I look outside the window of my house. There are fall leaves everywhere! It’s really beautiful but cold and quiet. Seems like nothing has changed here in the past few months, except the season. Meanwhile, in that same time, I feel like I’ve lived a whole new life! It’s funny, but it sometimes seems as if I had borrowed someone’s life for sometime, and now I am back into mine. Strange!

My experience in Peru was some good and some bad which in my opinion was great because that’s how we learn. I enjoyed my work in “Anjo Gabriel”, a school for special education. The children there are really sweet. And the teachers and therapists all love the children a lot. So, it’s like a big family.

Some of these kids, like Juan Diego, belonged to a very poor family. Juan Diego lived with his mom, who is living separated from his father. I, and another volunteer, got an opportunity to visit Juan Diego at his home. We went with Tabatha, Juan Diego’s teacher. The teachers would visit these children’s homes to see how the parents are interacting with their child and to teach what the parents can do to improve their child’s behavior.  Juan Diego’s mom is very soft at heart. So, Tabatha, told her to be more firmer and stronger with the child if she wants his behavior to change – which despite the language barrier, I could tell was very hard for this mother :( .

This is Juan Diego’s home.

This is the neighborhood Juan Diego stayed in. It is in Villa El Salvador – a very poor and dangerous area.

And this is Juan Diego – He has Cerebral palsy.

And here is Julie, the physical therapist, working with Juan Diego.

Julie is great with the children. She works with a lot of patience and with a big smile always. I never saw her feel irritated while working with the kids! She seemed just natural at it :)

About Alexandra
The class that had the least mobile children had a seven year old girl, named Alexandra. When I joined Anjo Gabriel – I saw her in that class. Two weeks later she wasn’t there ! The teachers informed us later that she was not going to come back. Alexandra’s grand mother had fallen sick and was admitted into the hospital. So, the family did not have enough money to pay for both the hospital fees and Alexandra’s school’s fees. Though this child didn’t speak and was quiet in the class, her absence left a loud hole!