NCV Newsletter Update: March 2010

Greetings from Cochabamba, Bolivia!

Finally, after what seems like a very long time, we have had a relatively calm month. So, in this edition of our newsletter we have decided to keep our project updates to a minimum, and take this opportunity to give you some more general updates on our organization, where we are going, and what we need to get there.

This past month the two houses have been much more combined as we've been meeting together in joint trainings on expanding our knowledge of HIV/AIDS with Dr. Walter Flores Murillo and Ninoska Flores Loza of Vivo en Positivo. We've also had some both funny and productively frustrating times as we work through some team building activities.

Above - Small groups of our tias during team dynamics.

While the tias have been attending the trainings, our girls from CDP have been helping our nursing students and Kelley care for the little ones at PDC, and both homes have really enjoyed the time together. We even had the older girls help out last week for a deep cleaning of PDC, and they are looking forward to their reward- a movie at the cinema. We also made some major headway on the mural, as you can see in the pictures below.

Above - Photos of the girls and Kelley working on the mural.

And, we finally got to go out for ice cream with all the participants of our Moda Loca runway show at CDP. We went to Globo's (which means 'balloon's' in English) which has yummy ice cream and a fun indoor play area, on which even some of the older girls enjoyed playing. The other older girls got to hang out in a nearby plaza and they decided on an impromptu modeling session.

Above - Photos of several of the girls enjoying Globo's with Tia Kelley.

Our special event at PDC this month was celebrating Lily's 1st birthday! She's developed so much, and seemingly so quickly, it's hard to believe that our tiny little girl is now walking and talking. As with most first birthday’s, she wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but she definitely enjoyed her cake.

Above - Lily's 1st birthday party!

As we begin to move into the cold and flu season here, please keep our children and staff in your prayers for good health, especially at PDC, where so many of our kids are vulnerable to infections and simple colds escalating into bronchitis and pneumonia. It can be very difficult to stop the spread of these illnesses once they enter the house even despite our best efforts at providing a very hygienic environment. Thanks from all of us in advance for your care and prayers.

Our Street Light hiatus is about to come to an end! We are gearing up to hire two half-time street counselors in July. This will coincide with an exciting first for NCV: A former volunteer of ours, Rachel Kelley, will be returning to do an investigation on the HIV knowledge amongst the street population of Cochabamba. This is thanks to a grant issued by Stanford University, where Rachel is a student. This investigation will both provide major insight into the gaps in HIV education amongst those living on the streets, as well as serve as an important tool as we seek out grant funding to expand our HIV/AIDS work amongst marginalized children.

There isn't really any new news here, except to say that we are still in search of the right social worker for our foundation. Angela, who worked with us for almost 2 years, returned to her home province to live with her family. Because this position is so important, we have been taking our time in trying to find the right person for the job. They not only work on the cases of the children in our homes, but are the main contact for the children and families we support through our One Child at a Time program. Please keep this in your prayers as we hope to make a decision in the next couple of weeks.

The executive directors of NCV in Bolivia and the US will be making several stops this June to create awareness of the work we are doing and the kids that are having their lives changed thanks to our supporters. Below is a list of places we have lined up to visit so far. We will update this in upcoming newsletters to reflect any changes and/or additions. If you are in any of these areas, please write us to get details or to see how you can help out.

• June 2-4: Livermore, CA
• June 4-7: Gresham, OR
• June 7-9: Couer D'Alene, ID
• June 9-12: Bellevue, WA
• June 12-14: Loganville, GA
• June 15-16: Boston, MA
• June 16-17: Teterboro, NJ
• June 17-19: Paoli, PA
• June 19-24: Grandriver / Hamilton, ON

We often recieve requests from people interested in helping us out where it is most needed. Because of this, we have decided to add this short section to our newsletter, where we will list our most pressing needs. Let us know if you are interested in supporting in any one of these areas, please visit our website. And remember, every little bit of support helps; if everyone on the mailing list committed to giving $20 a month, we would be able to cover an entire year's budget for all our projects, including these pressing needs. Thanks!

Dr. Walter Flores Murillo

Niños con Valor is presently caring for over 30 children in residential care, and nearly 10 in daytime care. For the past several years we have been blessed with a couple of incredible missionary doctors who have volunteered their time and skills with us in the care of our children's health. Now, however, we need to establish something more sustainable for the future.

In addition, several of the HIV affected children and families we work with have faced challenges in receiving adequate treatment. As an organization that is increasinlgy becoming a major voice for children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Bolivia, we would like to initiate a long-term strategy to improve the care provided to all children in Cochabamba affected by the virus, and to increase HIV/AIDS knowledge in the streets and amongst young people.

Dr. Flores is a general medical practitioner, with extensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS treatment in adults and children, who has been collaborating with NCV for several years now. In the past, his support has been mainly through the training of our staff. Recently, he has also begun to help us with general consultations as well as emergency medical concerns.

We would like to hire Dr. Flores to perform two major roles within our organization. First, he would provide family medical care to all of our children and their parents. Second, he would coordinate our work with pediatric HIV/AIDS, enabling us to have a greater impact within Bolivia.

In order to meet this need, we are seeking $4680 for a full year's salary, or $390 a month. Please consider if this is something you could help us out with, as this will enable us to provide even better care to our children, and make a national impact in pediatric HIV/AIDS care.

Street Light

As we mentioned above, in July we are going to return to the streets. Why now? The fact is, the number of children and adolescents living on the streets continues to rise, while the number of individuals and groups working with them is decreasing. In addition, the only other group with a specific focus on working with young women on the streets has recently changed their program and are no longer providing direct care on the streets.

Not only is the need for focused work with girls and women living on the streets pressing, but also the need for a long-term vision to help these women transition from the streets into a safe future full of hope. The only shelters in the city for battered women will not accept women from the streets, leaving these girls with no where to turn to, so they remain trapped in lives of addiction and abuse.

In order to meet this need, we are seeking $3600 to cover July-December's budget, or $600 a month. This pays for two half-time salaries, medical support, transportation costs, events--everything! Please consider helping us bring hope to these girls.

While this month has been pretty relaxed, we are so grateful that we keep moving onward and upward. We hope you have enjoyed this brief update, and may God's blessings be upon you all as we enter into Holy Week.

Peace and Love from the kids, staff and volunteers of Niños con Valor!