Education Bolivia Project #4209

Rescuing children from a life on the streets

by Kaya Children International

Project Report | May 17, 2016
Meet Guadalupe

By Katie Harris | Director of Development

Guadalupe, the youngest of four siblings, is only two years old, but in her short life, she has experienced pain and neglect. Guadalupe's father died, leaving his family to live in extreme poverty on the outskirts of La Paz with an abusive mother. Since she was born, Guadalupe has been in and out of state shelters, but each time she was returned to the small room she shared with her mother and siblings.

This pattern was repeated until Guadalupe’s five-year-old brother was admitted to the hospital. Tragically, Guadalupe’s brother died due to abuse. At this time, Guadalupe was again placed in a state shelter, where she was mistreated. She was admitted to the hospital due to severe malnutrition and physical violence.

A state social worker could not find a home for Guadalupe. She was suffering, and she needed to be cared for. The state social worker knew of Kaya and requested that Guadalupe come and live in our residential program. Guadalupe arrived at Kaya two months ago. Kaya’s social worker, Pamela, says, "When Guadalupe arrived, she didn't seem to have a desire to live. She was dirty, malnourished, and had a head full of lice."

Guadalupe was a very sad girl when she arrive

d at Kaya. The first time Guadalupe had lunch at Kaya, she was so hungry she ate two bowls of soup and two plates of food. Sadly, she was so afraid, she sat silent and alone.

But Guadalupe´s life has improved since then. Gradually, we have seen a beautiful smile where before only sadness lurked. Whereas Guadalupe used to awaken unhappy, silent, and pensive, now she gets up with a smile on her face and immediately starts singing songs in her bed until the others wake up.

Guadalupe has a long way to go. She still has several signs of the abuse with which she lived all her life; but slowly, with the help of Kaya, Guadalupe’s childhood is being restored. She is well fed, spends time in the park, receives medical attention, and most importantly, she feels love from the staff and the children who know her.

Help provide a loving home and specialized care for Guadalupe and the other little ones at Kaya by making a gift today. In the month of May, any gift given to support the littlest at Kaya will be MATCHED!

Permalink

Feb 17, 2016
The Kaya Kids are going back to school

By Katie Harris | Director of Development

Nov 10, 2015
Making a Difference for Sofia

By Michelle Cazas | Communications Director

Extreme poverty is a sad reality in Bolivia. Mere words cannot describe the wretched conditions in which many children live. No running water or electricity. Crumbling walls that cannot protect against cold weather. Insufficient food to eat. No one to care for you. These are only some aspects that permeate the environment that some children in La Paz have to face every day.

Recently, I visited the home of a little girl and witnessed this situation with my own eyes. Being there, one is overwhelmed by the abject poverty and cannot help but understand how it affects every aspect of a child's life.

The home I visited was that of a little girl named Sofia. She is a four-year-old who doesn´t know what it is like to live a life where there is food on the table (or even a table). She does not know the meaning of clean clothes; she has only the dirty ones she wears each day. She does not know the feeling of taking a shower because she does not have a shower at her house. Her head is constantly full of lice. Sofia lives with her six-year-old sister, her one-month-old baby sister, and her parents. They all live in a two-meter square room lacking all the basic necessities. When we first met Sofia and her family, it was apparent that the family structure was marked by indifference. Sofia´s mom didn´t know when Sofia was born. She thought it wasn’t important since Sofia was the second child and not the first.

Sofia's father works in the informal market as a mason. He needs to find construction work every week. If he is lucky, he makes 50 Bolivianos ($7.50 US) a day—if he is able to find a job that day. If not, the family suffers through another day of hunger and unfulfilled needs.

Sofia attends the Kaya Center. She is part of Kaya’s prevention program, a program that exists to intervene before children make a permanent transition to the street. When I visited Sofia’s home, my instinct was to want to remove this child from her home. How can a little girl live in these conditions? But there is a bond between Sofia and her mom, however imperfect the relationship may be. We work to keep families together. The hard truth is we have limited space in our houses. Our girls' house filled up so quickly with girls who had NO place at all to call home.

Kaya can't eliminate poverty in Bolivia, but we can work to lessen the burdens of some of the children living in it. Sofia is not the only child in Bolivia who lives in these conditions; indeed, every child in Kaya´s prevention program does, and this is why the Kaya Center exists.

Kaya believes there is hope for the future for children like Sofia. Thus, we gave her the opportunity to attend kindergarten. We also make sure she eats a nutritional meal every day at the Kaya Center. In addition, we continue to work with her family to help improve conditions so they can escape extreme poverty one day. At Kaya Children International, we are engaged in the long-term work of changing lives. Your support to Kaya helps make a difference in Sofia's life and for many other children who would otherwise call the streets home.

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.