After spending two relaxing weeks in Buenos Aires, Argentina with my friend Sam (who has a delicious burrito restaurant in the center of the city, www.californiaburritoco.com), I arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Although it had been three years since I last came to Cochabamba, everything seemed to be quite familiar. From the incredibly lax immigration checkpoint to the inevitable bartering with taxi drivers, and of course the imposing statue of Cristo de la Concordia, I felt as if I had not been away from Cochabamba for more than a few months.
However, my excitement upon seeing familiar landmarks was secondary to the anticipation I had to see the children of the Villa. Alas, upon arriving that first day, most of the children were at school and a major planning project was underway in a nearby residence of the Villa called La Morada. At La Morada, I met and reunited with the mamas of the Villa, who were discussing activities and goals for the upcoming year. These discussions would last two days, and during this time, I learned a great deal about the daily operations of the Villa, as well as the difficult emotional circumstances in which these children are living. One of the administrators at the Villa noted that 70% of the children do not know the facts of their origin. And as many of the mamas noted in our discussions, one of the greatest challenges they face is explaining to a child that he or she was abandoned. When I asked individual mamas how they dealt with this situation, I received different answers, some preferring to be direct and telling the child that their parents could not support them and others opting to say that their mother or father was working so that one day they could be reunited with their child. I do not feel that I am in any place to judge whether one approach is better than the other, and through these conversations, I began to develop a great respect for the mamas of the Villa and the courage and dedication they impart to each child under their care.
Today, we returned to the Villa to resume the daily activities of morning prayer, sholastic tutoring, and of coure, sports. As there are seven houses in the Villa, I have made a schedule to eat with each house twice a week. Already, I have gotten to know many of the children, either from meals or from going place to place. It is amazing how affectionate and excited they are with me, even after such a short time, and it makes my job here much brighter. After eating lunch today with La Casa San Miguel, I took some of the children to play basketball. While most of them still struggle with the basics of dribbling and shooting, it was clear that they enjoyed themselves. The most memorable moment of the day came when a young girl named Lucero, who could not dribble and shot underhanded, made her first basket. Before the epic play, Lucero and I strategized about how we were going to get her open for a shot. After several successful fakes and no timely passes, she got the ball and shot, underhanded, from about five feet away...nothing but net (actually the baskets don´t have nets). She was so excited, running around, waving her arms in the air and shouting in delight. After we finished playing, Lucero told me that she wanted to play again tomorrow. Sure, I told her, we will keep practicing.
The last two nights, after eating dinner in La Casa Kantuta and La Casa Copacabana, I have helped children with their homework. The mamas of the casas tell me who needs the most help, and I try to do what I can to assist them. Tonight I began what will hopefully be the first of many English lessons with children in the Villa. Gardenia, a girl in La Casa Copacabana, and I practiced writing answers to questions about important dates in Bolivian history. I was glad to partake in this exercise, because I learned some things myself, such as the Bolivian Independence Day, Cochabamba Holiday, and the Bolivian Mother´s Day (it´s different than ours).
There certainly are many more details to fill in about my first few days in the Villa, but it is hard to put everything into words. Throughout the next 365 days, I will be updating you on what I am doing here in the Villa. But if you have any additional questions that are not answered in the posts, fell free to email me. Also, I would encourage you to check out some of the links, especially the one pertaining to the Amistad Mission. It will give you an overview of what the goals of the Mission are and how they are achieved.