Alfredo:
Alfredo is one active little boy. He loves to play on the Aldea’s junglegym and be thrown in the air by the other kids. He is a 5 year old with no fear. Alfredo loves to learn songs in kindergarten like “Arroz con Leche.” He has a speech impediment like his older sisters, Blanca and Miriam, but he sings happily anyway. He has an adorable smile and a tender heart—though he’ll never admit it!
Sponsored by Jill Oakhill
Alondra:
Alondra is 12 years old and likes to listen and dance to reggaeton music, especially her favorite song “Te Amo” (meaning I Love You) by Makano. Her favorite color is red because it is the color of love. Alondra is always very kind and helpful to the tias in the house. She is normally very shy--the exact opposite of her brother, Cesar.
Ana Quezada:
Ana first came to the Aldea when she was 2 years old and, after a period out of the Aldea, returned at 14 years old. Ana enjoys playing sports, especially volleyball. She also enjoys dancing and theatre. Though normally pretty shy, she is very kind to others and makes friends very quickly.
Ana Raquel:
Ana Raquel and her sister Rebecca came to the Aldea in February of 2008. She loves dancing to the Backstreet Boys, jumping rope with her friends, and studying for her secondary school history class. When Raquel grows up she’d like to be a lawyer so she can defend the mothers and and children. She also had her quinceñera in July.
Antonia:
Antonia is 17 years old and has been in the Aldea for just over a year. She loves to listen to music, in particular love songs, and watch DVDs of her favorite bands in concert. At school she loves to do math, especially addition, though she doesn’t enjoy practicing writing and her cursive. She spends much of her free time with her son, Luis Angel.
Antonina:
Antonina came to the Aldea in 2007 with her sister, Elisa. She dressed up as the “Princess of the Aldea” for the Trujillo Olympics in 2008 and has been nicknamed “princess” by many of the tias ever since. In her free time after kindergarden, she enjoys climbing trees and playing on the Aldea’s junglegym and swingset. Antonina also loves to play with her Barbie doll, a gift from her sponsor, and share her contagious giggle and smile with the other children, volunteers, and tias.
Baby Martines:
Benjamin:
Benjamin is 7 years old and loves to play a variety of sports, in particular soccer, basketball and skipping. His favorite food is eggs and ceviche, and when he is older he would like to be a policeman. Benjamin is all smiles—something he has in common with his older brothers Ruben and Jose Antonio.
Blanca:
Blanca is 6 years old and is in her first year of primary school. She loves to do art and to paint and her favorite classes are math and communication. She also has been practicing her cursive and has been doing very well—the tias all agree she has the neatest handwriting in the Aldea. Blanca has a speech impediment which makes her difficult to understand at times but her smile is a language everyone understands.
Brayhelin:
Brayhelin is 12 years old and came to the Aldea 8 months ago with her 2 younger siblings, Kristel and Manuel. She loves to dance, sing, and care for Emerson, a baby in the Aldea that lives in her house. She also is known for her beautiful smile and kind words.
Sponsored by Dennis Wixom
Carla:
Carla is 15 years old and likes to make jokes, laugh, and dance. She has been in the Aldea since the beginning of 2009. When she grows up, she would like to be an artist that creates things to help other people. In the meantime, Carla is happy playing volleyball in her free time.
Carmela:
Carmela came to the Aldea when she was 5 and has lived there for the past 12 years with her sister Ingrid. She is always very helpful to the tias in taking care of the other children and cooking when it is required. Carmela is sincere, never lies, and loves to share all that she has with others. She’s not sure what she wants to be when she grows up—maybe a famous dancer or singer—but in the mean time, she loves to practice her English and has hopes to be a translator.
Ceasing:
Ceasing is 11 years old and has worked in the cemetery. He sings and sells caramels in the streets. With that money he buys notebooks and mechanical pencils to study. He likes to play soccer with his friends and wants to be a very well known player.
Cesar:
Daniel:
Daniel came to the Aldea in May of 2009. He doesn’t have his upper front teeth, but always has a smile for everyone to see. He likes to swing on swings and color in his free time. Daniel is also attending speech therapy classes and really enjoys it.
Sponsored by the Shawn McCord Family
Daniela:
Daniela is a very responsible teenager. Because of her older age, she happily helps out the tias of the house and says that she likes to work hard. This is true, as she works at a bakery in town during the week and then goes to school all weekend so she can graduate with work experience and an accelerated secondary school education. She loves school so much that she wants to be a professor when she grows up. Daniela has one sister in the Aldea, Elvia.
Elvia:
Elvia is 15 years old and came to the Aldea in 2008 with her sister, Daniella. She is in her fourth year of primary school but, when she’s not studying, she loves riding bikes around the Aldea and eating tallarin con pollo. When she grows up she would like to be a nurse because she wants to help others.
Emerson:
Emerson is nearly 3 years old and has been in the Aldea since the beginning of winter 2009. He loves to play, especially with balloons and his tricycle, outside in the Aldea’s park. He’s always smiling and will greet everyone with a big hug.
Sponsored by Michael & Holly Thomas
Esgar:
Esgar is 14 years old and arrived at the Aldea with his sister Estanli in the summer of 2009. His favorite video is Transformers 2 and studying for school. He says he wants to be a school principal when he grows up. Esgar recently became an uncle to Maria Clare.
Estanli:
Estanli is 14 years old and has been in the Aldea since June 2009. She loves to cook (her favorite meal is carne guisado) and she enjoys playing volleyball as well. When she is older she wants to study nursing because she likes to help other people. She spends most all of her time with her little girl that was born in 2009, Maria Clare.
Sponsored by Diane & James Keena
|
Estefani:
Estafani - This sweetheart came to the Aldea with her sister Jenifer in 2009. Her smile makes anyone feel comfortable with her right away. She doesn’t enjoy hearing bad language and is a great dancer. Her favorite activity is playing on swings and listening to good music. Her message to the world is “No pegar nunca” meaning “never hit anyone.”
Evelin:
Evelin is 14 years old and has been in the Aldea for almost a year. She is in her 5th year of school and enjoys her logic and communication classes. She also loves to draw, dance and listen to Grupo 5, her favorite band. When she is older she would like to study Administration but also dreams of being a singer. She would like to say a big hello to the world from the Aldea.
Fany:
Fany is the identical twin to Sofia and the younger sister to Ruben, Jose Antonio, and Benjamin. She likes to play volleyball and climb around on the trees and the jugglegym. She is strong and doesn’t cry very much, but she also has a soft side. She wants to be a dancer when she grows up.
Sponsored by Toni Powers
Fredy:
Fredy is 16 years old and likes to play marbles and play outside in the trees. He wants everyone to know that life is better with “no worries.” Fredy is an amazing singer and everyone in the Aldea knows it because they can hear him at all hours of the day.
Guadalupe:
Guadalupe is a wonderful person. She helps out at the kindergarten during the day but, in her free time, likes to sing, dance, and listen to music. She does a very good job at helping out around the house and taking care of the little ones in the Aldea. An interesting fact about her: she does not like blankets.
Hector:
Hector came to the Aldea in January of 2004 and is now 15 years old. He doesn’t like reggaeton music, like many of his friends, but instead enjoys traditional Peruvian cumbia music. He is known as the comedian, and when he’s not cracking jokes, he is playing soccer and marbles with his friends outside. His favorite food is arroz chaufa.
Ingrid:
Ingrid came to the Aldea with her sister, Carmela, in 1999 and is now 14 years old. She enjoys listening to Christian rock and her favorite band is Group Hillsong. Ingrid is currently in her second year of secondary education and enjoys her biology class more than any other.
J. Daniel:
Jhon:
Jhon is 7 years old and has been in the Aldea since May 2009. He loves watching films, especially Dragonball Z, and in his free time he plays outside with his trompos (tops) and chapas (pogs) and his favorite meal is ceviche. When he is older he wants to be a fireman.
Jorge:
Jorge is 11 years old and he works outside of the cemetery carrying water and cleaning ditches to whomever requests it of him. He receives 10 suns a day and with that money he covers his expenses at school.
Jorge:
Jorge is a boy that has worked since he was 5 years of age selling caramels in company of his mother in the center of the city, now he sells alone to buy he food and clothes. He wants to study in the Holy school Rita of Casia near his house.
Jose Andres:
Jose Andres is 13 years old and loves to play soccer—he hopes that when he grows up he can be a professional player. But he enjoys studying, in particular the sciences, and also doing his homework. His favorite film is Dragonball Z and he also loves to eat ceviche and spaghetti.
Sponsored by Lynne & William Hulsebos
Sponsored by Sallie Thawley
Jose Antonio:
Jose Antonio is a lively 9 year old in his 4th year of primary school and has been in the Aldea for 4 years. His favorite classes are math and art and, in his free time, he loves to play soccer and watch Transformers. He says, if he could transform into anything it would be a motorcycle. When he grows up he wants to be a doctor because he enjoys a challenge and likes helping others. If Jose could say one thing to the world it would be that he sends everyone a big kiss!
Juan Esteban:
Juan Esteban is 14 years old and has lived in the Aldea for 4 years. He likes to play soccer and wants to be an architect when he grows up. He wants to design the homes as well as help with construction, he says. Also, Juan Esteban’s message to the world is “all people are important.”
Sponsored by Bruce & Marriane Bird
Sponsored by Reed Shiraki
Junior:
Junior came to the Aldea with his brother, Juan Carlos, in 2003. He is known as a very hard working 15 year old. When he’s not working in the crop fields, Junior is milking the cow, feeding the guinea pigs, or selling the Aldea’s strawberry crop in town. In his free time, he likes to play soccer with the other boys and, when he gets the chance, eat arroz chaufa.
Katerine:
Katerine is 7 years old and has a lot of energy. During the day, she loves to climb trees and play tag. At night, she loves to wind down and watch movies. She would like to be a professional singer or dancer one day.
Keny:
Keny is a 15 year old with many talents and interests. He likes to sing, write poetry, and dance traditional Peruvian dances—but he says studying for his secondary classes always comes first. When he grows up he wants to work in many different areas, but he’s expressed specific interest in law and auto mechanics.
Kristel:
Kristel has lives in the Aldea with her older sister, Brayhelin, and younger brother, Manuel. In the future she would like to have her own home and be a famous singer or dancer. She is loves to play volleyball with the other kids and play outside with her friends. Kristel is very giving and makes friends very quickly.
Sponsored by Stephanie Condie
Leticia:
Leticia has been in the Aldea about a year and enjoys much of her time here. At 16 years old, she loves practicing her English and teaching Spanish to the volunteers. She also loves studying for school every day—her favorite classes being art and mathematics—and attending cosmetology class twice a week. When she grows up she would like to be a businesswoman and perhaps own her own shop.
Luis Humberto:
Luis Humberto came to the Aldea when he was ten, and is now 18 years old. He is in his last year of secondary schoo,l and is excited to graduate. Luis likes the career explorations class by the volunteers and has decided he wants to work in international business when he grows up.
Luis Angel:
Luis Angel is 2 year old and his favorite thing to do is to play outside in the mud! He also enjoys moving to the music and eating everything that is in his reach, especially though if it’s aji de gallina, his favorite meal.
Sponsored by Cheri Jenkins & Rebecca Billat
|
Luz Marina:
Luz Marina is all about music. She loves to listen to all types—her favorite is religious music that she can sing along to. Luz Marina also enjoys performing dances with her friends at school and fiestas and is known as the best dancer in the Aldea. She is 14 years old and has one half-sister, Katerine, in the Aldea.
Luz Mila:
Luz Mila is 11 years old and has a heart of gold. She is in her 3rd year of primary school and is one of two special needs children to attend school in the local area. Her favorite color is orange because it is a happy color. Luz Mila makes friends quickly and always greets with big hugs.
Manuel:
Manuel likes playing Power Rangers with his friends outside and, especially, defeating his enemies. He likes to be the good guy, he says. He has a talent for climbing trees and playing monkey. He says to the world, “I love you all!”
Mari Fe:
In 2008, Mari Fe arrived in the Aldea. She is known for her big smile and is nicknamed “gringa” for being the most fair-skinned amongst the children. Although tough while playing volleyball, she can be quite affectionate and sweet at home at night giving volunteers and the tias big hugs before bed, qualities which will serve her well as she wants to grow up to become a police officer. She likes to sing and dance.
Maria Clare:
Maria Clara was born on June 15, 2009 and was named in honor of one of the Aldea volunteers. Her favorite activities are sleeping and eating. She also likes to open her eyes and take a good look at the world. She is the daughter of Estanli.
Mauro:
Mayra:
Mayra has many interests. She likes to sing, act, model, and cook. Mayra is a very loving, caring person and this is why she wants to grow up to be a nurse. Until then, she likes taking care of the other children in the Aldea.
Miguel:
Miguel is 12 years old. He lives in the District of the Future, has 2 smaller brothers that sell flowers next to his mother outside of the cemetery, their father abandoned the family 4 years ago. He studies for the future in the morning and in the afternoons he works carrying water and cleaning ditches in the cemetery.
Miguel Angel:
Miguel Angel is 10 years old and is happily in his first year of primary school. Miguel and another girl in the Aldea are the only special needs children in the area to go to school, and the Aldea is very proud of the success they have had there. Miguel loves to count, color, and practice his cursive. He also really enjoys riding in combis, the vans used for public transportation in Peru. When he grows up he’d like to own his own country but, if that doesn’t work out, he will be happy working on a combi and riding them all day.
Sponsored by Jessica Regner
Sponsored by Diane Kesler
Miriam:
Miriam is 10 years old and lives in the Aldea with her older sister, Raquel, and her two younger siblings, Blanca and Alfredo. Her favorite meal is spaghetti but she also loves to eat the Aldea’s very own strawberries. Although she suffers from a severe speech impediment she doesn’t let this hold her back and can always be found outside playing with her Aldea friends and talking up a storm.
Patricio:
Patricio came to the Aldea in March of 2009 with his younger brother, Percy, to join up with his younger sister, Mari Fe. He is very tall for a 15 year old and enjoys the advantage while playing basketball with the other boys. When he grows up, Patricio wants to be a chef and likes to practice his cooking in reposteria class with the volunteers.
Pedro:
Pedro arrived at the Aldea in May of 2009. He settled in fairly quickly and now lists his favorite activities as riding bicycles and playing soccer with the other boys in the Aldea. When Pedro grows up, he would like to learn agricultural skills and work in farming.
Percy:
Percy is 13 years old and came to the Aldea with his older brother, Patricio, in March of 2009 to meet up with their younger sister, Mari Fe. He always has a smile on his face. He loves to play soccer with the boys and make jokes and laugh with them too.
Sponsored by Gillette Hall & Andrew Balshaw
Raquel:
Raquel is 9 years old and in her 3rd year of Primary school. Her favorite lesson is Biology and, when she is not studying, she loves to play volleyball and read books. Raquel is the only sibling in her family at the Aldea that does not have a speech impediment but she is very helpful to her younger siblings, Miriam, Blanca, and Alfredo, in helping them pronounce their words correctly.
Rebecca:
Rebecca came to the Aldea with her sister, Ana Raquel, in February of 2008. She loves to dance and chat with friends on the internet when she gets the chance. Rebecca also loves all things Jonas Brothers—Joe Jonas is her favorite—and she likes to translate her letters to him into English so one day they can meet, talk, and fall in love.
Rocio:
Rocio, nicknamed “Rochi,” is a 17 year old with lots of personality. She likes to study for her history and social studies classes because she likes to learn about other cultures. Rochi would like to be a psychologist when she grows up.
Rosario:
Rosario is 16 years old and loves to laugh. Although sometimes shy, she goes out of her way to make others feel included. Rosario is always very kind to everyone. In her free time, she loves to model and dance with her friends.
Ruben:
Ruben is 10 years old and in his 4th year of school. In school, he enjoys art but he doesn’t enjoy math. In his free time, he loves to play marbles and tops and also to watch Dragon Ball Z. Ruben sets a good example for the other kids because he doesn’t fight, even when other boys bother him. When he is older he would like to be doctor so that he can help sick people.
Sponsored by Highlands Presbyterian Church
Sara:
Sara is her own person. While many of the other girls in the Aldea love to dance and take photos, she does not. She likes to play volleyball, eat ceviche, and study for her classes. Sara is a very hard worker and wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Her favorite saying is “God will help those who rise early.”
Sarali:
Sarali lives in the Aldea with her sisters, Daniela and Elvia, and is now 8 years old. She enjoys playing volleyball and climbing trees after doing her primary school homework. When she grows up she would like to be a policewoman.
Sponsored by Ken & Carolyn Mano
Sofia:
Sofia has 4 siblings in the Aldea: Fany (her identical twin), Jose Antonio, Benjamin, and Ruben. Her favorite movie is Shrek, which is perfect for her because she loves to laugh and play make-believe. She likes to play tag and color pictures with her sister and best friend, Fany, in her free time.
Sponsored by Thomas & Melissa Moore
Yenifer:
Yenifer is a smart, hard-working 9 year old. She is in her second year of primary school and likes to study her math, write cursive, and get good grades. When she grows up, Yeni would like to be a doctor. She and her younger sister, Estefani, have been in the Aldea since May 2009.
Sponsored by Leonie Cramer & Carl Reese |
Children of Aldea Infantil, Peru