Camping with the kids!

Hello all,


I wanted to take a quick minute to introduce myself to all those reading the Charity Bolivia Blog. My name is Wendell Krohn and currently my wife, Carlye, and I have been volunteering at Colonia Ecologica since Claire and Gertjan introduced us to the project at the beginning of 2005. Since they moved back to England Carlye and I have been working as trustees for Charity Bolivia. We´ll get profiles of ourselves up on the main part of the website sooner or later for those who are interested. Since Carlye and I are working directly with Kiko, Carmen, and the kids we´ll be posting to the blog on a regular basis on events and happenings around Colonia.


Currently the kids at Colonia are on summer break. Even after a year and a half in Bolivia it is still strange to say summer break when it´s January knowing the folks at home and in Europe are in the height of cloudy grayness and almost constant rain. But, the kids at Colonia are pretty ecstatic about the chance to take a break from their studies and have some fun.


Kiko and Carmen have a yearly tradition of taking the kids on a week long camping trip to a different spot each year during the first week of December. This year was a three hour trip to a town called Tiraque where there is a great camping spot along the convergence of several mountain streams and a river. So 30 kids and all their gear, food for a week, and supplies packed into a rented local bus (an old brightly painted Ford model that is commonly used around Cochabamba) and hit the road with more energy than I can possibly describe in words.


Each day the kids have a set routine. They are divided into groups according to tent number. (This was the inaugural use of tents bought by money raised in last year´s Cerro Tunari fundraiser). Each day a different group, or tent, is responsible for the days cooking responsibilities. Which really includes bread, soup, tea, and a little fruit. So after breakfast the kids do some quick camp cleanup and get things ready for the day. Then around 9 or 10 there is a group meeting after which is a little free time to play. Then lunch comes around pretty quick, which leads into reading time. After reading time comes ¨bathing¨ time, which is really a chance to jump off rocks into the water and swim a bit in the freezing river. Then afternoon snack, more free time, dinner, camp fire, and bed.





Each day during the mornings meeting time 2 or 3 kids have an opportunity to introduce themselves to the group. The kids know each other for the most part, but it is during this time that the kids get the opportunity to share their ¨stories¨ with the rest of the kids. In the normal course of the day at Colonia the kids are pretty busy with chores, studies, reading, and playing that the details of their past don´t surface or get shared with others. So the meeting time is a chance to truly get to know each other. As the histories of these kids start to come out the tears usually follow quickly. And a common theme runs through most of their histories: alcoholism and physical and emotional abuse.


One tough young boy who spent several years on the streets broke down weeping throughout his story. This is a boy rarely seen smiling, always with a hardened look on his face, and at arms length from even Kiko and Carmen. He is more used to survival than group sharing. But as he shared you could visibly see a weight lifting from him. He didn´t start smiling immediately, but the next day there was a genuine smile and a playfulness to him as he was hugging Kiko over breakfast. Over the course of a day he went from being a hardened man to the 10 year old kid he truly is. A pretty powerful experience to say the least.


Unfortunately for me I was unable to stay for the course of the week and share in all of the histories and stories these kids had to share. I already knew that Colonia Ecologica (Kiko and Carmen) effect positive change in kids. But the camping trip really gave me a first hand glimpse at the magnitude of that change and positive influence we are all effecting by supporting Colonia Ecologica.


So on the 12th of this month I go on a biking tour in the Yungas area of Bolivia with the kids for 7-14 days (my spanish being so bad I´m not even sure of the length of time). And I´m pretty sure it will be me doing the crying this time. Mostly from the pain of riding a bike for 10 hours a day with little food and water. Kiko tells me there is no crying allowed on this trip and to expect to lose at least 2 kilos of weight. I´ll be sure to let everyone know how the trip went when I return, if I return.