At Los Gorriones on Gil´s birthday ...
Los Gorriones (‘the sparrows’) is a home for children who have special needs or have nowhere else to go – for more information see website link on right-hand column. I visited the home a couple of times when I was last here, and met Gil and Chantal, who set up the home – they moved here from France about 6 years ago, specifically to come and help children in the poorest part of Peru. Very sadly, Chantal died of lung cancer last year and now Gil is running the place on his own, and so it’s a very sad and tough time for him.
The children are very special, and it also takes a special amount of patience and determination to work here! I’ve been helping out two or three afternoons a week and I’m starting to get to know the children and the routines now.
Gil employs permanent local staff and there are also a number of volunteers who come and go, but with 27 children to care for, he has his hands full! Gil relies on donations to fund the home, and receives some regular support from an NGO in Belgium, but there’s no funding from the social services here in Ayacucho, though there is now talk of paying for three employees, so fingers crossed.
Gil rents out a small house, but it’s far too small – many of the children have to share beds, and apart from the four bedrooms, there’s only one communal room, and it’s very small. There’s a little kitchen with a wood fire across from the house, and there’s a covered patio outside which is great when it’s warm and dry, but wet and cold days must be a bit miserable inside. There’s no sign of any hot water source (other than the fire); no washing machines or fridges, and there’s only one proper toilet, though several other holes in the ground – all very basic, but clean! Gil is hoping to build a new house in the next year or so if he can collect enough money. He’s been given some land, so that’s a start.
There’s a lot more information about the home and the children’s backgrounds on the Los Gorriones website (see link on right-hand column).
The children are divided into three groups, each with a set of ‘senoritas’ who come and look after them in groups on a shift basis, and the volunteers are assigned to a group on each shift.
There’s ‘Los Lupes’ (‘Lupe’ is the name of one of the first handicapped children who was looked after here) – these are the severely handicapped children. There are six children in this group and they need the most specialist care and attention – they can all hear, but only one, Maria Jesus, can see ... and only one, Eberson, can talk and walk a little, though he can’t see. I’ve only worked one full shift with this group, and I must admit I found it very tough – partly because you don’t get a lot of information from the ‘senoritas’ as to what to do and asking lots of questions in Spanish is quite tiring – especially when you don’t have the vocabulary for nappy changing, etc. Also, you have to carry and lift the children and I wasn’t really strong enough to do it well. But I enjoyed talking to Maria Jesus, and trying to get her to respond with an ‘hola’ and when she did, it was very satisfying! And Eberson is delightful, he talks continually, and loves strumming his guitar and getting cuddles!
Annette, reading to Diego who is blind
‘Los Pequenos’ (the little ones) are aged 3-8. I’ve spent most of my time with this group. Really this group is for up to 5-year-olds – but Fermin, who’s 8, has stayed in this group. He looks more like he’s 5 and has a mental age of 3. Fermin doesn’t speak, and his favourite activity is eating – he tries to eat anything he can get his hands on so he needs constant supervision. He also likes to walk around a lot and loves rucksacks - he gets very excited when he sees mine, but when we tried to put it on him, he keeled over! Fermin’s story is heart-breaking – apparently he was shut away in a room for about 6 years with no clothes and hardly any food as his mother didn’t know what to do with him. It’s hard to know how many disabilities he was born with, and how many were caused by such an horrendous start to life. Little Cristofer is the baby of the group – he was born smashing his right side onto a nightclub floor and cannot use this side properly, and never uses his right hand. He can walk though, and he’s starting to speak now. Then there’s the only girl of the group, little Sheyla, who has mild cerebral palsy; she can walk a little, but has trouble speaking. She loves attention, and we’ve spent quite a bit of time together colouring – she loves colouring flowers, and now I’ve managed to move her on to fish, but not much else. And that then leaves the ‘terrible trio’ – Sergio, Freddy (who calls himself Fleddy as he can’t pronounce his ‘r’s), and little Luis – they are a handful, but I love playing with them. They are a lot of fun, until they start fighting! I’ve taken ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ to read to them – well I have to make it up in Spanish, and they know they story now and tell it back to me – funny hearing my Spanish being repeated by real Spanish speakers! And they love the caterpillar puzzle that came with the book and ask for it whenever they see me. They also love playing with Bear, and like his cuddles and the way his nose twitches.
Luis with Bear
Sergio and Freddy tackle the puzzle ...
Sergio took this photo!
The last group is ‘Los Grandes’ (the big ones), and the biggest group, of 15, but as they are older they need less supervision. Though you can really tell that they lack parental love and attention, as they are really quite demanding of individual attention. They range from age 6-20, but all but one are still at school. Sabrina is 20 and has chosen to stay on at the home and helps too– she’s a little deaf and has mild learning difficulties and probably couldn’t live independently. All the other children are still at school, so a lot of the work in the afternoon consists of supervising homework, and then playing with them once they’ve finished – they come and go, and sometimes just do their own thing. I’ve taken colouring activities – spot the difference, dot-to-dot, etc. and they like these; we’ve also had a go at making Christmas decorations, but the little ones wanted to join in too and I got a bit mobbed. The ‘senoritas’ don’t help out much – they tend to leave us to sink or swim; not very collaborative! Though are a couple of lovely exceptions, and I try to work with Nancy or Rosa when I can.
When the guitarist came to play ...
The children are very special, and it also takes a special amount of patience and determination to work here! I’ve been helping out two or three afternoons a week and I’m starting to get to know the children and the routines now.
Gil employs permanent local staff and there are also a number of volunteers who come and go, but with 27 children to care for, he has his hands full! Gil relies on donations to fund the home, and receives some regular support from an NGO in Belgium, but there’s no funding from the social services here in Ayacucho, though there is now talk of paying for three employees, so fingers crossed.
Gil rents out a small house, but it’s far too small – many of the children have to share beds, and apart from the four bedrooms, there’s only one communal room, and it’s very small. There’s a little kitchen with a wood fire across from the house, and there’s a covered patio outside which is great when it’s warm and dry, but wet and cold days must be a bit miserable inside. There’s no sign of any hot water source (other than the fire); no washing machines or fridges, and there’s only one proper toilet, though several other holes in the ground – all very basic, but clean! Gil is hoping to build a new house in the next year or so if he can collect enough money. He’s been given some land, so that’s a start.
There’s a lot more information about the home and the children’s backgrounds on the Los Gorriones website (see link on right-hand column).
The children are divided into three groups, each with a set of ‘senoritas’ who come and look after them in groups on a shift basis, and the volunteers are assigned to a group on each shift.
There’s ‘Los Lupes’ (‘Lupe’ is the name of one of the first handicapped children who was looked after here) – these are the severely handicapped children. There are six children in this group and they need the most specialist care and attention – they can all hear, but only one, Maria Jesus, can see ... and only one, Eberson, can talk and walk a little, though he can’t see. I’ve only worked one full shift with this group, and I must admit I found it very tough – partly because you don’t get a lot of information from the ‘senoritas’ as to what to do and asking lots of questions in Spanish is quite tiring – especially when you don’t have the vocabulary for nappy changing, etc. Also, you have to carry and lift the children and I wasn’t really strong enough to do it well. But I enjoyed talking to Maria Jesus, and trying to get her to respond with an ‘hola’ and when she did, it was very satisfying! And Eberson is delightful, he talks continually, and loves strumming his guitar and getting cuddles!
Eberson got very excited when the guitarist came to visit ...
Annette, reading to Diego who is blind
‘Los Pequenos’ (the little ones) are aged 3-8. I’ve spent most of my time with this group. Really this group is for up to 5-year-olds – but Fermin, who’s 8, has stayed in this group. He looks more like he’s 5 and has a mental age of 3. Fermin doesn’t speak, and his favourite activity is eating – he tries to eat anything he can get his hands on so he needs constant supervision. He also likes to walk around a lot and loves rucksacks - he gets very excited when he sees mine, but when we tried to put it on him, he keeled over! Fermin’s story is heart-breaking – apparently he was shut away in a room for about 6 years with no clothes and hardly any food as his mother didn’t know what to do with him. It’s hard to know how many disabilities he was born with, and how many were caused by such an horrendous start to life. Little Cristofer is the baby of the group – he was born smashing his right side onto a nightclub floor and cannot use this side properly, and never uses his right hand. He can walk though, and he’s starting to speak now. Then there’s the only girl of the group, little Sheyla, who has mild cerebral palsy; she can walk a little, but has trouble speaking. She loves attention, and we’ve spent quite a bit of time together colouring – she loves colouring flowers, and now I’ve managed to move her on to fish, but not much else. And that then leaves the ‘terrible trio’ – Sergio, Freddy (who calls himself Fleddy as he can’t pronounce his ‘r’s), and little Luis – they are a handful, but I love playing with them. They are a lot of fun, until they start fighting! I’ve taken ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ to read to them – well I have to make it up in Spanish, and they know they story now and tell it back to me – funny hearing my Spanish being repeated by real Spanish speakers! And they love the caterpillar puzzle that came with the book and ask for it whenever they see me. They also love playing with Bear, and like his cuddles and the way his nose twitches.
Luis with Bear
Cristofer in his cot
Luis and Fermin
The ´terible trio´having an unusually quiet moment just before bed
But it didn´t last long!
Sergio and Freddy tackle the puzzle ...
Sergio took this photo!
The last group is ‘Los Grandes’ (the big ones), and the biggest group, of 15, but as they are older they need less supervision. Though you can really tell that they lack parental love and attention, as they are really quite demanding of individual attention. They range from age 6-20, but all but one are still at school. Sabrina is 20 and has chosen to stay on at the home and helps too– she’s a little deaf and has mild learning difficulties and probably couldn’t live independently. All the other children are still at school, so a lot of the work in the afternoon consists of supervising homework, and then playing with them once they’ve finished – they come and go, and sometimes just do their own thing. I’ve taken colouring activities – spot the difference, dot-to-dot, etc. and they like these; we’ve also had a go at making Christmas decorations, but the little ones wanted to join in too and I got a bit mobbed. The ‘senoritas’ don’t help out much – they tend to leave us to sink or swim; not very collaborative! Though are a couple of lovely exceptions, and I try to work with Nancy or Rosa when I can.
Abel and his work of art
More colouring and drawing ...
When the guitarist came to play ...
The home provides a safe and homely place for these children and I am so impressed with the work that Gil and Chantal have done here. But Gil desperately needs funding to keep it going and to have any chance of achieving his dream of building their own home. Unlike the school, I have faith that any money I leave here will be used wisely and so I’d like to contribute some of our money towards running costs and the construction project before I leave. I’ve also given Gil some money to fund a special Christmas meal for everyone at the home on the 25th, and to buy some food for about 25 very poor families in the neighbourhood who Gil tries to support. More on this once the money has been spent!
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