Speech buddies

For a year and a half now, Isaura has been taking speech therapy thanks to wonderful family in the States that cover her sessions.  This year, because of her advances her sessions have been reduced from 3 times a week to twice a week.

This gave us the opportunity to start taking Fernando to speech therapy to receive help his ‘r’, ‘s’ and ‘l’s.  Isaura has always liked going to her sessions.  Yet, now she is even more motivated to go and work hard because she has buddy to go to classes with.

Isaura and Fernando

Special Invite

From time to time, some of the Dreamers get invited to different parties and celebrations. Usually, if all of the Dreamers aren’t able to go, it’s the older three that get to go. This time, the four youngest Dreamers, Joel, Fernando, Isaura, and Juan Daniel received an invite to a birthday party.

The four youngest after the party.

The barber/stylist that cuts the Dreamers’ hair has a little son. And for his son’s second birthday, He and his wife were planning a costume party and decided that they wanted to invite some of the Dreamers to come.

The kids had a good time getting all dressed up, and an even better time playing and meeting new friends at the party.

Romon

How do the Kids come to us

A very popular question about The House of Dreams is: How do the kids come to you?

We are a legal orphanage licensed by Bolivia. All the children living in the House of Dreams were brought to us by the Social Services of Cochabamba. Oftentimes this government office works closely with the Child Protective Services of the Police Department to remove children from harmful situations and place them in a safe home like ours.

Most of the Dreamers suffered some form of abuse or neglect which brought them to us. Speaking in very general terms I can tell you a few of the types of harmful environments from which our kids were removed.

• abandoned in a public bathroom as an infant
• severe physical abuse
• an infant being sold at the border
• sexual abuse
• homeless parents using drugs
• abandoned in a market for a long period of time
• left in the home alone as a toddler for a long period of time
• evidence of starvation
• severe malnutrition

If we are made aware of a situation in which it would be best for a child to be placed in an orphanage or foster home we must involve the correct governmental offices. For example, when a mother came to our door to give us the infant sibling of one of the children already in The House of Dreams we had to help her to work with social services to have the child placed in our home. In the end she didn’t want to speak to anyone in social services so she took the baby and left. We could not accept the baby without her involvement if she wanted to give up her child.

The families have the right and power to appeal to the courts to regain or attain custody. Some of the children who lived at the House of Dreams were finally reunited with their families after the relatives could improve the standards of care the child would receive in their homes.

In the cases where no blood relatives can be located, or the relatives have no desire to be involved in their lives, you might say that the children are true orphans. In only a handful of cases at the current time are there family members who are taking the necessary steps to attain or regain custody. The rest of the children are available to be placed in adoptive homes, or their paperwork is being processed to that end.

- Angie

Kindergarten Graduation 2012

Our kindergarteners had their graduation last week. Yeah! We are so proud of them!

Can you recognize: Fernando, Isaura, Joel, and Juan Daniel in this picture?

How precious they are in their caps and gowns!

The day of the ceremony the second graders had a special song for the graduates to officially welcome them into grade school.

Jhamil, Jose Luis, Benancio, and Emelin getting lined up to present their number with the kindergarteners sitting on the stage behind them.

Congratulations graduates!

- Angie

Arts and P.E. fair

Last Saturday, our Dreamers participated in the school’s arts and physical education fair.  There were dances, songs, and P.E. routines with all of the grades, along with displays of the year’s arts work.  Below are a few snapshots from the fair.

Fernando and his kindergarten class singing about a little man called Martin Tin

 

Anne and her 4th grade class  performing a hula-hoop routine

 

Estefani, at the end of her 5th grade class dance routine

-Marisol

The Cave

After homework is done at the House of Dreams and everything calms down, boredom sets in pretty quickly. This is where we have to use our creativity to keep the Dreamers occupied. Sometimes it’s watching a movie, sometimes it’s going to the park, and sometimes we even make up games to play. But this time, we decided to build a cave.

Jhoselyn, Isaura, and Fernando enjoying themselves.

We used blankets, chairs, and couches to make the cave. And we were actually able to make it large enough for all fifteen Dreamers to be able to play in it. A little creativity, indeed, goes a long way!

Romon

Lesson: Learned

As a kid, I had a bad habit of leaving things laying around and not taking care of my things. My father always warned me that when I don’t take care of things, they usually get lost or somehow end up broken.

One year, my parents bought me a remote control car as a Christmas gift. My father warned me, as always, to make sure I picked up my new toys when I was done with them. I didn’t listen. Later that same morning, my car had been stepped on and completely crushed on accident by my father. The car was now trash, and I was devastated. That day, I learned my lesson: to take better care of my things.

Lots of things I try to teach the Dreamers, I’m telling them from experience.  I often find myself trying to explain to them the importance of taking care of their things, just like my father used to teach me.

Recently, someone gave Fernando a new ball. He was so excited. I explained to him that he should take good care of it, because when it is gone, it’s gone.

He listened to my directions, shook his head in agreement and smiled. 10 minutes later, he returned to me with a frown on his face and a completely deflated ball in his hand. He was trying to stand on top of the ball with gravel under the ball. Apparently, one of the rocks ripped the ball open.

The aftermath.

I consoled him and then again explained to him the importance of taking care of his things. I’m pretty sure he learned his lesson.

Romon

A Quick Visit

Usually when volunteers come they stay from anywhere between about a week up to about three months. But every once in a while we get people interested in coming by just for a day to do something special.

This was the case with Surya. She is an artist that is volunteering here in Cochabamba with a different organization, but decided to come over to the HOD for a day and do an art project with the kids.

Surya, instructing Fernando.

Surya had a great time, as did the kids. They appreciate learning new things, and whether long-term or short-term, they always appreciate meeting new people.

Romon

Preacher Man

Here in Cochabamba a majority of the population does not own cars, so there is no shortage of public transportation. There is an abundance of taxis, and because the House of Dreams does not own a car, this is usually our method of travel.

From time to time we’ll get talkative taxi drivers. They love to chat and joke with the Dreamers on our way to our destination, and the Dreamers love it just as much.

Earlier this week we caught a taxi in order to return home from an outing. We piled into the taxi with Dreamers and volunteers alike. While everyone was getting adjusted Fernando noticed a rosary hanging from the rear view mirror.

He spoke up and asked the driver, “Is Jesus on there?” The taxi driver hesitated, then just handed it to Fernando so that he could examine it for himself.

Fernando quickly examined it, looked back at the taxi driver and said, “Oh, yes, Jesus is on there. Do you know why he is on there?”

The man blushed and hesitated, then began to respond when Fernando cut him off. “He got on the cross and died for our sins, for your sins, so that we can have a chance to go to heaven.” The man looked over at me with a ‘Did you tell him to say this?’ look. I understood the look. I chuckled, shrugged my shoulders, and shook my head in response to his non-verbal question.

Fernando continued, “Do you want to go to heaven?”

“Yes,” the man replied, flashing an embarrassed grin.

“Good, because all you have to do is believe in him,” Fernando stated while pointing to the cross.

The man just smiled at Fernando for a moment before saying, “Thank you, preacher.”

“You’re welcome,” Fernando responded with a smile of accomplishment.

The Dreamers are raised on Christian values. They are taught these values at home, but also attend Sunday School every week and go to a Christian school. It is good to know that the message is sticking.

If you are interested in providing bibles or books (bilingual or Spanish) for the Dreamers and the Tias please let us know and we will give you instructions on how.

- Romon

Fernando’s Cupcakes

At the Dreamer’s school, when it’s someone’s birthday, that kid’s parents usually take a cake or some type of snack to the school for the birthday kid to share with their classmates. This was the case for Fernando’s sixth birthday. Angie made some cupcakes for him to take to school and share with his classmates. Here are a few pictures of the event:

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Fernando is still talking non-stop about his party and how much he liked the cupcakes. He was extremely grateful.

Happy Birthday Fernando!

Romon