Keep up to date with what is happening in NCV on our blog. You can also catch up on previous newsletters here. Enjoy!
If you are in the US, you can either send a check made out to "Ninos con Valor" to the address below, or use our Groundspring online donation page.
Niños con Valor
c/o Karen Mitchell
PO Box 223
New Hampton NH 03256
For instructions on donating outside of the US, please visit our donations page.
We know that God loves kids too, so please keep us in your prayers, using these updates as a bit of a guide on what is happening, or by writing us here. We send out weekly prayer requests to those who join our prayermail list. We really appreciate the support!
If you have any questions regarding our work, or would like to make some suggestions, please send us an email.
Greetings from Cochabamba, Bolivia!
This month, we are celebrating the 4 year anniversay of Niños con Valor! The thing about anniversaries is that they are not always moments of celebration. Now, being the veteran spouse of 9 years that I am (read with more than a hint of sarcasm), I think I have figured out a couple of things on what gives an individual, a relationship, or an organization something to celebrate about another year "lived".
One observation would be that things either ripen or putrify with age. Once removed from the vine, grapes can wither and go to seed quickly, else they can be processed into wine that matures with age. The wine-making process is an art, and one not easily mastered. Needless to say, the difference between the effort put into making a good skin of wine and leaving a bunch of grapes on the counter to go bad is the same as that between what it takes to establishing an organization or relationship that matures over the years and one that gradually fades first into monotony and finally into defunctness.
Another thing is what you see in the faces of the 20% of couples that make it to 50 years of marriage. Usually, there is a glow, more youth than one might expect considering the age. Keeping things fresh and new are important. An organization like NCV will not last if we are not always adapting to the changes in the context within which we find ourselves. Couples that last 50 years talk about simple things like focusing on the other person, and giving 100% to the marriage. At NCV, we need to keep our focus on the children we are serving. If the relationship with them ceases to be reciprocal, if we get distracted with structure at the expense of substance, we will not make it.
I could go on for a while, mainly because so many relationships, so many organizations, evanesce before their time, but I won't. This month we are celebrating! At NCV we continue to be excited about what we are doing, we love with a passion all of the kids that are a part of our growing family, and we have high hopes for the future!
Please join us in celebrating now through these updates and photos below. And trust, there is some pretty exciting news at the bottom so it's worth it to read it all :o)
Paz y Bendiciones,
Tyson Malo
Executive Director
On Wednesday, we gathered together as a NCV family, along with several of our friends and supporters, to mark 4 years as a registered charity in Bolivia. More than that, we were marking the growth that we have witnessed in these years. Not only have we seen more children come under our care, we have seen these kids flourish in ways that they never would have without our support.
Here are a few photos of the event:
Left - Margot, our board secretary, was MC for the afternoon.
Right - Joel, who teaches at a local private school and has gotten his class involved in NCV, having some fun with Mateo.
Above - Tías Martiza (l) and Faela (r) share about Corazón del Pastor and Pedacito de Cielo.
Left - Paty and her beautiful smile awaiting her turn to dance.
Right - Evelyn getting some practice in before she dances.
Above - The little eggs and chick of Pedacito de Cielo ready to open up the event.
And some videos (click the image to see them in YouTube):
Left - The kids of Pedacito dancing with their tías Evelyn and Eliana.
Right - The girls of CDP dancing a colorful, traditional Bolivian dance.
Left - Four of our older girls dancing something a little more modern.
Right - The staff of NCV putting an amusing twist on a traditional dance.
Above - Three of our oldest gals demonstrating what they have been learning on the guiter over the past few months.
This month, we celebrated Simona's 7th birthday! Simona is Valeria's daughter and one of the sweetest gals you've ever met. We went to their home outside of Cochabamba with representatives of Orkney Helping Hands. The Scottish charity has helped us out with Street Light and One Child at a Time programs for several years now, and this time they were able to bring some much needed care to one of our families. FYI - Simona needs a sponsor!
Left - Simona holding the teddy bear brought to her all the way from Scotland.
Right - Devante, Salomon, Valeria, Simona and Adiel. All but Adiel need sponsors!
The other big OAT event this month was a trip to the community of Pantipampa. We travelled 4 hours to our base in Mizque, then the next morning took a 2 1/2 hour trip up the mountain and through a riverbed until we arrived. The photos and video clips below will tell the story of what a great time we had equipping the daycare of this small and neglected hamlet.
Before we headed out to Pantipampa, we visited a few potential sites for our annual Christmas in the Campo event. This is a time when we raise funds and gather gifts from local and international donors to spread some Christmas cheer in communities that do not recieve much outside assistance. After scouting out a few locations, we are currently leaning toward the two communities pictured below - San Pedro and Tuaqu Tuaqu - as well as Pantipampa.
The road to Pantipampa was definitely the most interesting one any of us had been on. After packing up our supplies, we headed up in an ambulance we were borrowing from the local public hospital.
After a series of tight switchbacks up and over the mountains surrounding Mizque, we dropped down into a river bed. Because it is dry season, we were able to navigate the river relatively easily, but they say come rainy season only extremely rugged vehicles can make the pass.
The first thing we noticed was how incredibly isolated Pantipampa is compared to any other community we had visited. The drought Bolivia is going through has had a heavy impact on this community, with only a handful of Molle trees to lend the landscape some color. However, once the children came out, we saw that there was actually a lot more color and cheer than we expected.
We were blown away by the reception we were given. An arc of flowers adorned one of the roads coming into the community, and the children of the daycare and school had prepared traditional dances.
As we watched, we were so impressed by how the kids had made their own costumes out of the simplest materials. The whole time we were offered a local grain drink by the men of the community, and eventually 3 of us found ourselves up and dancing as well!
By far though, the smiles on the children's faces left the biggest impression. This community was selected by the municipality of Mizque because of how they had demonstrated genuine interest in their children. The building we renovated they built without any help from outside of the community. The families pooled their resources and built it with their own hands.
After the festivities we got to work. Below you can see what the room looked like before, and to the right after and full of the daycare kids. The transformation really was incredible, considering that before there were no chairs and tables specifically for the kids, and there were no materials for the teacher to use.
We are so excited to see how things turn out. If the gratitude expressed by the parents and community leaders is any sign, the materials will be put to good use.
We also distributed toys to the daycare kids. We had small train sets for the boys, and some beautiful handmade dolls given to us by a team member from the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue team that was here a few months back. The kids were so happy, and by the time we left most of the dolls had a nice coat of dust on them from all the playing with they had already been through :o)
Meetings with the parents of the community and the municipal coordinator for community daycares finished off our time there, with plans being made for future investment if they continue to value their children as they have been.
As we hopped into the back of a pickup truck, our ride back to Mizque, it was hard to leave the laughter and smiles. That is why is was even easier to decide that we will be returning sooner than later. Thanks Pantipampa for an incredible and welcoming experience!
If you would like to help us in our annual Christmas in the Campo event, we really need your support. We are looking at reaching over 1000 children and their families this year. We will be preparing a hot meal, making sure each and every child receives their very own gift, and that the most needy families in the villages receive a Christmas basket of non-perishable goods. If you would like to make a donation to this event, please visit our website to learn how, or write us at info@ninosconvalor.org.
An organization we have collaborated with on different occasions, Mosoj Yan, hosted a Noche sin Techo (Roofless Night) in the plaza in front of their offices. We joined them and other churches and organizations for a night outside in solidarity with and to create awareness of street kids who do so every night. It was a fun an educational experience, especially for the 5 girls from CDP that joined us.
Left - There were several presentations on a big stage set up in front of Mosoj Yan.
Right - Our boxed community. We received these enormous boxes from Maxam, a local business that has helped us out in the past.
Left - Tía Lilian with the girls watching the show.
Right - Tía Kimber all snuggly in her sleeping bag.
Left - A few of the girls making up their house.
Right - Volunteers Megan and Clare with Sofia.
Left - Sofia, either really awake or really tired?
Right - Olivia, Lourdes and Camila settled down for the night.
Of all the things we have been celebrating this week, yesterday stood out. We received a call from the Family and Children's Service (SEDEGES) in the morning asking us to please consider taking in a sibling group of 5. They did not want to split them up, but there is no space for such a large group with any organization in town. So, we said yes, and are so grateful to be able to provide these kids with a ton of love. While we are sad that they need to be in such a situation, we are blessed to be in a situation where we can help.
Left - Camila holding little Alarico, somewhere between a smile and an cry.
Right - Bemabe inspecting his veggies.
Above - Zamora, Bryssa and Alandra with their dolls, a donation from the First Presbyterian of Bellevue Team.
So, almost 5 years since we started, and 4 years as a registered charity in Bolivia, we are excited to look back at all God has blessed us with, the growth of our kids, the expanding family of supporters. Thanks so much for reading our newsletter and celebrating with us!
Peace and Love from the kids, staff and volunteers of Niños con Valor!