Meeting Juan Carlos in the mountains of Bolivia

Reka is responsible for arranging all of our supporters' trips to see their sponsored children, so she felt it only right that she take the trip out to see her own sponsored child to understand just what it felt like to see the faces of the community she's helping.

By Reka Gencsi, Sponsor Visits Coordinator, World Vision UK

It was very cold in the night. As soon as the sun set, the temperature dropped quite dramatically. In order to keep warm, I slept with four alpaca wool blankets.

My alarm went off at 6.15 am, way too early for my liking. I had the coldest shower you can imagine, it hurt! None of this mattered though, not this morning. The sun was beaming through the curtains and I was about to experience something I had been looking forward to for years.

A very long journey

We left at 7am and spent the next three and a half hours travelling on a really bumpy road.

I have never seen anything like the Andes of Bolivia. At close to 4,000m there are mountain ranges upon mountain ranges with narrow and sometimes steep and rocky dirt roads winding around.

When you approach a bend, you honk to let possible oncoming traffic know of your whereabouts. One time our driver forgot to do this, we found ourselves facing a bus, all a bit too close to the edge. It took a few minutes of skilful maneuvering to get the two vehicles past each other safely. 

The journey just seemed to take forever but then, our driver started honking but this time it didn’t stop. We were approaching the school of Juan Carlos and this was a signal to let them know we were near.

Lots of little children ran out to see us. We were shown into the school yard and found all the students lined up to welcome us. No foreigner had ever visited this school before so the headmaster decided to make this a day of celebration.

The school celebration

The kids were excited to get started with the programme they prepared for me. But before it all kicked off, I was introduced to a very special family who had been looking forward to this day more than anyone else.

Juan Carlos’s entire family abandoned their daily routine to be present. Juan Carlos along with his older brother, Gustavo and sister, Agustina, all greeted me with a shy smile. Their mother Valeriana, and father Leonidas, put their Sunday best on in my honour. I knew they were really proud that amongst all the children, their son received a visitor from a land very far away.

I sat down and the show began. The headmaster gave a speech, welcoming me. He expressed how grateful he was for the development that had taken place in his community. He explained that the school was built by World Vision and a lot of school equipment was given to provide education for the children. After his welcome speech, it was the students’ turn to perform. They first sang the Bolivian national anthem followed by a performance by Juan Carlos’s friends in their classroom. They sang the butterfly song for me:

In the scorching heat, a group of older girls danced, another two boys recited a poem, and then the class of Juan Carlos started dancing. Before I knew it, they grabbed my hand to join in. I had no idea how to do it but I just went with the flow.

At the end they asked me to give a speech, which took me by surprise. I tried really hard to remember everything my Spanish teacher taught me: I thanked them for their wonderful welcome and lovely performances and encouraged the students to study hard.

When I finished, I noticed that Juan Carlos looked a bit upset. He found the event a bit too overwhelming and burst into tears. I don’t blame him though, he is a shy 8 year old who leads a very simple life with his family, and all of today’s fuss was centred around him.

It was best to give him some time off, so he ran around with his mates for a bit, then his mummy gave him something to eat and he was back to normal.

Over lunch, the headmaster explained that there are 83 students in the school of all ages. 60 of them are sponsored by World Vision and get books, dictionaries and other stationery items. Another NGO give the children lunch and an afternoon snack which means their parents only have to provide one meal for them at home.

The biggest challenge the school faces is the language barrier. The children speak Aymara or Quechua with their families but at school, they are taught in Spanish. The way the school addresses this problem is by making sure that all seven teachers speak both Spanish as well as the native tongues.

Juan Carlos at home

After lunch, we drove to Juan Carlos’s home. He was really excited to go in the car and asked if he could sit next to me.

His home is quite close to the school and it would only take him about 15 minutes to walk it. Some other students walk up to 45 minutes or an hour to get to school.

When we got out of the car, Juan Carlos took my hand and led me to his house. We arrived at a compound of four of five small buildings and I thought it was a nice place to live with mountains all around. Leonidas, his father, welcomed us to his home and we set outside in the shade.

I had a chat with Juan Carlos to find out a little more about him: He likes school and particularly enjoys reading, writing and maths. I learnt from his teacher that he is a very smart boy with excellent grades. He would like to become a doctor when he grows up. Outside of school and during holidays the children help out at home, mostly by looking after the animals and herding them back to their pen. Juan Carlos enjoys playing with his brother and his friends and he loves football.

I decided it was time to give him the presents I brought. I had a football for him and his brother along with a pump so they could inflate it.

The boys were so excited about the ball that they just ran off to try it and they were kicking it around for a good half an hour. It was really heart-warming to see the two brothers so happy with the new toy they could only ever dream of owning.

While they were playing, I talked to Leonidas and asked him to tell me a bit about their life. Both he and his wife are farmers; they keep sheep and llamas and make a living by selling them for their wool and meat. They value education and always make sure all three children regularly attend school.

I asked him if I could see where they live and he very kindly showed me around. It turns out that out of all the buildings, only one of them belongs to them, the others are owned by uncles, cousins and other relatives.

Their very modest house was built by Juan Carlos’s grandfather but now that the grandparents have passed away, the family of five live in it.

It looked bigger on the outside than on the inside. It is about the size of my bedroom at home or maybe even smaller.

The house had no windows so it was pitch black in there. With the door ajar, I could just about see what was inside. The whole house was just one room.

To the right was their kitchen that had a few pots and pans and a can of water they got for the day. The family cook inside as it rains a lot and it’s cold but this warms up their home for the night. The walls and ceiling were covered in a thick, black layer of carbon. An open wood fire indoors with no ventilation is really bad for their health.

Leonidas turned around and pointed at the other end of the room which had a small bench covered with some blankets. That is where the five of them sleep!

He told me it makes him sad that he can’t provide a bed for his family. It was heart-breaking to see such a basic level of existence. They know nothing different, though, this is how they have always lived, miles away from the city, up in the mountains.

Valeriana came up to me and gave me a very beautiful woven blanket that she had made. I felt really uncomfortable. I kept thinking I can’t take something away from this family when they hardly own anything. What if they will be cold tonight without this blanket? My translator told me to take it so I did and thanked them for it but I still wish they had kept it for themselves to keep warm.

Juan Carlos came back out of breath from all the running around. He picked up the rest of the presents I brought for him.

He was really pleased to see a notepad and set of crayons. The first thing he said was that he was happy because now he can draw a proper picture and he got started straight away.

He spent the next half an hour drawing a pretty picture of his village which he gave to me to take back. The selflessness of these people never ceases to amaze me.

Agustina came home from school, saw the crayons and asked if she could try them. Juan Carlos was more than happy to share what he had. I am delighted that all three children are able to enjoy the presents.

Our time was drawing to a close as we had a very long journey ahead of us which we needed to complete before dark. We said an emotional goodbye and as I was walking back to the car, Juan Carlos ran after me and gave me a bracelet his sister, Agustina had made. It is really beautiful and along with the blanket, it will always remind me of the time I was privileged to spend with them.

Reflection

What an amazing day this was! I really enjoyed meeting Juan Carlos and his family.

They seemed so happy; they have a shelter, enough food to eat, safe water to drink, animals to look after and a school for the children to go to. When it gets dark, they all go into their house and talk about their day until they all fall asleep together.

On my way back, I kept thinking of the bench they sleep on. I expect that by the time I arrive back in the UK, everything will be very Christmassy. I was wondering if I will get a Christmas present this year. Probably, I always do, but to be honest, I don’t need anything. Instead, what is constantly on my mind is that I wish this family had a bed to sleep in on Christmas Eve...

We always love reading the stories of our sponsors who visit their sponsored children in the field and this is no exception. Reka's gifts certainly went down a treat. What would you give to your sponsored child if you could hand-deliver something that wouldn't fit in your usual A5 padded envelope? Tell us on Facebook.