Four months on, Esther Langmead — one of our interns— reflects on her time in Bolivia and Peru, offering valuable insights into the lasting impact and importance of the work carried out there.
How important is the work that Nuevo Corazón and Club CORASON do for vulnerable children, and how does it affect them holistically?
Part 1: Boliva - In the West, we are often so focused on ourselves and our own little world that we forget that there is a whole world out there with people who struggle daily with things we so easily take for granted, for example, a family, a roof over our heads, and safety. This suffering, unfortunately, is a big part of many children’s lives too, with some children experiencing horrific things like sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment, often by the people who were supposed to protect them. However, the God we serve is a restorer.
What the Psalmist wrote thousands of years ago is the promise God gives to each and every single one of these children - ‘You will restore me to even greater honour and comfort me once again.’ (Psalms 71:21)
During my trip to Bolivia earlier this year, I saw how this trauma affects children in many different ways, but also, how the care, empowerment, support, and love from our project partners - Nuevo Corazón - are totally transformative in the lives of these girls and their prospects for the future.
The work of Nuevo Corazón is of utmost importance in Bolivia in particular, as it has the highest rate of sexual violence in all of Latin America, coupled with the lowest reporting rates for these crimes. This mistreatment of girls is ingrained into many Bolivian men as they highly value ‘machismo’ (or manliness) and continue to perpetuate patriarchal standards of subduing women, leading to abuse and a lack of justice for young girls in particular. This has resulted in sexual violence against minors becoming an everyday occurrence in homes across Bolivia, with 1 in 3 girls experiencing this before they reach the age of 18 (According to Equality Now’s study).
This brutal suffering of young girls has not gone unnoticed by God, so he sent Freddy and Lilian, a couple open to God’s call on their lives, to make a life-changing impact on the lives of girls who have suffered these horrific experiences. They provide them with a safe home, a place where they can process the horrors that happened to them with a professional psychologist, and also gain support with their development -physically, educationally, and spiritually.
However, the thing that most struck me about this project, when I visited, was that this wasn’t just another girl’s home but a true family, with the girls gaining a loving mother and father along with lots of sisters.
Nuevo Corazón cares about helping the development of girls in all areas. In the short month I spent there, I saw the girls take part in many physical activities, including swimming, hiking, dancing, and they even had a sports teacher come in every morning during their holidays to keep them active. During the holidays off from school, they also had a teacher help them continue their studies and catch up on anything they didn’t understand during the school year, in order for them to be in the best position to start the new school year.
Spiritual development is also highlighted within the home as they partake in daily devotionals, have a weekly discipleship group, all attend church together, and some of the girls have even chosen to start to volunteer within Sunday school.
They also love to include the girls when praising God for the miracles and provision they receive as a home, which helps to inspire the girls’ faith and see how God cares specifically about them.
The girls’ joy and transformation were evident when I visited - girls that when they first came to the home had problems with low self-esteem, confidence and lack of self-worth after a few months of living in the home were totally different - knowing their worth as a daughter of God and even feeling confident enough to talk to me about their hopes and dreams for their lives.
Changing the world is something many people aspire to do, but Nuevo Corazón truly changes the world of every single one of these girls and helps them to achieve their full potential. This starts with the youngest, who is 7, as they helps her to settle into her new school, to the oldest, who is 18, who is the first from the home to start university this year, equipped with accountancy skills that CRY helped her to acquire.
You can be a part of this transformative work that Nuevo Corazón does by committing to pray for them and donating - DONATE HERE.
Part 2: Peru
My trip to Cusco, Peru, also made a huge impact on me as I saw how the children’s clubs made such a great impact on the community and how they show these children that God truly loves and cares for them despite the fact that some of their parents are unable to.
The work of Club Corason is vital for the children of Cusco especially during the more than 2 month summer holidays they get off school. This is because their parents, particularly those in the most deprived areas, can’t take time off work to look after their children, so many leave their children at home, some as young as 5 years old. The other alternative is to send them to a family member or friends home to be looked after however, this creates the risk for physical or sexual violence to be committed whilst no other adults are present.
However, this neglect and abandonment of children inspired CORASON church to create a space where children can feel loved, be creative, hear about Jesus’ love for them and have lots of fun.
CORASON excels at bringing joy into the lives of children living in the loneliness of circumstances and provides them with care across a wide variety of areas.Their work also reaches those who aren’t able to come to the physical children’s club. Therefore, they do many outreach children’s clubs in the rural areas of the Andes, accessible only by a dirt track and held in shacks.
In the short time I spent there, I saw how the children’s work helped them to develop in many different areas and how they focused on keeping it fun and engaging for all the children. In the permanent children’s club, the children took part in fun games, sports, baking, painting, dancing, and even watched the movie ‘A Prince of Egypt’. In the outreach club, the children took part in English classes, playing football, dancing, worship, and prayer. I was struck by the passion that the leader had for these children and how she cared for them like they were her own children. Education about hygiene and protection was also provided, as well as food for each child.
One story that really stood out to me happened at the outreach children’s club when we were going round and saying one thing that we were grateful for that had happened during the week. When it came to this one 5-year-old girl, she began saying that her mum just leaves her at home all day as she goes out to work, and how she feels so lonely, which made her start crying. However, by the end of the session, once she had been hugged, prayed for by everyone, and taken part in a dance class, she returned home smiling and full of hope. The leader also spoke with her mum later on to put a plan in place so she wouldn’t be alone for long periods of time in the future. This story really stuck with me as without the obedience to God of the leader of the club, this girl wouldn’t have gained the help that she needed, and without the resources that CRY provides, the club wouldn’t be able to continue bringing hope as it does now.
This children’s club has been running for many years and continues to produce amazing results. For example, some of those who used to go when they were young are now pastors and volunteers helping the cycle of joy, transformation and care continue.
By supporting the work of CRY, more children can be reached through these clubs, and more children can see the love of God for them personally each day.
