The village for children

On the 7th January 2002, the first children came in the Aldea (“hamlet”) “Niños de los Andes” that had been built six months earlier.

Orphan children, children left or put in a grandmother’s care, children from the forest too far from a village to be able to go to school, children from extremely poor homes, children living with a mother with no means of support; each child has his/her history, each child comes with his/her torments.

He/she finds in the Aldea a new home with a nice bed, balanced food, care when he/she gets ill, his/her own uniform and school stationery. He/she also receive what is essential to his/her self-development: plenty of love.

They are now 40 children who live in the Aldea. 40 smiles and 80 arms to embrace people who take care of them and grumble 100 times a day for the 1000 silly things they do, as any children.

The village organisation

Each house welcomes 8 children and a tutor. The latter has to organise the day for the children he takes care of: waking up, breakfast and school in the morning. In the afternoon, homework and all the tasks of community life: clothes washing, cocoa harvesting to sell it to the cooperative, for instance.

A Peruvian psychologist follows the evolution of all the children of the Aldea, a cook prepares the meals with everybody’s help, Becker, a former child of the Association, takes care of the field, where we grow cocoa, oranges, lemons, bananas as well as local fruits: zapote, anona, aguaje, pan del árbol... Last, a head of the centre keeps the general organisation of the Aldea in good working order.