currently “The three musketeers”), we fight the difficulties of maths tasks, learn English. We often also play together, paint, dance, sing, chat, laugh and cuddle a lot. During my time in the house a very deep friendship has developed. I don´t just feel like a teacher but as well- and that is as well important – a good friend, sister, sometimes replacement mum. We live like in a big family, they boys respect each other, help and support each other, are there for each other – it is amazing!!!
Never I wanted ask about their destiny and their past. Maybe you think that it is strange. I am not sure. In the open day centre work a lot of volunteers, who often ask the kids as well as many tourists, spending their time in Sucre and I know that the kids don´t like to talk about their destiny, they prefer being seen as “normal” kids. But of course the past doesn´t disappear that way. I thought once they have enough confidence in me they might tell me a bit. And the trust, the love between us has grown so deeply and with that the openness. And they start talking… In the strangest moments (in the kitchen when we cook some pancakes, in the courtyard, just before I want to leave…) the start talking about their fears. The show me scars of their wounds which were caused by the fathers or relatives (often in their drunken stage). One tells me how he ran away from home, from the beatings of his elder brother and how he slept in the streets for weeks. I am told about the terror of going home and therefore most of them even stay in the house during the holidays, even if they miss their families, especially their siblings.
I find out how Constantino even as a small boy had to prepare food for the family in the mornings, then he had to work in the field or walk into the town to clean shoes, no time for school, just for endless beatings…. These are my boys, who love laughing and cuddling, who need so much affection, who are now so scared the I won´t come back from Cochabamba, where I need to go for three weeks to work, because so many volunteers talk about their return and never do. But thank god, I will be back to spend the school holidays with them. We will go camping I found out yesterday.
Yesterday was the day of the teacher. Does this day actually exist in Europe? If it does it is definitely not celebrated like here. Our kids invited us all to the centre and prepared local dances, sketches and music (they play so beautifully!!!!) for us and made some biscuits….
On Friday I sat together with them again in the room where we all meet and did work on the homework. It was so freezing cold ( about 4 degrees). I was wearing 3 jumpers, had to get a blanket of one of the boys. In Bolivia you cannot find heating in any building and it is winter, as long as the sun is shining it is fine and warm, but as soon as it disappears the temperatures drop drastically. Ricardo (13) is sittung in a t-shirt on the table and works, Jose Luis (10)v runs around in sandals without any socks. I am going nuts, am so angry, just looking at them like this makes me shiver. I want to tell them of to dress until I find out that Ricardo hasn´t got a jumper any more that fits him, Jose Luis has no other shoes, not mentioning socks. The Mario is complaining that he is also freezing and how much he hates the cold. I thought these are jokes, the kids must surely have some clothes.
But I find out that the parents need to finance that, at least a great part, Ñanta hasn’t got the finances for it (remember they support 250 kids) but the parents think Ñanta should give more support, they think should stop the kids going to school or having so much spare time but work more and more so they can buy it themselves. So I spoke to Marko, the director and my dear friend that we will go to the market together and I will buy them a thick jumper each, and they kids in return will make me bracelets for my dear friends in Europe :o)
But of course one jumper is not enough for the cold winter, they are still in need of socks, shoes, winter trousers, thick night suits…. Futhermore chairs a missing, some of the kids eat their dinner standing on the table, I would love to paint the bedrooms in happy colours, the walls are currently filthy and dark.
Maybe you can help us with a small donation. The boys and Ñanta would never forget it and would love to do you some bracelets and necklaces as a thank you. Please don`t think twice about it, they need help so much. Should you want to donate some money please send me a short reply and I will send you the bank details.
