Nicole's Volunteering and Adventures Abroad

Along with the little children living at the Hogar, I have come to be close with some of the older girls in the house.   Ana Flor and Ana Lucero are two very sweet teenage girls that have lived in the Hogar for a large portion of their lives.   They have come to call the Hogar home, and like most of the older kids here, they have a deep love and respect for the home and the people in it.   They always watch out for the younger children by helping them get ready in the morning, picking them up from school, and playing with them during their downtime.   I personally think that without the older children doing all that they do around the house, the Hogar would not function.   This house is a huge machine that runs on the willingness of everyone to contribute, and Flor and Lucero definitely do their part.   Flor and Lucero suffer from the same type of congenital deformity of different extremities.   Despite this, they lead the average teenage life in a hou...

As I sat in the church pews at mass Saturday afternoon, I pondered the meaning of church to these children.   The Hogar was founded on the belief that Dr. Lazzara had a mission and calling in life to help children in need and for almost 40 years, he has been doing so.   This mission is represented in the workings of St. Francis of Assisi, for whom the home is named after, Hogar San Francisco de Asis.   In the patio, there is a large statue of San Francisco that never fails to remind everyone that comes into the home that the work that they are doing is necessary.   I believe that every volunteer, including myself, is doing their duty to the world in helping these children.   This is exactly what Dr. Lazzara was meant to do in this world.   I constantly hear stories about how much greatness has come from his generosity, but just how much he has given up never ceases to amaze me.   The doctor left behind a life as a physician in America about 35 years a...

Lotti, Carla, Me, and Vittoria After only three weeks in Peru, I have made friends with a few fun and free spirited people that have also volunteered at the home.   We have become so close, in fact, that we have decided to follow each other around the world after our work in the Hogar. I think the only bad part about my trip, that I care to admit, would be the loneliness that overcomes me when I don’t have anyone to talk with.   I thought that being an only child would prepare me for being lonely, but it doesn’t prepare you for being in a world where you don’t speak the language and don’t blend with the customs.   During my first 2 weeks at the Hogar, I was working alongside anywhere from 2-4 other volunteers but I became worried that, once they left the home, I would be completely alone.   I developed a great relationship with every one of the volunteers and I found that just like me, they truly appreciated the work that they were doing at the Hogar.   Al...

Josue and Alexis are the crazy troublemakers of the house.   They often run up and down the stairs, throwing their toys around and grabbing anything that comes within their reach.   I guess you could say that’s typical for 5-year-old boys.   They could probably burn the house down if you left the two of them to their own devices for a day.

These two little boys never fail to make me laugh and always bring a smile to my face.   Edson, 2 years old, was born with clubbed feet and had a successful surgical repair.   He continues to live at the house to receive weekly rehab and therapy.   I love hearing the little stomping of his feet as he runs toward me.   He absolutely loves being tickled and hates when your attention is on any of the other babies.   Edson has this little, old-man look to him that is so cute it makes you want to cry.   When he smiles at you (which he refuses to do on camera) you can see his two tiny bottom teeth and it will make your heart melt. Josh, 3 years old, was born with facial palsy and clubbed feet.   He has a limited ability to move his body, but is able to control his trunk and arms.   He was born without control of his facial muscles as well so when he looks at you with his droopy face, it looks like he is peering deeply into your soul. ...

This little sour patch kid is so adorable that it hurts.   Jose is a 5-year-old boy who came to the Hogar for bilateral cleft lip and a cleft palate repair.   Following the surgery, he has not been able to speak, for reasons unknown, but he still manages to capture your heart.   Jose reminds me of a Tasmanian devil because he and two other young boys at the home run amuck around the house but still manage to sit down look like sweet little boys.   Because he cannot express himself verbally, we often find that Jose can be aggressive with playing and trying to get your attention.   During breakfast, Jose and his friends Alexis and Josue eat very slowly which they know annoys all the mamitas.   I think they secretly love being scolded and pulled into the kitchen to finish their meals while the mamitas cook next to them.   However, when I have one-on-one time with Jose, he becomes an entirely different boy.   He sits still on the bus on your la...

Today, my post is about a very special girl whose birthday happens to be today!   Blanca has one of the strongest personalities that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the Hogar.  Initially, Blanca was very shy with me because I was new to her life, but this was very misleading.  Her personality and attitude toward me completely changed after just a couple days and now I am happy to say that Blanca and I are friends.   Blanca suffers from a muscular disease that has left her without use of her legs and with very limited use of her hands.  She is completely wheelchair bound and often requires people to carry her up the stairs and take her around the house.  Despite her limited abilities, Blanca has been through years of physical therapy which has paid off quite a bit.  When she first arrived at the home, Blanca had very limited use of any part of her body.  It was quite difficult for her to move her head around or lift her chest up off the gr...

I have made some great friends in the short amount of time I've been in Peru.  During my first morning here, I was welcomed by the greatest volunteer crew the Hogar has ever seen (; My friends Tina, Brian, Lotti, and Carla welcomed me to the Hogar with a cup of hot coffee and a tour around the home.  I adjusted quite nicely with them and they were great at giving me the low down on how the home functions. Around 5:30 am, we start to hear the kids being woken up by the night nurses for their baths and by 6:30 almost everyone in the house is ready for breakfast.  At 7, the boys start to yell "Desayunooooo" and a herd of children get downstairs to the dining room.  Before every meal, the children exercise patience and wait to say their prayer before digging into the food.  From there, each child has their own schedule to follow: some will start drying dishes, some will sweep the floors, and others will get ready for their events of the day.  While m...

By far, my favorite time of day at the Hogar is baby time.   Twice a day, the volunteers get the chance to take the babies out of the nursery to play with them for an hour or two.   Most of the time we take out play mats and toys from the “baby cabinet” and play with them in the living room or patio, but occasionally the volunteers will get to spoil them and take them for a stroll around the local park.   The babies love to get out and see all the dogs around the area and stare at the trees and flowers around the park.   The babies of the nursery are often at the home awaiting surgery or going to rehabilitation.   These are the most well fed babies I have ever seen and they are always well taken care of by the baby nurses.   The three babygirls staying at the Hogar now are Elonka, Tatiana, and Lisbet.   Clicking the links below will take you to the Villa La Paz foundation website where you can see the pictures of the babies prior to surgery.  El...

Getting to know some of the older kids in the Hogar has presented somewhat of a challenge to me because they all seem to have their cliques and aren’t really at the age where you can play with them to become their friend.   The older kids, especially the teenagers, come with an array of physical ailments, but can also present with psychological or social problems that keep them in the Hogar.   Because of the difference in demeanor between the younger and older kids, I find it can be easier to become friends with the older kids by spending one on one time with them by practicing Spanish with them.   To understand Frank, I needed to tap into my teenage years and remember what it was like to be 17 again.   Despite his congenital heart disease, Frank lives life fairly normally around the house.   Like many families, Frank’s family lives in the mountains of Peru and along with the fact that he has easier access to hospitals, he is unable to live wit...