The Summer in Photos

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Since I have returned to Lima and have access to both a functioning computer and fast internet, I have uploaded plenty of photographs from my 2 months in the Amazon jungle, at Puerto Alegria and Iquitos.

Here are just a sampling of what you will find on Flickr. (Be sure to check Flickr for the rest of the photos!)

Willinton, a 7 year old who is still learning Spanish. He speaks Tikuna.
Willinton

Luis, who at one time was the youngest of the house, has now grown up.
Luis

Parading with the antorchas, for Peru’s Independence Day.
Antorchas

Jherry and Veronica, the directors of Puerto Alegria, along with Hox, Romario and me.
Jherry, Hox, Romario and Veronica

My brother Randy came to visit, and we learned how to drive a motorbike – something I have wanted to do for the past 2 years.
Randy and I

The three Comeque Coello brothers – Luis Enrique, Harold and Xavier, plus little Alvaro in the red.
Brothers and Alvaro

Bryan and Dexter, two brothers who are nothing alike.
Bryan and Dexter

Rene, Mario and Leyner
Rene, Mario and Leyner

Translating for Jherry
Translating

The 47 Girasoles boys, plus staff at Puerto Alegria.
the 47

Jacobo, God’s miracle from the Amazon Hope.
Jacobo

Jherry with the 18 high school boys that moved back to Iquitos to continue their studies in the city.
High School Boys

And, that was just a small sampling of what you will find on Flickr.

A Week in Iquitos

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For the first time in three summers, I had the opportunity to spend an entire week in the city of Iquitos. Usually, I spend a few months living at our Girasoles home for abandoned boys in Puerto Alegria – about 45 minutes outside of the city – and spend a day here and there in the city of Iquitos, but I would always return to Puerto Alegria at the end of the day.

As our Girasoles program for abandoned boys grows, there has been a need to expand the home and property into two separate locations and have a home in Puerto Alegria, and another home in the city of Iquitos. As we already own property in the city, it was decided that the younger, elementary aged boys would remain in Puerto Alegria, while the older high school boys would move back into the city to continue their education in high school. This provides them with and opportunity for a better high school and a slow reintegration process back into the busy city life.

Before the older boys can move back to Iquitos, our current property needed to be remodeled to accommodate the 40 boys that will eventually live and study there. To help with the construction, I spent a week in the city with a volunteer group from Scotland. We spent 5 days working at the construction site, plastering the brick walls and painting the new bedrooms that the boys will someday live in.

The building is not complete yet, but sometime in the next month, our high school boys at Puerto Alegria will make the move back to the city. For some, this means they will be leaving a place they have called home for many years and others will be leaving younger brothers behind. And for all, this means they are leaving the quiet, peacefulness of Puerto Alegria and returning to the bustling city.

As the they spend their last few weeks with us in Puerto Alegria, I ask you to join me in praying for the 19 high school boys that will make the transition from one home to another and start a new chapter in their lives.

Zac

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Due to technical difficulties with my beloved Zac the Mac (like it being accidentally dropped… definitely not good), things have been quite dormant here recently. Don’t worry, things are going just fine in Iquitos and at our Casa Girasoles Puerto Alegria, home for abandoned boys. Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend (once again, thank you!) who was able to get it fixed in Lima and all will be well soon.

Pending time in the city of Iquitos to turn my handwritten stories into text, accounts of adventures with another volunteer group from North Carolina, a visit from two Scottish school groups and a week in the city of Iquitos with quite a lovely Scottish team, will be posted soon. And of course, they will all include photos!

For quick semi-daily updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

Stay tuned. Zac the Mac and I will be back online shortly with some lovely stories.

Lessons in Tikuna

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Despite the familiar faces at Puerto Alegria, there are 16 new boys at the home who all come from near the Peruvian-Colmbian-Brazilian border. These boys come from the villages near Caballococha and Cuchillococha and arrived to Puerto Alegria in May.

This has added another level of multiculturalism to the home because many of these boys did not learn Spanish as their first language – and a small handful barely speak it at all. These boys were raised speaking Tikuna (more about that here), which is a complicated native language. So when I translate game instructions or commentary before meals from Spanish to English for the volunteer teams and boys, a brave new Tikuna translates from Spanish to Tikuna for for the rest of the group.

As these new boys are slowly learning Spanish, they continue to communicate amongst themselves in Tikuna. Over the past few weeks, I have learned some basic phrases from some of the more vocal boys and have even learned the words to a song we sing in Spanish before meals here, “Demos Gracias” (We Give Thanks), and I have been welcomed into the fold with my own name in Tikuna – “Pa-ka” (which is pronounced, paa-kay). Here are two videos of one of the older Tikuna boys singing “Demos Gracias” in Tikuna and then again in Spanish.

Taxcü ni a cuega. (Ta-koo knee ah qu-eh-gaa) – What is your name?

Choxega ni a Kate. (Cho-ega knee ah Kate) – My name is Kate.

Puerto Alegria: Season 3

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Boat to Puerto Alegria, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

It has been quite a busy 2 weeks since I landed in Lima in the beginning of June. After a few busy days in Lima, 4 trips to the airport within 5 days, and a very fast 48-hour Lima-Kimo-Lima trip, I hit the ground running with the busy volunteer season.

Last Thursday night I met a familiar team from North Carolina and headed north to the jungle – to the city of Iquitos and our Casa Girasoles home for abandoned boys named Puerto Alegria. You might remember this is the home I spent a considerable amount of time at during the 2009 and 2010 volunteer seasons. (It is the place about 30 minutes down the river from the city, with no electricity and lots of mosquitos… sound familiar?)

It is absolutely wonderful to be back with familiar faces. I was greeted with big smiles, told stories from the past 9 months, and welcomed back into the home with open arms – both literally and figuratively. The team and I spent the week playing games, doing art projects, swinging in hammocks, swimming in the river, sanding wood and mixing cement.

As I left the North Carolina group at the Iquitos airport this morning, I look forward to adventures and memories in store with the other teams that will be joining us over the next couple months.