Kaya Children's Blog

Painting Butterflies

2011-12-06T11:55:00.004-05:00

Remember Silvia? We featured her recently during our Kaya Challenge series, but wanted to share even more about this wonderful girl in the Kaya Center!

Silvia just turned 8 years old last month. She has a passion for learning and is extremely hardworking, often asking the teachers at the Kaya Center for more practice math problems or spelling and sentence construction exercises. However, her passion is for arts and crafts. From finger painting to beads and macaroni, she loves being creative and incorporating her favorite animals, “osos” (bears) and “mariposas” (butterflies), into her work. In her world, mariposas have eyebrows. Silvia just finished her latest masterpiece, created at the Kaya Center!

Kaya UNICEF Project Partnership

2011-11-27T10:57:00.000-05:00

The Bolivia UNICEF office and the Bolivian Vice-Secretary of Citizen Security posted a public invitation to carry out a consultancy with the purpose of creating an “Integral and intersectional model for prevention and attention for children and adolescents on the streets.” This measure has come about by a request from NGO networks that work with children on the streets that have identified times when there has been a lack of public policies that will guarantee appropriate attention for the kids. With this consulting project, the idea is to answer this need by generating public policies focused on Human Rights, establishing coordinating mechanisms between the different actions of the State and civil society organizations.

Kaya Children International, along with the CDEA, was given the consultancy. The first phase has two steps: firstly to co-construct a model with all of the actors, from four regions in the country, that intervene in serving children and adolescents in the street, secondly the implementation of the model in one or two regions. As an institution, we will achieve political and public impact, as well as having up to date information that will benefit the way we carry out our own programs, continuing with the objectives set out in our strategic plan.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T14:04:00.005-05:00

the books in the library. I really like the Clifford books. -- Jorge

The kids at Kaya love to read, and most of the books in the library are well-loved with worn pages from constant reading. Help keep our shelves filled with books and stories for the kids to explore.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T14:03:00.008-05:00

for my Kaya family. I have people who look out for me and love me. I also have had many great experiences that I used to not think I could have. -- Nico

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T14:03:00.006-05:00

having a warm house to live in. -- Hector

$1,000 will pay a house parent’s salary for 2 months. Being a house parent is a 24/7 job. House parents live in the houses with our boys and help cultivate a strong, positive family environment.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T14:02:00.004-05:00

going to school everyday. My favorite subject is math. I'm learning addition and subtraction now! -- Sandra

$5000 will cover the annual school fees for 40 children. Your support gives kids like Sandra the opportunity to get an education.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T13:54:00.005-05:00

having people who care for me. I am also thankful that my brother is here with me and that I can take care of him. -- Adrian

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-22T11:37:00.002-05:00

all my friends at Kaya. We go to school together and are best friends. We especially like to dance! -- Camilla

This photo was taken at the most recent Kaya Awards ceremony, where Camilla and her friends performed a hip-hop dance routine.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-21T10:35:00.002-05:00

all of my friends at Kaya! They are like my family. I like to play chess and soccer with them. -- Eddie

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-18T13:12:00.004-05:00

the chance I have to work with such wonderful children everyday! It is a great blessing to be part of these kids' lives. -- Pamela, a staff and teacher with Kaya Children.

Pamela teaches and mentors the younger children at the Kaya Center, who all love her. Her great patience towards and love for the children are evident in the way she cares for these children. A $500 donation will help pay the salary for a teacher like Pamela for a month.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-17T10:11:00.003-05:00

how Kaya helped me when I broke my leg and couldn't walk around. Now, I can even play on the trampoline! -- Angel

Kids will be kids, and accidents happen. Your gift provides us the resources to support these kids at every step of their recovery. $50 covers basic health care for 25 kids for a month.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-15T11:38:00.005-05:00

being able to go to school and do art projects at the Kaya Center! -- Silvia

Silvia is painting a t-shirt as part of an activity at the Kaya Center which taught the children about peace and human rights.

Why Join the Kaya Challenge?

2011-11-14T11:51:00.002-05:00

By joining the Kaya Challenge, you are helping us create new program opportunities to care for children in Bolivia such as this little girl. Your donations will go towards her education, health care, and clinical services. Far more important, however, your support means that she will be able to spend her days in a safe and caring environment.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-11T12:05:00.003-05:00

the yummy food I get to eat at lunch! -- Jorge

For some of the kids at Kaya, the lunch they eat at the Kaya Center is the only nutritious meal they have throughout the day. $25 provides meals and snacks for 1 child at the Kaya Center for a month.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-10T13:54:00.005-05:00

the support that I have and the opportunity to do what I truly enjoy. -- Israel

Israel is pursuing his culinary passions by working at a bakery. We challenge you to consider taking the Kaya Challenge because it is your support that helps children/youth like Israel achieve their dreams.

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-09T13:07:00.003-05:00

the many friends I have at Kaya and for the teachers who care for me. I also like reading and there are lots of books in the library. -- Jimena

How Far Does Your Money Go?

2011-11-08T13:45:00.005-05:00

Why do you give to Kaya Children International? Whatever your reason, we are so grateful for your generosity! Your support means that we will be able to continue to provide long-term, quality care for our children. Some of you may be wondering what it costs for Kaya to provide the services that it does and how far your money goes. We have said earlier that $500 will pay a teacher's salary for a month; $1000 will pay a house parent's salary for 2 months; and $5000 will cover the annual school fees for 40 children. Here are some other numbers to get you thinking:

$25 provides meals and snacks for 1 child at the Kaya Center for a month.
$50 covers basic health care for 25 kids for a month.
$100 covers special activities and field trips for all kids in the Kaya Center for a month.
$150 provides clinical services to a child for a year (ex. counseling, case management, crisis support, family support and counseling, assessment, etc.).
$375 pays one psychologist working with 30 kids for a month.

Beyond the numbers, your support means that the children in Kaya are able to spend their days in a safe environment, where they are loved, where they are able to dream big, and where they are able to just be kids.

What Are You Thankful For?

2011-11-07T10:20:00.004-05:00

Taking a note from the Thanksgiving season, the theme for this year's Kaya Challenge is "Thankfulness." As we take the Challenge together, we encourage you to think about what you are thankful for and how you can give others things to be thankful for as well.

We here at Kaya are extremely thankful for all of our wonderful friends and supporters. We are also thankful for the fantastic staff we have in Bolivia, who have dedicated their lives to helping and promoting justice for street children!

The Kaya Challenge Beings!

2011-11-04T11:28:00.002-04:00

Are you ready to take the Challenge?

We hope you are...because the second annual Kaya Challenge begins today!

This time leading up to Thanksgiving is a natural time for gratitude and generosity, and the Kaya Challenge offers an opportunity for increased generosity and gratitude in a fun and creative way. The Kaya Challenge is for you, as a friend of Kaya, to spend time reaching out to your personal networks to share about the good work that Kaya is doing and to help us raise funds and friends. Whether you are a longtime friend to Kaya or just someone with a healthy competitive streak, we've made it very easy and fun to take the Challenge. Just follow the three simple steps below:

Set a goal: You can raise funds individually or on a team of friends and/or coworkers! Set a financial goal. Any amount is a great help, but here are some numbers to get you thinking: $500 will pay a teacher's salary for a month; $1000 will pay a house parent's salary for 2 months; and $5000 will cover the annual school fees for 40 children.
Create a personal online fundraising page: Go to https://kaya.myetap.org/fundraiser/KayaChallenge/.
Spread the word: Tell your friends and family that you are taking the Kaya Challenge to help raise money for street children in Bolivia. Share stories that explain why you are supporting Kaya and what the work that Kaya does mean to you. Email, update your Facebook, Twitter or even try good old-fashioned phone calls. Small donations add up quickly and make a big impact!

As the Kaya Challenge continues, keep visiting this blog for daily updates and stories from our kids in Bolivia. We also encourage you to go on over to our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kaya-Children-International/264721063556376) and "like" us. We hope you will join us this month to help make a difference in the lives of many children!

Ready? Get set. Go!

Kaya Founder Featured in the August ACP Hospitalist

2011-10-20T11:23:00.002-04:00

Kaya Founder, Dr. Chi Huang, sits down to talk about medicine, his career, his favorite way to spend free time, and Kaya Children International.

From the August ACP Hospitalist, by Jessica Berthold.

Chi-Cheng Huang, ACP Member.

Occupation: Chairperson, Department of Hospital Medicine, Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Burlington, Mass.

Age: 39.

Current residence: Lincoln, Mass.

Hometown: College Station, Texas.

Family: Married with three daughters.

Medical school: Harvard Medical School.

Residency: Harvard Combined Internal Medicine/ Pediatrics Residency Program.

Specialty: Hospital medicine in internal medicine. I still moonlight sometimes in pediatrics at a walk-in clinic in East Boston.

Something I wish I'd learned in medical school: The interpersonal bedside management skills with patients and families that are required to be a caring physician. You might be the most intelligent physician in the world and not be able to get to “yes” to take care of a patient's needs, without these skills.

.....

Most meaningful non-medical accomplishment: Being a husband and father, and then the nonprofit organization I founded, Kaya Children International, which helps assist Bolivian Street Children.

Read the rest of the interview here.

A Kaya Children De Nuevo

2011-08-08T12:01:00.006-04:00

Written in Bolivia by Stephanie Kuei, Communications Officer with Kaya Children.

Coming back to Bolivia to work with Kaya Children again has been such a tremendous blessing for me! When I came two years ago, I honestly had no idea what to expect nor what I was getting myself into, but I ended up spending a beautiful summer falling in love with a new culture and with all the kids at Kaya Children.

When I left Bolivia two years ago, the kids asked me to stay, or at least return to visit them again. I promised I would return, but did not know when I actually would be able to. Imagine my excitement when I realized I would be able to fulfill the promise I made to the kids!

When I arrived at the Kaya Center on my first day of work, I was greeted by the smiling face of Luis Angel, one of the boys who came to Kaya Children on my last day at the Kaya Center two years ago. He immediately ran up to me and gave me a huge hug, all the while exclaiming, “You’re back! You’re back! You promised to come to visit us again the last time you were here, and here you are! You kept your promise!”

The rest of the day was spent reuniting with all the kids I met the last time – after they got over the initial surprise of seeing me again – and meeting all the new kids in the expanded Kaya Center program. It was awesome to see just how many more children are now able to benefit from Kaya Children’s programs and the dedication of all the staff to the kids. It is truly a wonderful place full of amazing people.

The past two months I have spent with Kaya Children have gone by very quickly, and it is hard to believe that I now find myself at the end of my time in Bolivia. I am going to miss helping kids with their homework, playing random games throughout the day with the kids, waiting in the dining hall for one of the younger kids to finish up her one-and-a-half hour lunch, the constant sound of chattering voices, the millions of hugs that I give and receive every day. I will miss my Bolivian family.

The past few days, the kids have been trying to convince me to stay. “No te vayas, mami, no te vayas!” – “Don’t leave, mommy, don’t leave!” And even though I will be leaving tomorrow, I know that leaving does not mark the end of my time with Kaya Children. The memories I have from these two months will continue to stay with me, and I know that I will be coming back again in the future.

One of Lincoln, Nebraska’s churches travels to La Paz, Bolivia to do mission work.

2011-05-31T14:43:00.002-04:00

As reported by Jessica Fitch

Kaya Children International is a nonprofit organization who works with street children and getting them off the streets and into a stable environment. These children come from abused families, sexually and physically. Kaya hopes that one day no child has to call the streets home.

Pastor John Eggen led Sheridan Lutheran church on a six-day trip and brought school supplies for each child. We have been partnering with Kaya for the past several years. For more information about Kaya or to meet some of the children, see www.kayachildren.org or to read more from this trip visit www.sheridanlutheran.org

In Genesis 1:26-27 we read about how God created humanity in His image and declared it to be good. I believe each individual is created with inherent dignity. Each child and adult we saw on our visit around La Paz deserves the same level of respect as those most revered.

Yet we know, even though Jesus even tells us we serve him when we serve those in need, it is rarely the case they are well cared for. Extreme poverty tends to make us uncomfortable about ourselves, about our possession, and can leave us feeling helpless. In these places there is darkness, a darkness that exists because of the collective sin of the world, what some call institutional sin.

As much as talking about 12-year-old prostitutes makes us uncomfortable, it is the reality of our world. What’s needed isn’t for us to ignore this reality but confronting it with the hope of the Gospel and an attitude of service, humility, care and dignity.

We were able to see one of the ways that happens through the Kaya Center, a place where we focus on dignity, individual children, and the innocence of childhood. Their goals: living the love and grace of Christ, and returning childhood to these children with a hope for a better future.

We live in a dark world, but I still believe in the power of Christ’s body, the Church to overcome this darkness.

About the author: Jessica Fitch, 26, is a four-year member of Sheridan Lutheran Church. She works as an ultrasound technician at an imaging center in Lincoln.

Reflections on Bolivia

2011-04-20T10:45:00.005-04:00

Written by Anne King, a Kaya Children board member.

I have had a special place in my heart for Kaya children since I first became involved with the program more than 5 years ago. But, in contrast to my enthusiastic support of Kaya’s mission, I must admit, the thought of traveling to Bolivia was, frankly, something I feared. I had fears about water and food safety, altitude sickness, language barriers, and fear for my personal safety. But above all, my biggest fear was “What if I meet the children, and what if God calls upon me to stay in Bolivia to help them?”

Kaya’s community, La Paz, Bolivia, is located 12,000 feet above sea level in a sunken valley of the majestic Andes Mountain range. Half of its 1.5 million people live comfortably in the beautiful protected valley, but those who live in the mountains above, do so in extreme poverty. They face sometimes brutal weather conditions, living in tin roofed dirt floor shelters without clean water, electricity, or heat. I witnessed a contrast between the lives of the valley people and the mountain people of this beautiful region of the world, and it was more illuminating than I could have imagined.

Even more pronounced was the contrast in living standards and opportunities afforded the families and children who participated in Kaya’s programs versus those forced to live on the streets. In the safety of Kaya Homes, I met happy, healthy, children engaged in family activities with the house “aunt” and “uncle” and their “brothers.” At the Kaya Center I saw joyful boys and girls completing their schoolwork and playing soccer and other games. The children are provided hot meals and clean water in safe and sanitary buildings. Despite their difficulties and the language barrier, the children were secure and outgoing and cheerfully worked with me as we both struggled to communicate. At the Kaya Independence Apartments, I watched proudly as the first few high school graduates of the program were training for future careers as an auto mechanic, computer technician, and physical education teacher.

The joy and security of the children I met at Kaya was in stark contrast to the nightmare conditions of so very many children who call the streets of La Paz their home – a place with little humanity, without the love, guidance, or hope for the future that every child deserves. I learned that to sleep “safely” during the day, an eight-year old boy or girl, will pay the equivalent of 30 cents to sleep indoors on the filthy threadbare seat cushions of a run-down movie theater in a dangerous part of the city. I saw at midday, on the side of a busy downtown street, young boys lying down in a confused haze with swollen faces from fighting and inhaling paint thinner. I observed a young mother sitting with those boys holding her perfectly beautiful, curious, and smiling toddler, and I could only wonder if this beautiful child would soon end up on the street like the other children, alone and struggling for survival, or if through the embrace of the Kaya programs we will be able to help him avoid such a fate.

I saw firsthand how simple things like clean water, a school uniform, a warm nourishing meal, and support from educators with homework, basic medical care, and healthy families made the difference between children staying in school and seeking a future, or dropping out. I saw firsthand just how critical it is that Kaya’s programs continue to provide services to the street children of La Paz, and to those children at high risk of becoming street children. The trip I feared to take let God show me the importance of what I was doing and solidified my commitment to continue to advance Kaya’s mission. But where do we go from here? We have made such a profound difference in the lives of Kaya children, but there are so many children in desperate need.

Traveling back from La Paz, I found myself sitting next to a woman, who as it turns out, has spent her entire career courageously working for a large organization that provides leadership in global health matters. I asked her, “How do we make a difference for the children and families we serve through Kaya?” With a lifetime devoted to helping those most vulnerable and with the most need, she encouraged me: Keep making a difference, one child, one family at a time. She said that, over time and with perseverance, small steps provide opportunities, and through those opportunities we do change lives.

The Kaya Family

2011-03-19T19:47:00.003-04:00

Written by Rafael Torrez Montaño, one of the boys at Kaya Children. Translated by Stephanie Kuei, Communications Officer with Kaya Children.

I would like to tell you something that happened to me, but first let me say that I am very happy here. I have learned many things and have had many experiences which have taught me a lot. One opportunity is being able to go to school where I can learn to read and write. I also have many friends at Kaya Children, so it is very fun even though we also have to do chores. I am twelve years old and enjoy playing basketball.

My Life at Kaya

It is a joy to be at Kaya Children because I don’t lack anything. I have food, clothes, a house to live in, a bed to sleep on, and many friends. I like the daily devotionals we do every morning because I learn new things everyday that are important for my life. These days, we pray a lot for the people affected by the landslides in La Paz and those who were affected by the earthquake in Japan.

After devotionals, we head over to school in our minibus. On Mondays, we salute the flag, pray, sing the national anthem, and march to our classrooms. I love recess at Kaya Children because I can play on the patio.

I get along well with my teachers, tutors, and mentors at the Kaya Center, and they have taught me many things, such as being respectful to other people, especially those who love me. My best friend is Juan Manuel. Together, we do all sorts of things, like homework, chores, and fun activities.

When I grow up, I want to be a doctor, but a Christian doctor because of my beliefs and all the Christian values I have gained from going to church. I know that to become a good doctor, I will need to study hard. I am doing well in school, and my teachers constantly encourage me.

I want to continue to learn more about God because He fills me with His grace and protects me. I love everyone who works at and supports Kaya Children with all my heart because I am so grateful for the opportunities you give me. I hope that God always blesses you.

With love,

Rafa

15:30PM

2011-02-16T23:43:00.003-05:00

Written by Ruth Härlin, volunteer with Kaya Children (August 2010 – August 2011).

There’s only half an hour left until the bell is going to ring. Adrian sits in front of me, busy entertaining his peers, laughing, telling the stories of the last weekend – busy doing anything but his homework; and it’s my task to make him do it. It could sound like an easy thing to do: helping the boys and girls with their homework after lunch. I really like working with them, these guys have conquered my heart within my first days at Kaya Children International in La Paz, Bolivia. But there are moments in which I wonder whether I have

the capacities to motivate them to do tasks like looking up the meaning of difficult words in

their small dictionaries. Especially on a day like this, with the sun shining in the blue sky, knowing that the boys already had a hard day at school filled with tests and presentations and teachers who want them to quietly pay attention…

“Adrian, look, you are going to have a break within a few minutes. Let’s finish this task, and you’ll be free to play whatever you want to,” I make a last effort.

“I know, but I think I’ve lost my encyclopedia. Someone must have stolen it. It was here, in

my bag. Now it’s gone. It seems like I won’t be able to do this task, then.”

He smiles at me, and I’m trying hard to resist his big, bright eyes that want to convince me

to not insisting on his task anymore. But I know there’ll only be more trouble for him. So I start searching. More boys and girls just finished with the same task, there must be some free dictionaries around here…

“Gabriella, could you pass us that dictionary, please?”

“Why?”

“Come on, Adrian needs to finish his task.”

Having thought about it during some seconds, Gabriella decides to be generous today. Adrian does not seem to be very happy about that, but I am willing to help him doing his homework as he should. We look up words like “tension”, “architecture” and “speculum”, Adrian writes them down, complaining that he’ll probably never need these words, and that the spelling is really strange.

Later, two minutes left until the break, he notices three words somebody has written on the first page of the encyclopedia: “I am silly.” His eyes lighten up. “Ruth! Look, it says 'I am silly!' It’s mine! It must be mine! The girl sitting next to me in class has put it there when I

stole her pencil case! Wow, that’s great! I found it! I am silly!” He wraps his arms around my neck, kisses my cheek, and runs outside, into the sun, singing along “I am silly, I am silly…”

This is just one of many experiences since I got here, and I’m so grateful to be with these boys who somehow manage to warm my heart every day I see them.

Celebrating Christmas at Kaya Children

2011-01-11T01:49:00.014-05:00

Written by Paula Vargas, the Field Director, and translated by Stephanie Kuei, the Communications Officer.

Christmas at Kaya Children was a month-long period of preparation and celebration. The children at Kaya began the month of December with reflections and devotions in the homes. The staff, too, went on a staff retreat led by the new Field Director, Paula Vargas, and were able to reflect on the past year, renew their commitment to Kaya Children, and prepare for the upcoming year.

On Friday, December 17, the children went to the Iglesia del Evangelio Total (Full Gospel Church), where they heard a moving message and took part in a nativity play.

There was also a Christmas choir which delighted everyone with their Christmas carols, accompanied by flutes and guitars.

To conclude the celebration, the children decorated a white Christmas tree with homemade ornaments. There

was also a time of sharing where the children were able to give thanks for the blessings they experienced during the year.

On Christmas Eve, a special dinner was prepared in each of the homes and gifts were exchanged. Everyone had a very fun time!

Meet Our Staff: Paula Vargas

2011-01-11T01:35:00.001-05:00

“This job found me!”

Kaya has hired Paula Vargas Salamanca as our Director in La Paz. Paula joins Kaya with a long history serving children, families and communities in need. Paula holds degrees in Social Education, Children’s Rights, and Social Policy from the University of Bolivia in Cochabamba.

Paula’s most recent role was as the Executive Director of Amistad Mission in Cochabamba. The organization oversees rural development programs in the mountain villages surrounding Cochabamba and Villa Amistad, a home for abandoned and abused children. The 10 homes in the village currently serve 112 children between the ages of 2 and 25.

Paula moved to La Paz in May 2010 with her family thinking that perhaps she’d pursue a different type of work. “It was very hard to leave my position at Amistad because of the close relationships I had with the children. I wasn’t ready for more close relationships, I thought. But then this job found me,” she reports. “It really is a God thing, I have to tell you.”

“I dream of a world where there is zero tolerance for children living on the street, “ Paula says. She speaks passionately about creating a safer future for children. “Kaya can be a little Christian community based in a safe model for children helping them rehabilitate back into a family life.” Paula firmly believes that those of us who have chosen to help children living on the streets have a moral responsibility to do what we can to prevent children ending up in that situation. “The Kaya Center can be that integral service for children, families, communities and schools.”

Paula sees her primary life role as that of a mother. “I’m a mother in Kaya and a mother in my home.” In addition to the 40-some children associated with the Kaya Center, Paula has a 13 year old son and a 9 year old daughter.

Kaya Challenge a Success!

2010-12-07T10:45:00.001-05:00

It has been a busy time at Kaya Children! The month of October brought us the first ever Kaya Challenge, a fundraising campaign on FirstGiving, an online fundraising site, that lasted the entire month. Inspired by the success of the Global Giving fundraising campaign we had last spring, we started to brainstorm ways that would be a simple and fun way to get people connected with Kaya Children. What we came up with was the Kaya Challenge. Through this campaign, we shared the good works that Kaya Children does by reaching out to our own networks in addition to challenging Kaya supporters to become more involved by engaging their personal networks. We are happy to say that we raised $38,462 through this campaign to support our programs and met many new friends along the way. We are so thankful for and encouraged by the tremendous support everyone has shown and hope that you all continue to help us serve the children of Bolivia.

31 Days 31 Faces: Nicolas

2010-10-31T12:54:00.003-04:00

Meet Nicolas, a sixteen year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite subject at school is math, and he loves eating fruit. In his free time, he enjoys swimming, watching TV, and playing soccer. He hopes to one day become a professional soccer player, just like Victor Valdes, the goalkeeper for Barcelona.

31 Days 31 Faces: Antonio

2010-10-30T11:47:00.002-04:00

Meet Antonio, a nine year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves studying and learning new things. When he is not studying, he enjoys playing soccer, basketball, and baseball. He hopes to become a professional ball player one day -- the game does not matter as much. His favorite food is chicken.

31 Days 31 Faces: Juan

2010-10-29T16:47:00.002-04:00

Meet Juan, a twelve year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite subject in school is Math, and he particularly enjoys addition and multiplication. He loves listening to music in his free time. He hopes to own his own business someday.

31 Days 31 Faces: Cesar

2010-10-28T10:30:00.002-04:00

Meet Cesar, an eighteen year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite part of the Kaya Center is its library and his favorite classes at school are history and literature. In his free time, he likes to listen to music, play sports, and read. His dream is to become a musician.

31 Days 31 Faces: Erika

2010-10-27T10:08:00.002-04:00

Meet Erika, a thirteen year old girl at Kaya Children. She enjoys learning about the social sciences at school and hopes to be a psychologist when she grows up. In her free time, she likes playing soccer, doing crafts, and listening to music. Her favorite foods are chicken and majadito.

Photo: Erika (right) with another girl at Kaya.

31 Days 31 Faces: Fidel

2010-10-26T13:43:00.002-04:00

Meet Fidel, a fifteen year old at Kaya Children. He enjoys studying math at school and learning how to use the computers. In his free time, he likes to play soccer, listen to music, and take walks. His favorite foods are local food in La Paz and pork roast. He wants to become a doctor in the future.

31 Days 31 Faces: Juan Daniel

2010-10-25T11:36:00.003-04:00

Meet Juan Daniel, an eighteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves learning psychology and would like to be a psychologist if he were not already studying to become a chef. His passion for cooking has inspired his goal of opening his own restaurant. His favorite food is lasagna. He also enjoys playing soccer and meeting new people.

31 Days 31 Faces: Jorge

2010-10-22T14:37:00.003-04:00

Meet Jorge, a nine year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves playing soccer and basketball. His favorite foods are chicken and chicharon de pollo. He wants to study hard so that he can be a professional in the future.

Photo: Jorge (right) and Adrian (left).

31 Days 31 Faces: Rafael

2010-10-20T08:59:00.003-04:00

Written by Anne-Milda Pu, a volunteer who worked with Kaya Children in Bolivia the past two summers.

Going down to Bolivia to visit Kaya Children for a second time last summer, I sort of knew what to expect—the temperature is cold at night and warm during the day, the air is very thin, the sidewalks are busy but the streets are busier, and the people speak too fast. Yes, I knew the factual aspects but I realized that I had forgotten so much of what pulled me back to Bolivia in the first place. I had forgotten about the care that these kids share for one another and for their genuine love of life and their Kaya family.

While I was mainly painting their new school building a mural during the week I was there, I was able to spend two mornings with the kids. The morning I spent with the kids from Hogar Renacer brought back all my memories of what I had forgotten. I remember thinking that these kids really knew how to live their life. They weren’t stuck behind computer screens like so many kids their age are, but they were playing in their yard, they were doing their chores, they were playing marbles with the other boys there.

One of the boys I remembered from the year before was a boy named Rafael. Josh Lee (one of my teammates) was going to take pictures of their faces for the 31 Days 31 Faces interview so after we interviewed them he would snap a picture of them. Well, Rafael disappeared for a little while and when he came back, he was wearing a clean collared shirt, a nice pair of pants, had newly combed hair, and was shining his shoes! I thought it was so precious that he wanted to look his best from head to toe for a picture that was only going to feature his head. It breaks my heart to know that so many people label street kids as thieves and drug addicts because they haven’t even taken a week out of their busy lives to meet these kids. It amazes me that these kids who have had a past that is more difficult than I could ever imagine have completely turned their lives around and come this far.

31 Days 31 Faces: Marco

2010-10-19T11:13:00.004-04:00

Meet Marco, a twelve year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite activities are soccer, baseball, and basketball. He hopes to become a professional football player when he is older, and he admires Messi because Messi is a fantastic soccer player.

Photo: Eddie (left) and Marco (right).

31 Days 31 Faces: Adrian

2010-10-18T12:41:00.003-04:00

Meet Adrian, a nine year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite foods are copacabana chicken and sausage sandwiches. He loves playing soccer, going swimming at the pool, and rollerblading. He wants to be a carpenter when he grows up.

31 Days 31 Faces: Javier Jesus

2010-10-17T12:12:00.002-04:00

Meet Javier Jesus, a twelve year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves learning new things in school. His favorite activities are watching TV and playing soccer. He hopes to be a professional soccer player someday. He admires Team Bolivar, a professional soccer team, because they have the best players.

31 Days 31 Faces: Julio

2010-10-16T11:34:00.002-04:00

Meet Julio, a fourteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He likes Kaya because he is able to live in a house and be with his friends. His one wish is to be with his family. His favorite activities are playing soccer, volleyball, and basketball.

31 Days 31 Faces: Beymar

2010-10-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

Meet Beymar, a ten year old boy at Kaya Children. He enjoys learning at school and likes doing homework. He also likes to play soccer, basketball, and video games and likes to listen to music. His favorite food is fish. He admires his older brother because he thinks that his older brother is a very good brother to him.

31 Days 31 Faces: Milton

2010-10-14T10:28:00.000-04:00

Meet Milton, a fifteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He likes playing baseball, basketball, and soccer. He hopes to become a professional soccer goalie one day and admires the Argentinian professional soccer player, Messi, because he is great at handling the ball on the field. His favorite foods are pork and chicken. He enjoys dancing.

31 Days 31 Faces: Omar

2010-10-13T01:44:00.004-04:00

Written by Eunice Lim, a volunteer who worked with Kaya Children down in Bolivia two years ago.

Omar’s first day at Kaya’s school was also my first day volunteering in Bolivia at Kaya, but I didn’t know that then. All I knew was that there was this little 8 year old boy who had the most adorable little face but also worked up a storm, never listening to his teachers and calling me “China” (Chinese girl) no matter how many times he got scolded for it.

“Me llamo Eunice, y soy koreana!”

(My name is Eunice, and I’m Korean!)

“China!”

(Chinese girl!)

Sigh. Would he EVER learn?

Only a week later, I was in love with him, writing in my journal:

“omar. oh, omar!! the newest addition to kaya, he’s only been around for a week, like me. the youngest boy of only 8 years old. he. is. SO. cute. TOO CUTE. for some reason his little face is always so dry, i’ve gotten into a habit of putting lotion on his face every morning. “oOooOo” he squeals each time, squirming with joy as i put it on. has anyone ever put lotion on his little face before? as adorable as this boy is on the outside… oh!! how much he tests my limits, and does NOT listen to his teachers. but whenever i get angry with him... he gives me this adorable smile, and envelops me in one of the warmest hugs ever. how can i be angry with this tiny boy who was living on the streets just a week ago? whose first instinct is to fight, because that’s how you survive? who does not know respect or rules because he’s never been taught? i can’t. oh, omar . this same rowdy boy has fallen in love with the songs of praise that i have taught the children. when I start singing songs even during break time, he sings along with me, holding my hand, memorizing the words better than most of the other older kids. omar. how did you dig so deep into my heart?”

I was in Bolivia for a month. Within one month, I saw a boy change from an unruly brat to… one who still struggled with anger and sharing and listening, but one that showed me how capable he was of loving, and how much he simply wanted to be loved. When another new boy joined and started to call me “China,” Omar yelled at him, telling him it was rude and that my name was Eunice. He learned all the Christian songs I taught the kids, and sang praises to God on his own.

Omar… I am thankful to say that he is still at Kaya, still growing and learning exponentially. And I pray that those praise songs that he used to sing will forever ring true in his heart… and that he will grow to have a real relationship with his Savior, Jesus Christ as he grows up to be an upright man thanks to the mentors and love that he is able to receive at Kaya.

Please help us continue serving the children of Bolivia. Learn more about the Kaya Challenge:http://www.firstgiving.com/kayachildren.

31 Days 31 Faces: Icaro Jonathan

2010-10-12T02:55:00.004-04:00

Meet Icaro Jonathan, a thirteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves learning math in school. He enjoys wrestling, playing the game Jenga, and learning how to use the computer. His favorite foods are Chocapic, a chocolate-flavored cereal, and salchipapa, a dish that consists of hot dogs and french fries. He wants to be a police officer when he is older.

31 Days 31 Faces: Eddie

2010-10-11T10:59:00.002-04:00

Meet Eddie, a thirteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He loves playing soccer and wants to be a goalie when he is older. When he is not playing soccer, he enjoys playing video games and learning how to use the internet. His favorite foods are fruits.

31 Days 31 Faces: Raul

2010-10-08T10:09:00.002-04:00

Meet Raul, a fourteen year old boy at Kaya Chilren. He loves playing soccer because it is a lot of fun and wants to be a soccer player when he is older. He admires Carlos Tevez, an Argentinian professional soccer player. In addition to soccer, he likes to swim and play baseball. His favorite foods are chicken and fruit.

31 Days 31 Faces: Hector

2010-10-07T10:43:00.002-04:00

Meet Hector, a sixteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He likes having his own room, playing soccer, and swimming at the pool. His loves eating barbeque. He hopes to be a doctor someday because he wants to help people.

31 Days 31 Faces: Wilmer

2010-10-06T10:37:00.002-04:00

Meet Wilmer, a fifteen year old boy at Kaya Children. He has been with Kaya for three years. He favorite class in school is Physical Education, and his favorite sport is soccer. He hopes to one day become a doctor and have a family.

31 Days 31 Faces: Daniel

2010-10-05T01:33:00.005-04:00

Written by Stephanie Kuei, Communications Officer with Kaya Children.

“What were you doing when you were ten?”

I remember Daniel, a former street child and one of the older boys at Kaya Children whom I met while I was in Bolivia, asking me this question and feeling guilty because, at ten years old, I was ignorant of events happening in other parts of the world and was taking all my opportunities for granted.

Up until that moment, I thought I understood the challenges street children face and was able to sympathize with the children I met. However, listening to Daniel tell me the reasons why he left his family to live on the streets, the types of people he encountered, the worries he faced, and the conditions he had to endure really broke my heart. At ten years old, he slept in an abandoned building and worked late hours selling sausages on street corners.

Here was a guy who was the same age as me and who had experienced so many things that no child should ever have to experience. His question shook me up and revealed a passion for these children in me that I never fully realized.

Now, Daniel, who is twenty years old and one of four recent high school graduates at Kaya Children, is in college and is an example to the younger kids of what it means to hope for a bright future. With Kaya’s support, he has overcome countless hardships and has grown to be a man of strong character.

The question he asked me changed my perspective and made me rethink what it means to really care for this population. It made me realize what a blessing a childhood is. So I am going to ask you:

“What were you doing when you were ten?”

Please help us continue serving the children of Bolivia. Learn more about the Kaya Challenge: http://www.firstgiving.com/kayachildren.

31 Days 31 Faces: Israel

2010-10-04T02:37:00.002-04:00

Meet Israel, a sixteen year old boy at Kaya Children. His favorite things about Kaya Children are his room, his friends, and his ability to study and get an education. He loves to read, to listen to music, and to watch TV. If he could have one wish right now, it would be to have a collection of music records because he hopes to someday become a sound engineer.

31 Days 31 Faces: Rafael

2010-10-03T02:24:00.002-04:00

Meet Rafael, an eleven year old boy at Kaya Children, who wants to one day become a police officer. He loves going to school, learning about computers and technology, and spending time with his classmates. His favorite activities are basketball, volleyball, and racquetball.

31 Days 31 Faces: Omar

2010-10-02T12:47:00.003-04:00

Meet Omar, a ten year old boy at Kaya Children. He enjoys learning, playing board games, and taking trips, such as going to the park. His favorite food is chicken, specifically salta de pollo and pollo copacabana. When he grows up, he wants to be a car driver, and he hopes to own his own car someday.

31 Days 31 Faces: Brayan

2010-10-01T04:15:00.002-04:00

Meet Brayan, a twelve year old boy who has been at Kaya for a year and a half. He loves learning, but his favorite part of being at Kaya is the soccer court because he hopes to be the best soccer player in the world someday, just like Messi, a professional soccer player. When he is not busy perfecting his soccer skills, he likes to play volleyball and baseball. His favorite foods are chicken and hot dogs.

31 Days 31 Faces: Launch!

2010-09-29T11:48:00.003-04:00

The time has come for the Kaya Challenge!

All throughout the month of October, we will be updating this blog daily with a new story about the life of one of the kids at Kaya Children. We want to connect our fundraisers and supporters to the motivation behind the Kaya Challenge -- helping the children in Bolivia.

Starting Friday, October 1, be sure to check in each day to meet a new kid at Kaya!

Transforming Smiles in Bolivia

2010-07-19T20:26:00.007-04:00

Part of a dental team from Highrock Church in Arlington, MA, Hubert Park, Tony Chyn, and Dr. Joe Lee spent the first week of July in Bolivia working to clean teeth, fill cavities, and overall to improve the smiles of many boys and girls at Kaya. While the team witnessed how a simple dental procedure could boost the confidence of a young boy, they experienced so much more.

A Bolivia Reflection by Hubert Park

One week flew by. Everyone on the team kept saying "it was more than what we had expected". It was more than just a humanitarian trip from which you come back elated, but that chapter (or page) of the book is finished and you move on. It was more than just treating the teeth of these children. It was more than just going overseas and experiencing being in another culture. We witnessed the reality of children given another chance to live the kind of life they deserve to live and the space in their heart that used to be filled with fear and despair of being out on the streets now being replaced with hope and love. Beyond the cultural and language barriers and time limitations, there was a mutual exchange of appreciation between the team members and the children at Kaya -- one thanking the other for the dental treatments while the other was genuinely and profoundly moved by the brightness of the spirit they displayed.

We also had special moments amongst the team members ourselves. The beauty of the team this year was the breadth of different generations represented, from budding, youthful high school students to a parent and overseer of the church. We had wonderful discussions and "pillow talks", ranging from very serious ones to ones we could not stop laughing. It was the perfect way to end the long, hard days of work.

On the personal level, I was humbled. Humbled by the maturity all of the children possessed and by the amazing work Chi and Kristin have been doing in all of these children's lives. One afternoon Tony and I had the chance to talk with the older kids in the waiting room outside of the dental clinic. Some of them had known Chi for five years, eight years, even eleven years!
We thank Kaya and everyone who's supported us to have this experience. We hope to return perhaps next year, we'll just have to work on our Spanish a little more next time =)

Dental Days by Tony Chyn

Logistics appetizer
The work at the dental clinic has been nonstop to meet the needs among the Kaya children. Each day begins at 9 and ends at 7. We have about 8-10 children/adolescents that have one appointment in the morning and one in the afternoon. In the morning we rent a space in a local hospital. There we do examinations and cleanings and plan for work we will do later on. In the afternoon we rent out a dental clinic where the more invasive procedures take place. We are providing care as well as teaching preventative measures to protect their teeth. The majority of the children have fair to poor dental hygiene and many have problems that required more than we were able to give. Many suffer regular pain, gum disease and rotting teeth. Our hope and prayer is that we can enable Kaya to provide dental services that can act as preventative measures for protecting these children's teeth.

Highlights main course if appetizers aren't your thing
Amidst our busy schedule, there are still too many highlights to speak of here. The native people that we've encountered in our work have been a gift from God. Our translator Marti is great, and also Andrea and Ursula, two folks we work with in the clinics, have just been amazing to work with also. Not only do we work well together but we have shared tons of laughs (most of them at my expense).

Our shared joy opened up some really great dialogue. Today we talked at length about Kaya and some of its history as well as the work they have been engaging in. An impression was made, and Marti has already been inquiring about ways she could help Kaya long term as a volunteer.

Simple dental work has also made an impression. Julio had some decay in his front teeth and quietly asked if it could be fixed. We all shared in his excitement 20 minutes later when there were as good as new thanks to tooth colored fillings. Today, Henry missed the morning exam and cleaning and came late to the afternoon clinic hoping to get an appointment. Our dentist working at the clinic was able to stay so we ushered him in. After the work was done, we showed him the final product. The gratitude on his face was unforgettable, rewarding and beyond describable words. Though we ended up being late to dinner, all of us were thankful for the experience.

Personal Note dessert if that's what you want
The feeling of privilege to be here and participate in this cannot be overstated. I am jealous of these people we call Bolivians. They are the second poorest nation in the world but many of them have a joy I do not have the right currency to buy. People here greet with a little cheek kiss (its so cool) and their warmth and welcoming spirits are truly touching. When I get back to the states that's what I want to take with me. I hope that I will have the resilience to experience the joys that God has provided, regardless of the circumstances.

"First shall be last and last shall be first." It's been an honor to rub elbows with the princes and kings of our next life. Those that this world have dismissed and society brushed aside, will be reminded by our Lord that they were never once forgotten for eternity.

When I Go Back This Time

2010-06-29T13:50:00.002-04:00

Last summer Anne-Milda Pu, a high school student from Lexington, MA, and her family traveled to Bolivia and met the children of Kaya. While initial expectations and hopes for the trip were to make an impact on the lives of the children there, the impressions made on her life were far greater. Upon returning to the states she has committed to helping the kids from afar--through her time, her resources, and even her artistic skills. This summer, Anne-Milda will return to the children with a team from Highrock Church, more equipped and even more enthusiastic about the new projects on her plate.

Last summer I traveled to Bolivia along with my family and a group of people from my church. The experience I had was completely life changing. Everything I saw challenged what I thought I knew and caused a passion to grow inside of my heart for helping street children. Our days consisted of touring La Paz and El Alto in the mornings and spending time at the Kaya Center in the afternoons. We taught the kids various subjects such as arts and crafts, Legos, wiffelball, and about electricity and the solar system. But amidst all the teaching we were doing, the kids taught us even more. What we learned were not facts, but rather life-long lessons. They taught us how to sincerely love life and how to make the most out of everything given to us. They taught us that knowledge is much more than reciting facts. Even though the kids had not been in school nearly as long as I have been to school, in many ways, they were so much smarter than me. They knew how to be creative and resourceful and how to be sincerely caring.

After last summer’s trip to Bolivia to visit Kaya, Kaya, and everything that the organization works for, has been on my heart. I began thinking of what I could do that would tie in my talents but that would also benefit Kaya. With that, I began painting and selling flower pots, donating all the money to Kaya. Also at my school, I became involved with in a club called Helping Our World (H.O.W). I introduced the club to Kaya and we contacted Kristin Huang asking about ways that we could help. We found out that the kids love getting mail and began writing letters to all of kids in the day program.

This July, I am looking forward to spending another week in La Paz. As last year’s trip was amazing in every way, all of this year I have been looking forward to hopefully going back. This year I believe that I will take away something even more deep and meaningful than last year. Last year, the initial fears of going to a country so different from the one that I am used to scared me. I was afraid of the altitude difference and the language barrier. I had no idea about how cold it was going to be there or what La Paz would look like. When I go back this time, I will know about how the altitude affects me, I will know that they speak Spanish very fast and I will know that, although it is in South America, it is very cold. I will be able to put these aside and focus on what I am going there to do. I will be taking Spanish classes in the mornings and then go to the Kaya Center and work with the kids there, hopefully painting a mural with them. I am so excited for this summer’s trip and hope that God moves me just as He did last year.

Running With A New Perspective

2010-05-31T21:02:00.004-04:00

Six months ago, I ran because I felt had to. Now, when I wake up in the morning, I can’t wait to get out there and hit the pavement. What changed me was training for my first marathon, running Boston for charity. Exactly how this transformation happened is a mystery to me, but I have some ideas.

Running for Kaya, I was often struck by how much my perspective affected my behavior. Many times I was struggling with fatigue, wanting to quit, and then I thought of children living on the streets of La Paz. All of a sudden I found a source energy that I didn’t know that I had. For this reason, I recommend running for a non-profit organization. A friend of mine became enthusiastic about a certain organization, and she asked them if they would apply to be a Boston Marathon charity so she can run for them. They are in the process now of applying!

Listening to worship music while I run has become a way that I spend time with God. I used to think of my “quiet times” with my Bible on my couch as my best time with God. Now, when I plan my week and the runs that are scheduled in it, I get excited about the time I will have with God on those runs. I look forward to getting to hear the worship songs on my iPod, like “Gloria” by Watermark, “See What a Morning” by Keith and Kristyn Getty, and “Agnus Dei” by Michael W. Smith. Running in beautiful places like Fresh Pond or along the Charles River draws me even closer to Him. I love both listening to worship music on its own and running on its own, but the best is getting to do the two simultaneously.

Until this experience, I thought of running as a solitary sport. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Both my training and the marathon itself were communal experiences for me. In fact, two of the friends who started running with me have started dating seriously and are currently on a Memorial Day weekend vacation together! The morning of the marathon, my sister flew up from Dallas, TX, eight-months pregnant. I hadn’t even asked her to come, but she just wanted to be there. I’ll never forget seeing her jumping up and down on the sidelines as I turned a corner on Heartbreak Hill.

The city of Boston came alive to me as I was running. I have never experienced Boston as being so friendly, supportive, encouraging, helpful, gracious and inspiring as I did on April 19, 2010. I connected with so many strangers that day. Jean, a qualified runner from New Hampshire whom I met on the T on the way to board the buses to Hopkinton, told me her favorite blister bandage (Hannaford brand). To me, this information was gold! I couldn’t believe how many people turned out to cheer. A friend of mine who was waiting in the crowds to see me said she was so touched watching a father explain to his daughter how important it is to help the runners. He was handing orange wedges to her so she could hold them out to us. A friendly stranger offered me a pack of “Gu” (a sports food) when I looked tired. A grandmother offered me fresh baked cookies. I wore my name taped on my shirt, and people shouted encouragement to me the entire time.

One of the joys of this experience came from overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Last fall, my knees would hurt whenever I went up and down stairs. I worried that my cartilage was wearing down or I was getting arthritis and my running days were coming to an end. After six months of strength training, I have virtually no knee pain anymore, and I run at least three times a week. One key has been not to do squats and lunges, which my podiatrist said are not good for women. I regularly hear people say that they don’t run because their knees hurt. What they may not realize is that while some people may have serious knee problems, knee pain also may go away when the muscles around the knees become stronger. Also, at times physical discomfort inhibits people from running. I found that wearing CW-X brand of running clothes helped a lot. In short, these days, there is a solution for most problems.

Now that the Boston Marathon 2010 is over, I’m setting new goals to keep my muscles from hitting a plateau. This weekend, I’m running the Rock n’ Roll half-marathon in San Diego, and I’ve set a goal time for myself. For anyone out there who is feeling inspired, the home page of Runner’s World will help you find any distance of race in any city you want to run. It’s a great way to support many organizations doing amazing work.

Changing One Life, One Attitude At a Time

2010-03-29T13:01:00.018-04:00

Joshua Lee is a freshman at Belmont Hill School. He visited Kaya Children in Bolivia during summer of 2009, and wrote an essay about his experience for an essay contest, for which he placed second. The following is an excerpt from his essay.

My mind tunes in and out of the ensuing conversation as I shift my weight restlessly in my chair. My eyes are focused on the table before me, and I think about the people sitting around me, who have illuminated the darkness of the world their entire lives.

Suddenly, I am almost 4000 miles away in the heart of La Paz, Bolivia.

I inhale the over polluted air and shift my weight uncomfortably due to the human feces surrounding my feet, my eyes darting around, surveying the scene in front of me. My eyes lock onto a single beat-up mattress that lies on the insect-infested ground. And on this broken, overused mattress, I know that boys no older than I am will sleep here tonight. I can imagine how it will look only a few hours from now. Boys huddled together, trying to coax warmth out of each other’s malnourished bodies, rabid dogs at their sides, and police walking up to them, not to help, but to beat them and take what few possessions they have. Trucks roar past my left and right, and the sudden, sharp wall of wind brings me back to the present.

On this mattress a boy looks my way, and I try not to stare at him, but I cannot look away. I see two scars running down both sides of his cheeks. This is reality. And right now, I am truly seeing reality in front of me for the first time. I look into his eyes, and I see troubles and experiences that nobody in the world should have to go through at such a young age. Or any age for that matter. I see a boy who was kicked out of the house at a young age, and turned to drugs as an escape. Stealing was not an option, but a necessity. His hair is damp from a bath he recently took, but I would not be surprised if he was dirtier than before, seeing that he bathed in the second-dirtiest river in the world. He gets up and starts to walk across the busy street, not even looking either way. He gets to the other side all right, but I can tell that he would not have minded if he did not.

Just a week before, I was on top of the world, literally. 30,000 feet above sea level and half way around the globe – in La Paz, Bolivia – realizing that there is a world outside of my privileged private school education and my loving family and friends.

I know that there are millions of people in Bolivia, and all around the world – some of whom I had just seen a week ago – who would give anything to be in a warm house full of people who love you more than you will ever know. To be in a place where you can walk down the street without worrying about being mugged and even killed. Looking down at the crumbs from my second serving of pie, I wonder when the last time the street kids there had seen a second serving of anything.

I always hesitate calling them “street kids” though. Because the word “kids” implies a certain amount of innocence. For these “kids” innocence was lost before they had the faintest idea of what it means. At an age when I enjoyed Legos and was learning about plants, the boy on the mattress enjoyed the high of paint thinner, and was learning how to steal. People steal, mug, and kill every day to survive in a world so vastly different from our own.

So one year, a man who now attends my church, Dr. Chi Huang, went down to Bolivia and started a home for these street children. Last summer my friends and I went down to see the fruits of his labor: three fully accommodating homes where children can live and receive an education. Children from six to sixteen come into these homes and change their lives forever. These children are given another chance at life, and this year the organization, Kaya International, is sending its first group of boys, to college, where each of them will have a chance to follow their dreams. Kaya means tomorrow, and Dr. Huang, his employees, and his volunteers all strive to give these children a better tomorrow.

I am wondering why it is bad that I take some things for granted. I sit on this for a moment and replay my time in Bolivia. The memories are not of the boys I saw on the sides of the roads, some knocked out by drugs and some on their way there. They are of the people who take those same boys into their homes as often as they can to give them another chance at life. The memories are not of the scene of man-made tarps that thousands of people call home. Rather, they are of the people who visit those tarps as often as they can, bringing food for everyone, which could possibly be their only meal for a long time. I see these people, who have devoted their whole lives to helping those in need, and I recognize what their attitude is. They do not take things for granted. They appreciate what they have. Why? Because every day, when they go out and feed children, who would die without their help, they know that they could have been born right next to them on the street. But instead they were born into a privileged family, in the United States of America, in one of the best hospitals in the world, in Boston.

Dr. Huang, the founder of Kaya International, says he often wonders why he was not born like the people he serves, on the streets, left to die. He asks God why he is privileged and these people are not. He says that he knows it is because he was made to serve these people, who did not get what he did. So he does. And so I will. Because I see now why it matters that I am unappreciative about luxuries that others could not even dream about.

It comes down to my attitude. And it is my attitude that gets me to sacrifice a summer to plan, and eventually fly across the world to help that person in need. It is my attitude that will get me to make the oblivious around me aware of the truths of the world. It is this attitude that separates the “oh-that’s-too-bad” person, and the person who thinks it is so bad that they will devote their lives to make it better.

If I had to single out one person who was impacted the most by our trip to Bolivia I would choose myself. Because the work we did in Bolivia, over those two weeks, just made a drop in the bucket. And if I want to fill this bucket – of drugs, starvations, and violence in Bolivia – up, faster than it gets deeper, I will have to change my whole attitude.

This is why it matters.

Thinking of Kaya

2010-02-17T14:16:00.009-05:00

Anna Poledňáková volunteered with Kaya in Bolivia during summer 2009. She is an economics student from the Czech Republic.

It has been already a few months since I left South America and Kaya and still, from time to time, I catch myslef singing Daddy Yankee's songs, looking for a white minibus or just going through all the memories I have.

As I said at my little good-bye party with the local staff, when I was planning my trip to Bolivia I was sure I would have a great time, but I never thougth that it would be such an amazing experience as it was. Kaya is not an organization, it is a family and I feel really grateful that I was alowed to be a part of it.

Before I entered its office in La Paz for the first time I didn't know a lot about the issue of street children and although I tried to prepare myself for the poverty and bad living conditions the experience from the street outreach in El Alto remains as one of the saddest and deepest experience of my life.

On the other hand it was wonderful to watch the progress made by Kaya concerning the kids

already settled in the organization. In spite of everything they must have gone through, they are ready to open their little hearts and accept you as a friend, to trust you and to share their dreams and doubts with you. They let you be a part of their life and bless you with boundless love and happiness.

Thinking of Kaya, there are so many beautiful moments coming to my mind. Once in the minibus on our way home from the movies I saw how one of the boys covered the another one with the blanket because he was sick. They remained ly ing next to each other like two brothers. It is difficult to describe how it feels, it is just that there was so much love in everything they did. With them even the ordinary activities like doing homework or washing clothes became something special. It was so funny watching them playing, dancing…just being kids. It felt so good to grab their tiny hands, to give them a hug or make them laugh.

I will never forget any of these moments and the awareness of a place where people gave priority to well-being of their fellowmen before their own profit, where people care about each other and love each other encourages me to be a better person and spread the positive spirit.

The Situation of Street Children

2009-12-13T04:21:00.007-05:00

A goal of Kaya Children’s mission is to not only serve the children in our program, but to also reach out to those children still living on the streets. Kaya has a street outreach team that goes out onto the streets and visits with these street children two times a week – Monday night and Saturday morning. The team offers first aid and shares snacks with the children, with the purpose of cultivating a friendship with the children and encouraging them to leave the streets. The goal of the street outreach team is to help street children believe that they have the capacity and the skills for a better life – a life with purpose.

It has become increasingly difficult to live on the streets. The problems that street children face are several and varied. Street children experience the rejection of their own families, as the majority of children living on the streets come from families with a stepfather or stepmother who mistreats the children, resulting in the children’s biological parents rejecting their children as well to be accepted by their new partner. Street children furthermore face discrimination from society as a whole. Authorities do not let them stay in one place for long, will burn the children’s shelters and belongings, and abuse them. There is also a lot of abuse within the street children population, oftentimes with the older children abusing the younger ones. Ironically enough, one of the greatest problems street children face is the extortion of the police who will use violence or intimidation to coerce children into stealing items such as cell phones, which the police will either take or buy from the children. While the conditions of living on the streets have stayed mostly constant since earlier times, the increase in police corruption is evident and a growing problem.

Although it is difficult to completely repair the situation, it is imperative that we make an effort to address this issue. We can do this in three ways: prevention, rescue, and strategic alliances.

Prevention: It is important to work specifically with families at risk in order to prevent children from leaving their homes for the streets before they actually make that transition. This can be done through therapy, training, and counsel for the children’s parents and the enrollment of children into our day program or an equivalent to ensure structure during children’s free hours, when they are more susceptible to wandering the streets.

Rescue: The street outreach team deals specifically with this issue. We want to provide the opportunity for a better life to the children who are already living on the streets. Our goal is to build friendships with these children while they are still on the streets and encourage them to enter our residential program, with the purpose of helping them reintegrate into society. This is supplemented through working with the children’s families to equip them with the tools to support the smooth transition of the children off the streets, into our program, and eventually to their own independence.

Strategic Alliances: It is important to also build relationships and work in conjunction with other institutions and organizations that contribute different services, such as with local universities that offer trained students who intern as tutors with us, so that we can utilize these services and provide the children in our program with high quality care and services.

Undoubtedly, the street children’s situations is enormous and the work is arduous; however, it is not impossible to work to help these children. At Kaya Children, we believe that each child is important and that we need to serve those in need – those who are without a family, without love, and without hope – so that we give them another opportunity to have a more purposeful life and dream of a better future.

New Partnership with Boston College Research Team

2009-11-02T13:43:00.009-05:00

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Dr. Belle Liang, PhD., an Associate Professor at the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. Dr. Liang, along with her research team – Sophia, Helen, Rachel, Nicole, and Miao – will be collaborating with Kaya Children on a study of school experiences with street-involved youth, helping us analyze data collected over the summer by a team of medical students from the University of Rochester. The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the relationships of street-involved youth in La Paz, Bolivia and the local school system, particularly addressing factors associated with student drop-out.

School drop-out is a major factor leading children to full time life on the streets in Bolivia. According to Executive Director Kristin Huang’s dissertation research, despite the fact that school is an incredible opportunity to intervene and promote youth resilience, many street children rarely view school as a positive alternative to home life. However, while street children dislike school, they do highly value education. This suggests that because street children assign so much value to being able to graduate from high school and “become somebody,” a positive school experience would help them in other aspects of their lives.

One of Kaya Children’s goals is to “conduct, disseminate and encourage research that informs best practice with street-involved children.” To this end, we partner with universities to facilitate research that allows us to understand what is most effective in intervention and work to translate these findings to practical plans of action for practitioners in the field. Our partnership with the Boston College research team especially demonstrates this value in action, to which many of the team members attest. Helen, agrees that “this willingness for partnership proves significant in that a symbiotic relationship of intervention with research would increase efficiency and reduce duplications in service, raise global awareness, and translate successful qualities of Kaya’s intervention to diverse organizations in the world.” Sophie explains that “as a team dedicated to advancing social justice through every aspect of our work, we are particularly excited to partner with Kaya in seeking to give voice to disempowered youth around the world, and working with larger systems to bring about meaningful social change.”

Through this partnership we will be able to have high quality research analysis done, while engaging with local universities to raise awareness of the situation in Bolivia with street children. This research will not only inform scholars of the needs of street-involved youth, but will also provide practitioners with meaningful and accessible material so that they can develop effective programs to help reinforce children’s transition processes off the streets and to strategically intervene before children establish full lives on the streets. “The large number of children living on the streets in Bolivia has been a significant social issue. Withdrawing from the school system, these children are facing the risk of losing their opportunity for education, and make the process of reaching out of poverty much more difficult, which produces a vicious circle. [This partnership] is a great opportunity to adjust the organizational system, and work toward the promotion of social justice work,” says Miao.

Lessons from Former Street Children

2009-09-21T13:32:00.010-04:00

Stephanie Kuei volunteered with Kaya in Bolivia for two months this past summer. She is now continuing to support Kaya as a Communications Intern at the US office.

How do I even begin to put words to everything I experienced this summer working with Kaya Children in Bolivia? I honestly had no idea what an abundant experience was in store for me. Since I have been participating in volunteer trips abroad every summer since the seventh grade, I thought I could predict what I would be doing in Bolivia, what I would feel, what I would learn. I prepared myself for the poverty I expected to witness and for living conditions that would not be as comfortable as living at home. I left California -- reassuring my mom that I would be safe -- with minimal knowledge of Bolivia or the plight of street children, and equipped only with a smattering of high school Spanish.

When I arrived in Bolivia, any preconceived notions I had of what my trip was going to be like were shaken and eventually shattered. Whether it was seeing the boys in their school uniforms (especially the four who will be graduating from high school this year and going off to college), playing cards with them, or cheering them on as they kicked a soccer ball around, I loved being able to see them just be kids. It was wonderful knowing that, because of the opportunities given to them through Kaya, they were reclaiming their childhood and daring to dream of the future. The two times I had the opportunity to work on the streets placed a burden on my heart for the street children of Bolivia and further emphasized the positive transformation I witnessed in the boys at the center – they take pride in their appearance, in their work, and, most importantly, in each other. As one of the teachers said, “these boys are not escaping from their problems, but rather they are facing reality and growing from it.”

Whenever I go to volunteer somewhere, I bring with me this lofty idea of the inspiring person I am going to be, of all the new things I will be able to teach the people I work with, and of the positive change I will be able to make in someone’s life. However, this summer it was definitely the boys of Kaya who were my inspiration, who taught me so many more things than I could ever have possibly taught them, and who changed my life. I learned so much from each of them – from playing new (and sometimes ridiculous) games, to having my Spanish corrected over and over again, and to being shown what true affection really is. It was such a blessing to have been able to get to know each and every one of the boys during the two months I spent in Bolivia, and it was a joy to see each of them grow individually. I am so thankful that I got to experience the tremendous love that they have in their beautiful hearts. I now have a family in Bolivia as well, and it delights me to know that my departure was not a definitive goodbye, but only the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Kaya Children.

A Board Member's First Trip to Bolivia

2009-07-23T14:46:00.005-04:00

Kent Forkner is a Board Member for Kaya Children International and an elder at South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham, MA. In early July, he made his first trip to Bolivia to see the work Kaya is doing.

My trip to Bolivia was a valuable opportunity for me to get a personal view of the various operations of Kaya Children International. I had known of the organization and its dedication to street kids for about a decade and I’ve been directly involved for the past 2 ½ years by serving on its Board of Directors. However, I had not yet visited our operations in Bolivia despite being involved in making decisions that help shape Kaya. So, in God’s sovereign way, he provided unemployment earlier this year, which gave me the time to make the trip happen.

In the afternoon on my arrival day, I was able to tour the Kaya Center and see the location from which we are now providing schooling and counseling services to 35 former street kids and current “at-risk” kids. While school wasn’t in session that week, I enjoyed meeting many of the staff members and learning about what goes on during a typical day at the center. It’s a new challenge for the organization to have a few “day students”, that are sent back to their families, and in some cases to situations that are less than desirable, after each school day. These at-risk kids obviously have different needs than those kids who are in our three homes and under our care 24/7. This is a new challenge for our staff and at the end of each day it’s often the case that all they can do is to pray for these kids as they leave our premises.

The next morning, I headed out with our Chairman and Founder, Dr. Chi Huang on a several-hour tour of La Paz. Chi took me to Plaza San Francisco and spent time showing me the various sites where he originally developed the relationships with street kids starting 12 years ago. It brought to life the many stories of deep physical and spiritual need that I’ve heard about from Chi over the years and that led to the formation of Kaya. The organization has grown in so many ways since those early days but at the same time I could still see the same passion in Chi’s eyes as deeply cares for each child on the streets.

Over the next couple of days I was able to visit all three of our houses and meet many of the 30 boys in our full-care program. I was given a tour of each house (Hogar Bernebe, Hogar Betania, and Hogar Renacer) by some of the residents. Each home is nice, yet simple, with the most comfortable room being the family room where each morning the boys gather to start their day and to study the Bible. That room also serves as a place for the boys to just hangout with other members of the house which helps them to gain valuable social skills. Each bedroom has two beds and was very neatly kept as the boys have regular chores and responsibilities around the homes as instituted by Kaya’s “house uncles and aunts”. It was rewarding for me to meet many of these former street boys and amazing to realize that some of the older boys have been living in Kaya’s care since our first home opened in 2001.

One of my favorite memories from the trip occurred when I was teaching a resident of Hogar Betania how to throw an American football -- within minutes he was throwing spirals and I told him (with Chi as my translator) that he now could throw almost as well as one of America’s best, Tom Brady! It was great to see the smile of satisfaction of learning something new that he would likely later share with his housemates.

One of my evenings in Bolivia was spent out on the streets of El Alto with some members from of our volunteer Street Outreach Team - Andy, Michael, Emma, Leslie, Karen, and Deborah. This is a twice-weekly operation of Kaya volunteers. We gathered in El Alto with our jug of hot chocolate and then purchased some bread to hand out to the street kids. We started near the park which has historically provided a sleeping area to many kids each night but is now fenced and heavily patrolled by the police – so no sign of kids at that location on this night. A while later, by the arcade we started to find the usual kids who are known by our outreach volunteers and provided them with food and hot chocolate and a little medical care for those with bumps and bruises. Several members of the outreach team on that night were medical students from the US and UK. Interestingly, this is similar to the services Chi provided as a medical student in the early days of his street ministry.

Later that evening in another of the most memorable experiences for me, we were on a hillside overlooking La Paz, an area where street kids often sleep for the night. They like this area as others tend to not bother them as it’s an inconvenient climb and not the cleanest of areas and despite the fact they sleep on the dirt in 20-degree temperatures. We overlooked the hill for a few minutes and couldn’t see or hear any kids. Then Andy yelled “hot chocolate” in Spanish and suddenly a couple of heads popped up from under rocks and shrubs – AMAZING! They were so glad to see us and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and the laughs with these two boys over the next twenty minutes. The rest of the evening we saw plenty of others in need and spent time with them as best we could.

Another opportunity that gave me a deeper understanding of how Kaya is actually fulfilling its mission was to have lunch with the Bolivian-based leadership staff. Our leadership in Bolivia consists of Pato, our Residential Director, Giovanna, our Head Teacher, and Guisella, our Head Psychologist. Kristin (Kaya’s Executive Director) and Chi Huang hosted a lunch for us which was an excellent opportunity for me to hear first-hand what’s going on at the Kaya Center and in the homes. I was impressed with the depth of the local leadership staff and their desire to care for the children and their ability to carry out the daily work of making a difference in the lives of so many Bolivians.

On my final day in Bolivia, I rode with Kaya staff member, Chi Chi, and eighteen boys in the back of a van on the floor to watch them play in a soccer match against another school at a coliseo (coliseum). Kaya’s boys played their hearts out with great teamwork despite the wide spread in age of our team. What a privilege it was for me to see them play so well together. Not long after starting, many locals stopped to watch the game from the side of a hill. Our team lost but there was no head-hanging on the trip home as they had enjoyed the simple pleasure of being out playing soccer for a few hours.

It was an amazing journey and has given me a new perspective on the deep physical and spiritual needs of street and at-risk kids in Bolivia. Additionally, it emphasized to me that we will never meet all of the needs in the world but what I saw being done in helping meet the many needs of these specific kids is truly exceptional. Frankly, the grace extended by Kaya’s many staff and volunteers to these kids reminds me of Christ’s sacrifice for us – it’s not earned at all but thankfully it’s a gift and a reality.

Fun Day with All the Boys

2009-07-16T11:48:00.003-04:00

John Eggen, Board Member and Missions Pastor at Sheridan Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE, is currently leading a missions trip of folks from his church. John and his wife Michelle have been a part of the Kaya family for years and served as staff members in Bolivia for a time. Below is an entry from Sheridan's Missions blog that John wrote a few days ago. To read more from the Sheridan team please visit http://www.sheridanlutheran.org/missionblog.

Today was special because we spent the entire day with the kids from all three homes. After lunch the group came back to the hotel to pickup our gifts for the kids and I went to a fast food place here called “Pollos Copacabana” to buy food for everyone. Pollos Copacabana is really the only fast food chain in Bolivia that is actually Bolivian. Bolivians are really proud of this and they actually have really good broaster chicken. I went there and had the privilege of ordering 40 combo meals. That took a couple of confirmations for the lady behind the register. Then I also ordered two “family” packs that came with 16 pieces of chicken so the boys (aka black holes for food) could have extra. The total for the group was about $120. Not too bad for feeding 30 teenage boys and 10 adults. We loaded up the minivan with our pile of boxes of combo meals, picked up a 10 liters of soda and headed to the homes. After saying grace the kids attacked the chicken and the staff actually had to tell them to slow down. Needless to say, they enjoyed it.

After we had lunch we took a break to get our ducks in a row. We brought all the shoes that had been donated from Bethany and Sheridan with us to hand out to the boys. So we went into a room and sorted through them and put them into piles according to which home they were in. Once we were ready we gathered the boys together. We started by sharing with them that we are here as representatives of two churches and that we keep them in our prayers and members from our congregations had bought these shoes for them. We (the team) purchased three really nice soccer balls and three basketballs for the homes and we presented these, one set, to each of the homes. Then we started to had the shoes out to each child… it was like Christmas in July.

After we were finished a number of the boys wanted to thank us. They thanked God for giving us and those who purchased the shoes such generous hearts. They said there are few people in the world that will give so much and ask for nothing in return. The boys were very sweet and sincere as they shared their thanks. A few tears were shed.

After the gift giving we headed outside to test our cardiovascular systems by playing some more sports at 13,000 ft. Fortunately for us the game for the day was volleyball. We didn’t do very well at first, but as time went on they put in the younger kids. When it was six of us vs 6 9 year olds we did pretty well! After our first set of volleyball games they wanted to play basketball. We played full court basketball for about 15 minutes and then we all thought we might die, so we took a break and they played a couple of games of soccer. Afterwards we played a few more games of volleyball and actually won! We had lots of fun playing and the kids really got into cheering everyone on at the end.

Tomorrow we spend the day in the Kaya Center as the kids return to school. Hopefully it will be an easier day. I think we have all been ready for bed by 5:00 every evening. Tomorrow night we start street ministry at 8:30 PM, so we will all be up way past our bedtime! Please keep our group in your prayers tomorrow night, most especially for stamina for the day and safety at night.

-John

Book Fair to Build Kaya's Library

2009-06-25T13:26:00.006-04:00

When Lexington Christian Academy Junior Kjell Pu was faced with his school’s junior year service project requirement he immediately approached Kaya Children’s Executive Director, Kristin Huang, and Founder, Chi Huang about ways he can help out. Kjell’s parents are friends with the Huangs and attend the same church. Through this relationship, Kjell had often heard of the work that Kaya Children is doing among marginalized children on the streets in Bolivia. He thought he might be able to make a difference for these children through his project. “They told me of the recently founded school program and the need for books in Spanish for the library they hoped to open,” said Kjell, “so I met with Kristin Huang and planned to host a book drive at my school.”

The school program is Kaya’s new day center and full service school housed at the Kaya Center in La Paz, Bolivia. It provides services to both children in Kaya’s residential programs and many other children who live on the streets most of the day but have a home to go to at night. Setting up a strong library is a vital part of establishing the school program and making it more effective. "In Bolivia, books are a luxury,” said Kristin Huang. “Most people don't own books and there are no libraries where people can borrow books to read for pleasure. Through the Kaya Center, we're trying to change that by giving kids access to high quality books.”

Initially Kjell hoped that he could set up an online book registry that could be available for students at his school. However, after contacting Barnes and Nobles he discovered that the company has an established book fair program available for schools. “I met with Ms. Dee Mandolese--the Community Relations Manager for the Barnes and Noble store in Burlington, MA--and she offered to host a book fair to support Kaya,” reported Kjell. “We agreed upon June 5th and 6th for the days of the fair and Dr. Chi Huang agreed to give a talk about his spiritual journey and the history of the organization.” To prepare for the event Barnes and Nobles provided Kjell with fliers and posters and set aside space in the store for the event. Kjell worked with Kristin Huang to prepare a list of books in Spanish that would be appropriate for the Kaya Center library. These books include recognized and diverse international classics such as the Narnia series, Les Misérables, Charlotte’s Web, Green Eggs and Ham, Macbeth, Peter Pan, The Giving Tree, Little Red Riding Hood, Pride and Prejudice, Huckleberry Finn, and Where the Wild Things Are.

In the end the fair garnered 160+ books totaling $1,300. In addition, Kjell raised $1,000+ in donations from people unable to attend the actual fair. “I originally planned to bring the books personally to Bolivia this summer,” said Kjell, “but we have too many--a problem, but a good one to have.” In order to transport all of the books to Bolivia, Kaya has enlisted the help of all the US volunteers traveling to La Paz this summer. Kjell said he couldn’t have arranged this project without help from the Huangs, Dee Mandolese and his parents. His friend, Steven Waterhouse, also helped him raise money and advertise for the event.

Kjell’s project has significantly improved Kaya Children’s ability to provide high quality education to children enrolled at the Kaya Center. “We're so grateful to have the support of Lexington Christian Academy and students like Kjell in this endeavor,” said Kristin Huang. “The books they have collected for us will more than double the size of our current library." Through his hard work and creativity Kjell effectively achieved the goal of his service project and made a real difference for others in need.

A Volunteer's Experience on the Streets

2009-05-26T14:57:00.003-04:00

Eunice is a volunteer working with Kaya in Bolivia. Here, she reflects on her first night out with the street outreach team.

My First Night Walking the Streets of El Alto

After a stressful trip into the city because of a protest (all the streets were closed and I almost didn’t make it), I ended up meeting the rest of the street outreach team in El Alto around 9pm and walked the streets with hot chocolate and bread, looking for children begging, walking around, sleeping, whatever… until about 12am. It is the beginning of winter here, and especially in El Alto, with its high altitude, it’s a very cold night. The following are some snapshots of what I saw / experienced (names changed for confidentiality):

* Julio, the first child I meet, a small boy kneeling between two vendors, with a small bag of “bonbon” chocolates to sell. No smile, but looks at us with huge eyes and responds with slight nods. One of the regular teammates thinks that he is being physically abused at home, for he responds very “poorly” to touch. First one to break my heart.

* Outside the arcade, a bunch of children come out for hot chocolate and bread. These children aren’t picky – they don’t have choices. It is such an incredibly SIMPLE meal, but they treasure every moment of it. Juan sits on the sidewalk; he’s a little older with wild hair. I ask him what he does during the day, “trabajo en el minibus.” (“I work on the minibus” – basically is on a “mini” bus all day, yelling the stops so that people will get on). Oh. That’s why his voice is so hoarse that I can barely understand him. He must lose his voice everyday after yelling all day long to earn perhaps a little over a dollar. But all these children are so responsive to all the questions I ask them. They’re simply children.

* Omar & brother: Omar… 8 years old, his brother 11. Sitting against a wall along a pathway, begging. Beautiful eyes and cute, squeezable cheeks. Hands SO COLD, I simply held them in my hands to warm them up a little. One of them, he is clenching on for dear life to what I think are a couple of coins. But he lets me warm his other hand. So quiet, so obedient, so engrossed in watching what’s going on around him. Broke my heart again.

* 3 boys, running around streets with CRAZY cars (we first found them along the same pathway, begging for money, but they got excited that we were there) – this should not be a child’s playground. NO! One boy, carrying a black bag wherever he goes, shoves his hand into a pocket then shows his friends all the coins he has. Later, I see him shining shoes… “Ah. That’s why he had so much money, and that’s why his hands were SO BLACK.” Later, I talk to a teammate, “they seemed so happy, so carefree”. He answers, “No. It’s but a mirage of what their childhood should have been like. They get glimpses of it when we are there. But it’s all a lie.” A lie.

* Two homeless men sleeping literally on top of each other in a tiny hole under a bridge reeking of human waste. Half their bodies stick out (waist down), and they look precariously close to falling out. We wake them up and give them food – they cry as they tell their stories – when is the last time anyone touched them and listened to their stories? Now I understand why the homeless in America are said to be RICH.

* We squeeze through an opening in a gate in the middle of a highway under a bridge. Here we find a row of cardboard boxes with a few rags lying around. But no children yet, it’s a little early. This is where some of them live. On cardboard boxes in the middle of a noise / gas infested highway. It’s getting really cold. There’s not a single blanket.

* We find Daniel sleeping alone in a grassy area surrounding a statue. We wake him up and he hungrily eats the bread. Only afterwards, does he look up and ask for my name. He’s 20. During the day, he walks around the city. But he’s just a child. He’s afraid of pain so he won’t even let us treat the infected wounds on his knees. “Gracias, hermano. Gracias, hermana,” he says to each person there.

* We pray before we call it a night. I pray, “God, love them. Make your love real to them. I don’t know how, but envelope them with your warmth. Let them not feel the cold surrounding them tonight. LOVE them. GOD. Please. Let them know Your love.”

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” 2 Corinthians 4:1

Amen.

"Un cuento, una vida"

2009-04-30T21:36:00.004-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks, the kids in the Kaya Center have been working on a special school project called “Un cuento, una vida” – “A story, a life”. The project involved having the kids become authors and write and illustrate their own stories. While they were given the freedom to choose which kind of story to write, the majority chose to tell their own stories and write about their past experiences.

The staff observed that the kids were particularly enthusiastic about this activity. It prompted many conversations between the kids, in which they shared about their pasts and were able to see the striking difference between their lives on the streets and their lives now. We’ve found that projects like this help the kids practice important academic skills, while offering the additional benefit of helping them process and reinforce their decision to come off the streets and work toward a healthier, more positive future.

The project culminated in a special celebration during which each student had the chance to present his or her completed book. All of the books are now on display in the Kaya Center library for visitors to enjoy. At the end of the exhibition, one of the books will be selected to be made into a film, with the winner getting to be the director.

Birthday Dedication for Street Children

2009-04-22T23:18:00.010-04:00

On the face of it, the scene at the Legacy Park Community Center pool in Lee’s Summit, Missouri this past January looked like a normal birthday party. A handful of parents accompanied 65 rowdy 7 year-olds enjoying swimming, games and plenty of cake to go around. But there was something very special about this particular party. The stars of the party, twin sisters Morgan and Madison Goeser, decided to forgo all gifts and instead have attendees make donations to former street children in Bolivia and to a nearby school in inner-city Kansas City.

Their mother Julee got the idea for the party from a friend who raised books for an inner-city school during her 7 year-old's birthday party. Morgan and Madison liked the concept, but along with their younger sister Olivia, they decided they would take it a step further and help out street children in Bolivia as well. The girls had been very concerned about the plight of children living on the streets in Bolivia ever since Julee told them stories from what she had read in the book When Invisible Children Sing written by Kaya founder Dr. Chi Huang. "They have so little," said the girls, "no toys, house, bed or food and we have all of these things."

Overall the party was a great success. In addition to raising money for Kaya Children, the girls also collected 270 books, which they donated to a nearby inner-city school. "Everybody loved it," they said. "We got lots of cards and checks and cool books." While all the children clearly had a good time, many of the parents really liked the idea of a donation party. "I think it is wonderful the girls gave up their gifts to benefit others," said Chandra Fender, one of the parents in attendance. "I am going to take the example for my daughter's birthday this year, too!"

Morgan, Madison, Olivia and Julee discovered a great way to support Kaya's work, but they also did something much more meaningful. Children coming off the streets into Kaya's programs typically have never celebrated their birthday before. For this reason, the Kaya staff does everything possible to make birthdays special for these children as a way to show them they are loved and that their lives are important. When Morgan and Madison decided to dedicate their birthday to help former street children, they also sent a message of love that means far more than any financial gift. As they put it, "It makes us happy because we made other kids happy."

Dia Del Niño

2009-04-15T13:37:00.005-04:00

April 12th was National Children’s Day, or Dia del Niño, in Bolivia. Typically, this is a day when children are celebrated and when they are reminded of both their rights and obligations as members of society. To mark the occasion, the children in the Kaya Center participated in a full day of fun and celebratory activities.

To start the day, children engaged in a special ceremony where they were matched with buddies. Older adolescents became big buddies to their younger counterparts in an effort to foster positive relationships among the kids and emphasize the importance of taking care of others. The pairs were matched by the teaching and clinical staff, taking into consideration each child’s strengths, weaknesses and interests. Buddy pairs had an opportunity to get to know each other better through a time of sharing, and little buddies got to ask their big buddies about their experiences in the Kaya program.

The day continued with buddy pairs participating in a variety of games together. The 3-legged race, balloon volleyball, and marble bowling were just a few of the many games played. The kids enjoyed winning prizes like stickers and fancy pencils, and the day ended with a special meal that was selected by the kids themselves. Guisela Mustafa, our Clinical Program Coordinator, said, “The kids were really happy and had a great time. I think they learned a bit more about the need to be cared for and to care for others, an important aspect of healthy emotional development.”

Hasta Junio

2009-04-03T17:22:00.004-04:00

It's been a busy week here in La Paz, but thoroughly exciting watching the new Kaya Center in action. Early tomorrow morning I head back to the States and back to our US office far away from our kids. Though I'll be back here for the summer and I'm in constant contact with everyone via phone and email here while I'm stateside, it's always a bit sad leaving. Here there is daily inspiration and more hugs than I can count, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

One of the highlights of the week was meeting the father of one of the kids in our residential program. His son, I., is in the process of transitioning back home, a process which will take some time. This past weekend was his first full weekend visit with his family and by all accounts it went well. The father was checking in with our clinical staff to give them an update of how things went. He was so proud of his son and he told me he saw a marked difference in him since he entered our program. His son spent the weekend talking about school and his goals for the future. Quite a difference, his father noted, from the kid who used to inhale paint thinner and hang out on the streets all day, avoiding school. For his part, the father has been working hard to control his drinking and has secured a good job. He admitted that he's definitely not ready for I. to come home yet, but little by little he is getting there. When the time comes, I. will continue to attend our full day program so that we can continue to support him and his dad as they adjust to being a family once again.

Another highlight was hanging out with some of our newest students, two 12 year old girls. Both are attending our day program while living at home with their families, and neither has ever been to school before. Our clinical staff has been working quite a bit with the girls to help them recognize the dangers of street life and begin pulling away from various street activities. Two days ago, one of the girls announced that for the past 2 weeks, she has not gone out on the streets in the middle of the night - something she was doing regularly. "I made a decision," she said, "I'm not going to do that anymore. I want to focus on school now." While we took this announcement with a grain of salt, having seen many kids make statements like this and then go back on their promises, we nevertheless were extremely proud of this accomplishment and celebrated her decision.

Baby steps. That's what it's all about down here. Each step forward feels like a miracle and is infinitely rewarding.

Now onto the miracle of getting myself out the door and onto the airport at 4am!

Kaya Center Opens in La Paz

2009-04-01T17:16:00.004-04:00

This past February marked the opening of the Kaya Center. Through the Kaya Center we offer a full-day therapeutic school program for 3 main categories of children: children living in our residential program, children who have come through our residential program and have been able to return home to their families, and children who have been out of school and on the streets, but who can remain with their families with intensive support.

The full-day program was designed around the unique needs of children who have been heavily involved in street life. Most of these children are years behind academically or have never been to school at all, despite being school-age. And most have suffered multiple forms of abuse and come from severely dysfunctional families. As a result, they are unable to succeed in traditional school environments. In the Kaya Center, children have the opportunity to receive intensive, individualized academic support to help them catch up to grade level, and they work with clinical staff members to address various psychological and emotional issues. Since such issues often surface within the classroom and impede learning, our teachers and clinicians work closely together.

To illustrate, I’ll share an incident that happened just this week. During her language arts class, one of our teachers started to introduce a lesson on word families. Think of the Spanish equivalent of “at, cat, sat, bat, mat…” Hearing the word “family,” one of her students, Miguel*, jumped out of his seat and began screaming. “No!” he yelled, “I don’t want to talk about my family!” He started to cry and refused to participate in the lesson. The situation was resolved fairly easily, since the teacher has a small class and enjoys a close relationship with her students. She was able to assure Miguel that the lesson was about word groups, not families, and he was able to calm down for a few minutes in the therapy room with the psychologist before rejoining the class. The psychologist made a note of the incident and is now meeting with Miguel to help him process his feelings about his family. She also alerted Miguel’s house parents in the residential program about what happened so that they could provide extra support and attention in the evening. This is just one example of the ways in which the Kaya Center provides integrated care to children.

By offering a full-day therapeutic school program, we are now able to better meet the needs of the children in our homes. We are also able to partner with families to reduce the need for residential care. Most children on the streets do have families, but their families are ill-equipped to provide adequate care and supervision for them. They have multiple problems and struggle to survive in extreme poverty. A typical solution is for families to relinquish full responsibility for their children and have them cared for entirely in a residential program, or watch them become fully absorbed into street life and delinquency. Many of these families, however, can provide basic levels of care. One of the primary goals of the Kaya Center, therefore, is to enable families to play an active, positive role in the lives of their children and to work together with them to make sure their children don’t wind up back in the streets. Our hope is that, through the Kaya Center, we can help more children transition back home and back into mainstream schools.

-- Kristin Huang, Executive Director

*Name changed to protect privacy

Welcome to the Kaya Children Blog!

2009-03-24T14:56:00.002-04:00

Thanks for visiting our blog! We will be posting regular updates that highlight how Kaya Children International is making a difference in the lives of children living on the streets. As an organization we are committed to making the voices of children living on the streets heard. Come here to learn more about the children in our programs and the staff and volunteers who work with them.

Next week, Kaya's Executive Director, Kristin Huang, will share more about the brand new Kaya Center -- a day center and school -- that opened last month in La Paz. Kristin will be reporting from Bolivia with fresh insight on how this new program will reach more children in new and important ways. Stay tuned!