Greetings from Cochabamba,

Each month brings new adventures and activities, and this past month this has been especially true. This week winter vacations begin, so all of June the school age boys and the girls have been busy studying, doing projects, and finishing up their notebooks to present to their professors. And, sadly, we had had more than a few goodbye parties for volunteers heading home this month. Below is a recap of what happened this past month here in Cochabamba!

Peace and Love,

Park and Ice Cream Outing:

Last week, Tia Justine said "goodbye" to the boys of PdC. To celebrate her, and to thank her for all the love and dedication she has shown the kids, we all went to the park to enjoy a day outside. The boys had a blast playing on the swings and the slides, and running around in the large space. After, a fun morning and a delicious picnic, we went to Globos, a local ice cream parlor, for a special dessert! The boys especially loved their ice cream men that had faces, arms, and hats!

Above Left: Mateo having fun on the slide.
Above Right: Lucas is all ready for the picnic.

Above Left: Alarico having tons of fun on the swings!
Above Right: Diego is excited to be playing in the park.

Above Left: Tio Chris helping Cedro on the monkey bars.
Above Right: Zaquiel and Eneas were excited about the special snack—Oreo cookies!

Above Left: All the boys enjoying our special park day and picnic.
Above Right: Tia Isabel helping Cedro eat his ice cream without spilling.

Above Left: Our tables at Globos—the boys were very well behaved and excited about ice cream!
Above Right: Lucas was thrilled with his chocolate ice cream man!

School Work:

The majority of the boys attend school, so each morning we busy ourselves completing homework assignments and art projects. Marcos, our oldest, is in 1st grade this year, Manolo is in Kindergarten, and Zaquiel, Lucas, Bemabe, and Diego are in pre-kindergarten. All the boys enjoy attending school to learn and play, but to especially make friends.

Above Left: Lucas working on a newspaper art project for school.
Above Right: Diego working on his fine motor skills.

Above Left: Manolo proudly working hard on his homework.
Above Right: Marcos is learning to read and write words, and he is picking it up very quickly.

Baby Alejo:

Alejo is getting bigger and bigger everyday—it's incredible! After arriving at the end of April, he has received so much love, affection, and attention, and is an extremely happy baby. He enjoys looking out the window, studying faces, napping, and drinking from his bottle. Here is a very recent photo of Baby Alejo!

Above: Alejo is getting so big, and is such a happy, healthy baby!

Church Talent Show:

At the beginning of this month, the girls were invited to share their talents at church. The little ones did a traditional dance from outside of Oruro, depicting the calming of a baby; the medianas danced the Taquirari, another traditional dance from the department of Santa Cruz; and a small group did a gymnastic routine that shocked everyone. They did flips, splits, and difficult stretches—we were all so proud of them! All the girls did a fantastic job, and everyone complemented us about how well behaved and beautiful, polite and talented the girls are.

Above Left: Vanesa, Adriana, and Karina ready for their gymnastics routine—they did an amazing job!
Above Right: Victoria and her doll ready to dance.

Above Left: Karina and Nohemi, Zamora and Victoria did such a great job.
Above Right: The medianas were nervous about dancing, but did fabulously. (From left to right: Jhoselin, Adriana, Johana, Vanesa, Cynthia, and Paty.)

Pairumani Trip:

The girls had a day off school for the Andean New Year, so we decided to head out to Pairumani, a park on the foothill of the mountains about an hour outside of the city. The girls had a blast hiking through the park and picnicking on blankets, swimming in the little rivers and playing on the playground. The best part for the tias was watching the girls' laugh and smile, and play together--what a great day for all!

Above Left: Vanesa, Elena, and Jhoselin ready for our picnic lunch.
Above Right: Adriana, Abigail, and Jhoselin hiking around the park.

Above Left: Sofia, Tia Justine, Adriana, Tia Carla, Tia Megan, Cynthia, and Abigail tired after hiking to the waterfall, but the sights in the park were beautiful.
Above Right: Playing on the see-saw in the playground—the girls have tons of fun playing together!

Above Left: Sisters, Bryssa and Alandra climbing in the tress.
Above Right: Karina having fun playing in the stream.

Above Left: Jhoselin being brave and entering the very cold water!
Above Right: Mariela enjoying the stream—all the girls had a blast playing in the water.

Princess Party:

To celebrate and thank Tia Carla for all she had done and all the love she showed the kids, we had a princess party! It was hard to say goodbye, but we all hope that Carla will come back soon! A week before the party, the girls made crowns and picked their outfits, which ranged from 80s one-piece outfits to dresses fit for a queen, and the tias even dressed up! It was a fun night with a huge Italian dinner prepared by Tia Carla and Tia Megan, a dance party, and dances choreographed by the girls in honor of Tia Carla.

Above Left: Jhoselin, the princess of love, and Paty, the rockstar princess, all dressed up and ready for the party!
Above Right: The girls and Tia Lauren enjoying the delicious Italian dinner.

Above Left: Adriana and Vanesa dancing the night away.
Above Right: Mariela was straight out of the 80s! She won the prizes for best outfit and best hair.

Above Left: Guillermo came to say goodbye to Tia Carla, and he and Victoria danced together all night.
Above Right: The tias—Patricia, Lucia, and Celia—were looking good, and just as excited as the girls to dress up.

Above Left: Zamora and Raeka danced for hours and hours! Zamora is a very serious dancer, but can go all night!
Above Right: Tia Megan and Tia Carla with Adriana and Kattia, Cynthia and Alandra.

Above Left: The girls and the tias dancing the night away!
Above Right: Tia Carla dancing the last dance with Bryssa and Alandra.

Tia Justine's Despedida:

And, at the end of June we had another goodbye party for Tia Justine at CdP. Justine is from France, and she made homemade, amazingly delicious crepes for the girls and the tias.

Above Left: Paty and Tia Justine sharing a special moment.
Above Right: Johana presenting Justine with a special plate the girls made.

Above: The girls made a huge card for Tia Justine to thank her for everything. And, Justine gave the girls small gifts of remembrance.

Not much new has been going on with our families or our partnership with Mizque in June, except that the kids have all been studying hard as well. July, however, promises to be exciting as we join a delegation from Doctors for Global Health on a preliminary visit to Mizque to look into the possibilities of developing a holistic health promoter program for the communities. We will have lots of photos to share with you next month!

This month, we had quite a few birthdays in both homes, which the kids were excited about! We try and make birthday celebrations special with cake and fun festivities, and all the kids and the staff participate to ensure the birthday boy or girl feels special and has great birthday memories!

On the 1st, Noe, from our One Child at a Time program, celebrated his 15th birthday. He has grown and matured so much since we started working with his family.

Above: Noe, pictured with his brother and sister, is the oldest, and helps his mother and his younger siblings a lot. He wants to continue studying so he can help his family in the future.

Zaquiel turned 4 on June 13th, and celebrated with the other boys, the staff, his mother and baby brother.

Above: Zaquiel enjoys reading and doing puzzles, painting and coloring. He definitely is growing so fast!

The next day, Corazon del Pastor celebrated Karina's 8th birthday. She was very excited to eat her cake, and received lots of hugs and kisses from the girls, the tias, and, especially, from her three sisters.

Above: Karina loves to dance and sing! She is outgoing and enjoys lots of affection and attention.

Diego was excited to celebrate his 4th birthday at the home for the first time! He is adjusting well, and enjoying living with other boys!

Above: Diego likes to play outside with the bikes. He enjoys going to school and completing his homework.

Elena turned 14 on June 27th, and she is growing and maturing into a beautiful young woman. We are proud of the dedicated student, kind, loving person she is becoming.

Above: Elena enjoys listening to music, dancing, reading, and watching movies. She is a very diligent student, who completes all assignments and studies hard.

And, finally, Bemabe celebrated 4 years on June 29th! He enjoyed the attention and affection, but especially enjoyed the cake and Jell-O!

Above: Since his arrival, Bemabe has come out of his shell; he loves to laugh and is much more social with the other boys and the tias.

Lots of parties and lots of cake this month! It truly is wonderful watching the kids grow and mature!

As you can see, June has been a busy, exciting month for the foundation, with lots of activities and outings, festivities and parties. The boys are growing and maturing, working hard in school and enjoying their fun park days. The girls are attending dance and gymnastics, art and sports classes, and are sharing their talents with others, and very much looking forward to school vacation!

Peace and Love From the Children, the Staff, and the Volunteers of Niños con Valor.