Reports on Give 100 kids hope for a better future in La Paz.

Project Report | Aug 6, 2015
Making a Difference

By Katie Harris | Director of Development

Lucia Cuño is a teacher at the Kaya Center. Lucia has a degree in elementary education. At Kaya, Lucia is in charge of the classroom with the youngest children. She helps the children do their homework and gives them the support they need to do well in school. Many of the children in Lucia’s classroom arrived at Kaya very behind in school due to an absence encompassing years or never having attended school at all. Lucia gives each student the individualized attention needed to get caught up and be successful.

Born in a small town in the jungle region of Bolivia, Lucia had a childhood similar to many of the children who are part of Kaya. She was born to a poor family with parents who couldn’t read or write, so they never saw the need for Lucia to go to school. “My father refused to let me go to school because I was only a woman,” she says, “and he said there was no need for women to learn something. They are only supposed to clean the house and help raise their brothers.”

But her parents’ opinion didn’t stop Lucia from achieving her goals. She convinced her mother to allow her to go to school with the condition that she didn’t neglect her home tasks. After graduating, Lucia was awarded a scholarship to go to university, where she earned her degree and became a primary school teacher.

“I identify with the kids I am working with at Kaya. Many years ago I was just like them. I try to teach them that it is possible to have a better tomorrow; that it is possible to change your life.” Thank you, Lucia, for all your hard work and for being a living example to the kids that there is a “better tomorrow.” The Kaya children love you very much, and your knowledge and teaching will stay with them forever.

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May 7, 2015
Finding Warmth in the Cold

By Michelle Cazas | Communications and Development Leader

La Paz is known for being a city with extreme weather changes. These changes happen quickly, so it is not unusual to experience a large array of temperatures within the same day. It can go from cold and cloudy to intense heat to a thunderstorm all within a few hours. But recently the weather has been getting even colder compared to past years because there has been heavy snowfall in the mountains that surround the city causing low temperatures in La Paz.

As I leave my house in the morning to go to Kaya, I wear a lot of warm clothes. Even with all the layers, I still don’t feel warm enough. As I arrive to Kaya, I see a group of girls waiting outside for the Kaya Center to open. I notice they are only wearing a skirt and white tights, a blouse and a thin sweater. They are dressed in their school uniforms. I shiver just thinking how cold they must be. I assume these are the only clothes that many of the girls own because they wear their school uniforms to Kaya even during school vacations. I have seen a few girls in different outfits but none that provide adequate warmth. As I get closer, the girls smile and yell out my name, but I can see a great sadness in their hearts.

In Bolivia there is no heating, and when we enter the Kaya Center the girls snuggle together to get warm. To help them forget about the cold, I start talking with them. I notice one of the girls is rubbing her hands together more frequently than the others and ask her why. I am shocked and sadden when she tells me her hands hurt because she was washing clothes in the icy water of the river early that morning. This was her punishment for returning home dirty after playing the day before. Another girl interrupts saying, “What are you complaining about? At least your mom lets you play, I had to work all weekend.” Another girl brags that she is not cold at all. Imagining that she ate something nice and hot for breakfast that is keeping her warm I ask her what she had, but my heart sinks when she replies that she only ate a tangerine.

It is not even 9 o'clock on Monday morning, but my heart is heavy as I leave the classroom to go to the office. I feel hopeless that this country can change. I can’t help but think that childhood for so many is sad and painful. After I am in my office for a few hours, I return to the same classroom. As I walk back in, I feel as if I have entered a new room. I see the same group of girls from the morning, but this time they are playing. They are running from one place to another and the sound of their laughter fills the room. Their laugher is so infectious that I find myself laughing along with them. I get there just as the mid-morning snack arrives. This makes the children even more excited. They all enthusiastically raise their hands volunteering to pray for the food, and then the children eat their snack with great pleasure.

Later that day for lunch the cook makes a hot noodle soup, a favorite of the kids. They fill up on a hardy meal. As the kids are getting ready to head off to school, one of the girls hugs me and looks up at me and smiles. In that moment I think, “THERE IS A CHANGE!” The smile on her face is now real. It is a smile that reflects an inward joy and peace. As I say goodbye to each girl, I know they are not the same cold, hungry and sad kids I saw that same morning. Through Kaya’s Prevention Program, we provide children with a safe space so they do not turn to life on the streets. The hours that the children spend at the Kaya Center make a big difference. I am very grateful to be part of these children’s stories and to get to see firsthand their lives being restored each and every day at Kaya Children International.

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Feb 4, 2015
Radically Changing Lives

By Katie Harris | Associate Director of Development

She layed in my arms, motionless and distant, a child who seemed to have nothing to give, staring into space with empty eyes. Sick, weak, and hungry, she weighed hardly anything, but the weight of her sadness was almost more than I could physically bear. I was shocked, heartbroken, and full of anger. How could anyone do this to a child? I didn’t understand the feelings that overwhelmed me. I only knew that I had never felt this heartbroken before, and I hoped I would never have to feel this way again.

Esmeralda wasn’t always this way. Even in the worst imaginable circumstances this little child had an innocent joy that resonated from her. Although she didn’t know how to talk, she always greeted us with a smile and communicated with us in any way she could when we visted her mother and her at their home. A home that sat beside a polluted river; a home with a dirt floor; a home with no running water, no heat, not even a front door hung on a frame. Then soon after one of our visits, Esmeralda disappeared, and as many times as we asked her mother, we had no idea where to find her.

Esmeralda was severely sick, weak, and hungry when she finally arrived to the steps of Kaya. Her mother brought her. In many ways her mother was still a child herself. She had no support of her own, no real place to call home, and no desire to be a mother to Esmeralda. Perhaps she never knew her own mother’s love? However, in this moment she knew that something was wrong and that she urgently needed help for Esmeralda, so she brought her to the Kaya Center. She told us that she had left Esmeralda alone at an aunt’s house for several months where Esmeralda was severely neglected and physically abused. Esmeralda’s mother brought her to Kaya not only for help on that day, but she brought her to Kaya because she knew that she could not be a mother to precious Esmeralda.

It was a devastating and difficult experience for all of us. But it was also a day when new life began, a day that we all rejoiced at Kaya, because we knew the story of restoration was just beginning for sweet Esmeralda. It’s been almost two years since Esmeralda arrived at Kaya. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe the transformation of this child. From the little girl that sat motionless in my arms, to a child full of life, running around, smiling and bringing joy to everyone around her. She now lives with a family that treasures her, and this little girl now has a mother to show her what a mother’s tender love feels like.

Since I began working at Kaya over two years ago, I am often reminded of God’s pure love for His children. I can’t help but be in awe of the transformation I have witnessed in Esmeralda’s life – in many of the children’s lives. I am overwhelmed by His power and how he uses us for His work. He takes incredible darkness and transforms lives.

There are many people who have played a part in Esmeralda’s transformation. Kaya was able to give Esmeralda the intensive care that she needed because there is a band of supporters who believe together we can make a difference in the lives of our children in Bolivia. It’s because of your support that lives are being saved from devastation, restored, and radically transformed by the light of God’s love. Thank you for being our partners and providing the resources we need to save the lives of children.