The street kids sleep in places like this, this is a canal where there are 2 groups of kids in 2 different tunnels. When it rains, the canal fills up so they go and find shelter elsewhere, but they always come back here afterwards.






These are some of the street kids that live in the tunnel on the previous photo.....







One afternoon we went with a group of Americans to help a very very poor family build a second hut on the bit of land they have quite far out of the city ... Before 8 of them lived in a 2*2 m hut ...4 adults and 4 children ...
A fifth child is at the boys center now, the stepfather used to be violent with him.
So we built another hut and they have moved in now...



This is just after the graduation evening at an english speaking church, the graduation was for 7 young people ( from 19 to 25) that have just finished their 'year for God'. On the photo there is Dan, an english boy. All of them are great and I'll definitely be keeping contact with them...there all leaving one by one now, to go back to their countries ...



In Bolivia, you don't pass your test, you buy your license, so driving is quite dangerous as people do what they want... At this junction people blow their horns and just zoom through .... Quite funny actually, as most of the parts of the city people don't drive fast, or can't drive fast, so it's just chaos ....

A day in Scruz

Hi, the photos wont upload so just some txt for now, as soon as I find a fast place that works ill try and upload loads ...

Anyway ...
Here is what a day is like over here ...

Get up at 7h30 (ish) .. shower... brekkie..etc....
Leave the house at 9h ish .. take a taxi to wherever we are going ...
We then walk the last bit to where the street kids are ...
There we say hi, talk to them, play, give a lot of first aid .... (lots of cuts, bruises, etc.).
We try to visit a few groups in the morning 2 or 3 ....
At around 11h30 12h .. taxi back to casa alfa..

Lunch alltogether .... then 30 min of house cleaning... then we do what we want
We go out again at 5h ish ( when its getting dark) .. go round different groups ..
Get back at 7h30 8h ish (pm)
Chill out ... movies.. supper .. games... etc.
Bed ...

As for Tuesdays and Wednsdays there different as we spend them at El Camino, the boys center ..
Tuesday morning we leave the house at 7h30 ... get to the center at 9ish ..
there we play with them, talk to them, help them with their homework, their duties, etc.
Lunch at 12h ... then duties, practical work, homework, school for the younger ones (older ones go in the morning)
Everyday they have a football training from 16h to 18h .. then supper ...homework, chill out time, and bed at 21h30...
Next day ... wake up 6h30 .. breakfast at 7h30 ... then the day starts as the previous one.. we then leave late afternoon or early evening ..

Those two days are actually quite knackering ....

First photos

The front of David and Sarah's house, Santa Cruz.

El camino, eating area, view on the football pitch (small concrete football / basketball pitch)

Some boys from El camino, all of them are great to be with.

Quick post with photos ...

Hi all !

The computer I have been working on has just crashed and so I lost all I had written, I made the mistake of not typing it in word or something and then copying it ... I'll know now..This work will be a bit shorter than the previous one ...and the photos dont work...so ill do them later

I have been here since saturday the 8th, staying with David and Sarah Adjei over the weekend and since Wednsday due to Casa Alfa being full ( one the staff got married last night !!!)

Do visit their website www.casaalfa.org for more info ...and support !

They live in Barrio California, in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. ( 1.4 million people live here).

David and Sarah have been living in Bolivia for ten years now, they have three girls (Jasmine, 6, Gaby, 4 was adopted 2 years ago, and Lily, 3 months old, was adopted 1 month ago)

I have been here for a week now and am really loving it, contact with the children, the work on the streets, the team, the staff, etc.

Monday I moved in to Casa alfa ( where the first contacts team lives, they go out on mondays, thursdays and fridays, mornings and afternoons) for the day and night, we went out on the streets and I got my first experience of it...

Tuesday and Wednsday I went to El camino which is the boys center. 30 boys live there and its great to play with them and to see the change between the streets and there ...

I also got to visit El Alfarero, the girls center. There is only one girl there at the moment as there are less girls on the streets, and they have deeper wounds than the boys. ( Most of them have been abused, beaten, and have worked as prostitutes).

Anyway, sorry for the quick post, but it is very frustrating losing the work you have just done...

More quite soon with photos ...

First post from SCruz, Bolivia

Hi everybody / A quick post to say that I got safely to Santa Cruz, it's 21 : 30 here and I have been here for 6 days now, and loving it. I will post some photos later... this weekend probably. Everyone is really nice and it is a great experience. I promise I will tell you more about it when I post photos on the blog, I will comment them at the same time !

Take care