Historier som Forandrer

Det alle barn er på jakt etter

2010-11-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

Klokken var i ferd med å passere klokken to på ettermiddagen. Jeg satt på kanten av brua og dinglet med beina forsiktig fram og tilbake. Cirka 3 meter under meg lå en stor haug med søppel mitt i drenneringskanalen som slanger seg gjennom stort sett hele byen. Noen deler under bakken, andre i lyse dagen.

Plutselig hørte jeg en stemme bak meg; - Svenn! Det var Alejandro, en av gutta på rundt 12 år. Han som ikke alltid sier så mye, men som er på jakt etter all den oppmerksomheten han kan få. Jeg ble kjent med han for mer eller mindre ett år siden. Da jobbet han på gata og bodde hjemme. Nå bor han på gata hele tiden, under bakken. Hver gang jeg treffer han så får jeg en slags rar følelse i meg. Det er så merkelig å ha hvert der helt fra begynnelsen av, før han havnet hundre prosent på gata. Det å ha sett hele prosessen, hvordan ting har gått så utrolig i feil retning. Det er kanskje noe av det mest utfordrende så langt i livet mitt.

Vi snakker med moren hans minst en gang i uka. Noen ganger gråter hun, andre ganger er hun ved godt mot om at sønnen hennes skal komme hjem igjen. Hun har jo i det minste oss som gjør alt vi kan for at han skal legge gata og dopet på hylla, og det håpet som skinner i ansiktet hennes sier alt om hvor glad hun er i sønnen sin, hvor mye hun ønsker at han skal komme hjem.

Vi har tatt han med hjem igjen flere ganger, med et håp om at han skulle bli, men hver gang har han bare noen dager etter dratt tilbake på gata. Jeg tror ikke han selv er klar over hvorfor han hele tiden havner tilbake på gata. Det er rett og slett noe med kulturen på gata som er så utrolig avhengighetsskapende. For Alejandro er det nok først og fremst dopet som hele tiden kaller ham tilbake til gata. Samtidig har han ikke så mye å finne på hjemme. Han har ikke noe problemer hjemme, men han kjeder seg, rett og slett. Det var derfor han begynte å jobbe på gata i utgangspunktet. Han dro ut på gata for å tjene penger for å bruke på dataspill, for å ha det gøy og for å henge med kompiser.

Å smile og le, å ha noen som bryr seg, noen som hører og forstår, enn venn...er ikke det alle barn er på jakt etter?

Kan du virkelig se?

2010-09-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

For godt over et halvt år siden dro jeg tilbake til Bolivia med en ny og spennende oppgave foran meg. Vi skulle starte et nytt prosjekt, en ny organisasjon...nye muligheter og alternativer for ungene. Jeg viste ikke mye hva som skulle møte meg da. Alt var bare en drøm, en drøm om å få til noe som virkelig kunne bety noe for gatebarna, noe som virkelig kunne utgjøre en forskjell.

Etter Act Now studiet på Hald Internasjonale Senter 08/09 fikk jeg et helt nytt syn på mange ting. Jeg innså at verden var mye mer enn det som er hverdagen her i Norge, det man ser på en fireukers sydenferie eller en treukers reise i Afrika. Før jeg begynte på Hald tenkte jeg at, jo, jeg hadde jo reist mye rundt omkring så hvorfor ikke syv måneder i sør-Amerika? Hørtes spennende ut, veldig spennende ut. Jeg trodde kanskje at jeg viste hva jeg gikk til, men når jeg ser tilbake så gjorde jeg aldeles ikke det.

Jeg vet ikke om du har reist mye rundt i verden, men jeg spør deg uansett. Har du virkelig sett hva som foregår der ut? Har du virkelig åpnet øynene? En ser masse når man er ute å reiser, men ser man virkelig hva som foregår? Jeg tror ikke det, en ser bare det en har lyst til å se. Alt for mange snur ryggen til det som er vanskelig, urettferdighet, fattigdom, barn som bor på gata. Det er mye lettere å la være å se enn å se, for hvis en begynner å se hva som skjer er en nødt til å forandre ting i sitt eget liv. - Måten å leve på, se verden på. Det er trist, men slik er realiteten. Vi vil heller lukke øyene og håpe at ting går greit, selv om vi vet at alt går rett vest. På den måten kan vi i hvertfall leve med god samvittighet. Vi vil gjøre alt for å beholde det, for vi har overbevist oss selv at det er vårt. Vår velstand er vår og den gir vi ikke opp for noe som helst!

Kjenner du deg igjen? Det gjør i hvertfall jeg. Det er slik det er, slik det har blitt. Når jeg begynte å arbeide med gatebarna ble mitt syn veldig forandret. Ikke med det første, men over tid. Disse barna og ungdommene ble vennene mine. (De som du ser på tv og som gjør at du tenker: - Uff så urettferdig verden er! Også tenker du ikke mer på det.) De hadde blitt en del av mitt liv. De var ikke lenger der bak tv skjermen.

Å leve sammen med gatebarna, å være en del av livet deres er noe som gir meg utrolig masse. Selv om jobben min handler mye om å lære bort, så tror jeg at gatebarna lærer meg mye mer. Det er noe som skjer når hver dag blir en kamp for å overleve, når materialismen blir noe fremmed. Livet handler om menneskelige relasjoner, om å holde sammen. Hvis vi ikke holder sammen vil vi dø. Når man kommer på innsiden av gatebarna så lærer man at det er noe veldig viktig der på innsiden. Noe alle barn er på jakt etter, og lengter sårt etter - noen som virkelig bryr seg, er glad i de, støtter de og hjelper de som et medmenneske - noen de kan stole på og som de vet stiller opp når som helst og hvor som helst.

Verdier som læres bort

Nå som det er et halvt år siden vi startet opp Smiles of the Street, er det en ting jeg virkelig har lært. Dette handler om mennesker, mennesker med behov for håp for fremtiden. De trenger noen som ikke snur ryggen til det som er vanskelig, noen som virkelig hjelper når det trengs, som er et medmenneske, en venn, en referanseperson, et håp og en vei mot en bedre fremtid.

Jobben min er å dekke disse behovene. Man kan se det på mange måter, vri det rundt, sette opp fine setninger, grafer og statistikker. Man kan snakke i store ord, snakke om verden og fattigdom...men når alt kommer til alt så handler det om mennesker, fantastiske mennesker som føler, gråter, smiler og ler. Jeg spør deg igjen, kan du virkelig se?

Kan du virkelig se?

Smiles of the Street

2010-02-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

When I first came here to Bolivia, things were different, for me personally. But bit by bit things changed, for me, personally. A change I could feel and touch almost all the time, a change for my life. At the same time a dream started to grow, a dream about something. I didn't know exactly what it was, but last year something started to grow very fast. Ideas, projects, dreams, possibilities...It was all there, and I just couldn't ignore it, it was impossible to ignore because it was actually real and it gave me a whole lot of energy to keep on moving forward.

Last year I started to work all day and everyday on the street. I learned a lot about this work that I didn't have a clue about before, and the children gave me a lot of new ideas, ideas about myself, about them, about us... Ideas of something different, a new perspective.

Being with the children every single day I found that the children need something that's not available for them right now. The reality is that the children do not enter the street children homes, and do not leave the street through the original methods. The children demands that we try new methods. It's time to think new. Thinking new by listening to the children, by hearing what they say they really need because they know, they know what they need, and after a lot of time thinking and dreaming the idea of Smiles of the Street came to life. An organization that is willing to take the step out to the unknown and make the street children heard, seen and loved as the future of the world. Because that is what they are. Children with potentials greater than we can imagine.

Smiles of the Street was founded december 2009 and started working in Bolivia February 2010. Our project in Bolivia is dedicated to offer the street children alternatives to the life on the street, using resources that is already there, but that`s not available to the children living on the street. We base our work on the idea that by being able to offer the children different alternatives and activities, they will be able to better their life situation. We will work especially offering activities for the children that they demand, working together with organization that offer activities like football, cultural activities, education, and more, and at the same time coordinate with street children homes and schools. At all times it's the individual child who is in focus, and the child's wish to better his or her life situation. From there we work supporting the children on the way to a better life.

We are now starting up all the work here in Bolivia, it´s difficult to start a work like this, really difficult. I dedicate all of my time to this now, and I couldn't wish for anything else. Every day on the street, and every smile... It's all worth it.

Our Vision is that street children can be leaders of their own lives, and that they will be heard, seen and valued.

In order to reach for this vision we need your help. Everyone of you can help, and the children need it. By talking about them and making the people around you aware of who these children are, you can make a big difference. Start by interact with our facebook page: smilesofthestreet.com/facebook , and invite all of your friends. You can also talk about the street children in schools and youth clubs. The possibilities are there. Contact me for more information: svenn@smilesofthestreet.com

Together we will make the street children heard, seen and loved worldwide!

When it gets darkest the stars come out

2009-11-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

I hit the wall. Hard. I was running really fast and I didn’t see it. I didn’t notice that there was actually a wall there. A limit. A limit of things I could take. I had to stop. Stop there in that very moment and just think. Something told me that I had to do it. Just think about things, about the point of everything. Think about what I was doing, and if I was doing it right or not. – If there was actually a point to it at all.

Too many things happened that day. Way to many things. Actually the two days before as well. It was like a mountain of experiences, a really big one. It was too many emotions, too many destinies and too many defeats.

I stared out into nowhere. Into the air I was breathing in. I sat on a bench there in the hospital. The hospital I had visited too many times, but this time was totally different. I sat on a different bench than before. A bench no one would prefer to sit on, as long as they’re not obliged to do so. The silence was almost impossible to bear, and impossible to understand. I didn’t say anything to break it even though I wanted, but I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. He was quiet and I was quiet, but he was there on the other side. On the side I couldn’t follow. He, 18 years old, left the street. He was now resting in peace, there on the other side, on the other side of the door.

I started walking away from the bench, slowly, then through a small ally, through the hall and out on the street. The silence was replaced with the eternal noise of the street. People walked by doing whatever they was doing. Living their lives, their own lives, thinking about their own problems. They were passing by without knowing that one child that they’ve been calling a dog and a thief, was now gone. Gone forever.

At that moment everything seemed dark, but then I started to think about something that happened two days before.

I visited an intersection where I’ve been working with a group of children for about one month. A group of about five children from 10 to 13 years old. It’s been really hard. Really hard work. All of these children started to work on the street about two months ago, and they started bit by bit to spend more time on the street than at home. My work has been to be there, trying to motivate them not to stay on the street. It’s been very difficult at times, and for some time their situation seemed worse every single day. But this day things changed. The whole group wanted to leave the street. At least for some time, and I went with the whole group to a place where they could sleep. It was a big step, actually a huge step, a lot bigger than you think. It was a step in the right direction, against a future that is going to be different. They will probably leave the home and return several times, but it’s the reality here. It will take a lot of work. From them and from us, but I believe it will work. I believe their destiny will change in some way or another, but the most important thing is that hope really increased that day.

It is when it gets darkest that the stars come out.

"A friendship out of the ordinary"

"Bicycles at home"

The boy without a voice - A story yet to be made

2009-10-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

I got the news about one week after I came back to Bolivia. He had been hit by a motorcycle. Just a few days ago, they told me. He had been driven to a hospital, but no one knew anything. Some of the street children actually told me that he had been killed, but it was just something they said. Luckily. He was in the hospital with a broken leg. That was all.

As soon as I received the news I arranged to go to the hospital with the social worker from Plataforma. We went without knowing anything about what was going to meet us. This was about one week after he was hit. We asked for Roberto, but there was no one there by that name, so we was instructed to go from room to room to see if he was there. So we did, and we found him in a room at the end of the hall.

Hermano! Hermana! He smiled when he saw us. It was his big friendly smile again. The smile that can make anyone happy, anyone, but after a few moments he started to cry. He cried and he cried. They hadn't done anything with his leg! He had already been in the hospital for a week, but they hadn't done anything. I was shocked. Just because he's a street child, they hadn't done anything. He was there with a broken leg all alone. But after just a few minutes the nurse came with a clean T-shirt and a big bag of candy, assuring us that he had been taken really good care of since he came. It made me angry. Really angry. I wanted to start shouting at the nurse, but I kept silent. Despite the situation they assured us that he was going to be operated tomorrow.

The next day I returned, but still they hadn't done anything. Again the doctor assured us that he was going to be operated the following day, and this time they kept their promise. At last.

A few days later we went with him to a home where he could stay. A place where I believed he would be taken good care of. A place where day would work with him, so he could have a future away from the street, but to my disappointment that was not how it turned out. He was happy there, at least for one week, but because of his behaviour he was returned to us. They couldn't manage having him there. He destroyed everything they said.

They came with him to my office late in the evening. We tried our best to motivate him to go to another home, but he refused. He refused because he believed things would turn out the same there. He just wanted to go back to the street. The channel underground. That's the only thing he knows. The only thing. The only known way of living to him. So that was what he wanted. Just to go back to the street.

So we was there with this boy in my office, with just one unacceptable option. Taking him back to the street. I was confused. We can't do it, I said. We can't just bring him back to the street! At that moment I would rather die than take him back to the street, but what could we do? There was no home that wanted to receive him, but one. And he didn't want to go there. He just wanted to go back to the street.

So, we had no choice than to take him back to the street. And that is what happened. When I went home that night and entered my room, I started crying.

The rest of this story is yet to be made. At this very moment he is on the street, and I haven't seen him yet. I have been looking for him several days. Searching and asking for him throughout the city, but he is not to be found.

I hope that this story can be the voice of this child. That you will hear him, and see him. A boy with the most amazing smile on earth. A boy with an unbelievable potential in his life. The only thing he needs is someone to recognize it. Someone to enter his world, and guide him to a life away from the street. Right now he has no one. Only himself which is the only thing he knows. Himself and his world. I still pray that one day, one day, this boy will be able to tell his own story, with his own words, to the whole world. And that when this day comes, we will sit down, stop doing whatever we are doing, and just listen.

The boy without a voice

2009-09-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

There is a specific child I have had the honor of getting to know. It is a boy about 13 years old, without any family or friends. Even in the street. He has been alone all his life. No one has ever loved him, at least not in a positive way. They call him “the dirty face” in the street. I am going to tell about him from my perspective and this is the first part of the story:

I first got to know him about one year ago. He was dirty, really dirty. He was painting a picture, a picture of a boy with a lot of colors. I remember I stood behind him several minutes just watching him paint. It was amazing to see a street kid paint a picture like that. It just made me really happy. The picture sent a message that became so strong when this kid painted it. The boy he painted was smiling. He was happy. He was in a world of fantasy. I was totally amazed.

I remember I sat down beside him after a few minutes of observation. I told him that I really liked his picture. That it was amazingly beautiful. He looked up at me for the first time and smiled, a really big friendly smile. That moment has burned itself into my mind. I continued asking him who Roberto was. He had written this name under the boy he had painted, in a lot of colors as well. He answered that it was his name. He had painted himself. Happy, and colorful.

The second time I saw him was in a park. He was totally drugged, and in a different world. All he said was that another street child had a wound. He left without saying anything more. A few days later I saw him again. Running through the park. He was beaten up. He didn’t notice that I was there.

In the same park, after several months without seeing him, he came over to me again. I was working with a wound of one of the older kids. He came over and when I looked up he smiled. It was his big friendly smile. He had a wound in his head. I told him to wait a second until I finished, but he ran away before I had the time to take a look at it.

After that I saw him now and then in different areas of the city. He never made any good contact with the other street kids. He moved from place to place, without any other point or meaning but finding food in order to survive. Sometimes he recognized me, sometimes not, depending on how drugged he was.

I know that deep inside him, the kid he painted is hiding like a prisoner of all the drugs and the street. There is hiding a happy boy with an amazing future there, a potential that is just waiting to get out. I hope that one day, one day, he will be able to tell his story to the world. That he may get his voice back, so all of us can hear him. And see the amazing boy he is!

To be continued.

The reality and the hope

2009-09-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

It is burning hot. Really burning hot. That is for sure. Working on the streets of Santa Cruz is an experience impossible to explain. It is hard work in every way. It is quite challenging physically, but above all psychically. The reality I am working in is rough. A reality without mercy, what so ever. It is just not there. It seems.

This week has been for me the roughest week in my entire life. Sometimes I just want to shout out loud. Just shouting. Really loud.

- This week one girl died in the street. Strangled to death by another street kid. She became 16 years old. I was not there, but I know her well. She lived in Alalay for some time, but escaped. Now she is dead...

- A women about 20 years old came to my office on Thursday. Totally beaten up. Her face was totally blue. Her nose was broken.

- A boy In risk of ending up on the street took one more step closer this week. We helped him with a place to study, but he skipped class and is now hanging out on the street. He has big problems in his family. The situation has become a lot worse this week.

- Yesterday the police beat up all of the street kids in two of the zones here in the city. About 30 kids has been totally beaten up. I came to one of the zones right after it happened.

This is some of the things that has happened this week. It might seem that this work is just hopeless, but it is not! Everyday has good moments. Every week. This week, three kids I have been working with in the street have entered a home. It makes everything worth it. Everything!

I want you to know the reality, but more than anything: Know that there is hope!

A sudden change

2009-09-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

I am now done with my first week of work here in Bolivia. It has been a challenging week with a lot of things to do. It has been in many ways quite difficult at times, because my head is somehow still in Norway. You know, one day I’m sitting outside my house reading a book with the beautiful Norwegian nature around me. The next I’m sitting in the middle of the Santa Cruz traffic talking to the street children. It’s a tremendous change of environment, a sudden jump between two totally different realities. For me it has been a real challenge.

Out of choice I have a lot more responsibility now than before. I am not working as a voluntary that is helping out when needed. I work as a street educator, meaning that I have a certain responsibility for the street work, taking decisions, and following up the children at a daily basis. It is different working like this compared to how I worked before. I get a lot more into the work, something I learn a lot from. It is challenging and very interesting.

I am on my way!!!

2009-08-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Ever since I decided to go back to Bolivia I have been waiting for this day. In a way I never thought this day would come, but it came, and quite suddenly too. I am now on my way back, and I am right now waiting for my next flight to Miami at Heathrow airport in London. Im really exited. You bet!!!

A one-year walk with the street children

2009-08-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you can’t leave something behind? Do you just leave it because people around you expect you to go back to normal life, or do you pursue it? That has been my question for some time. For a long time.

I have come do the conclusion that at least this time I will go for it. And I will go for it without any hesitation at all. I will commit myself to it. Live with it day and night. And the most important thing is that I will not do it for myself. Not at all. I will do it for them. I will do it for the children. The children that are living their lives on the streets of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh”

- Luke 6:20-21

I leave Norwegian territory and head for the streets the 26^th of august. From there I will work every day with the street children in Santa Cruz. I will work as a so-called “street educator”. This means that my work is to stay in contact with the street children, help them with things they need, arrange activities and much more. Basically to be a good friend. The goal being that the children may choose to leave the street and live in a home.

The crazy thing is that I do not have the money to cover the expenses that follow such a decision. Therefore, I will rely upon people that want to help me with this part. This is where you come into the picture. You can take part in this one-year walk with the street children if you choose to support this project. If you haven’t already done so, write me an e-mail or call me, and I will be happy to send you more information on this. Your help will be deeply appreciated both by the street children and me. That I can promise.

Cel: +47 45471847, E-mail: svenn@barefootchildrenproject.com

"And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."

- Is 58:10

The Barefoot Children Project

2009-07-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

I now have the honor of presenting ”The Barefoot Children Project”. The idea started about five months ago at a restaurant in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Marius and I was dreaming. The dream of a film about the street children came to life. And from there, it all developed to ”The Barefoot Children Project”.

From: barefootchildrenproject.com:

In October 2008 two students from Norway went to Santa Cruz, Bolivia to volunteer in the work with street children.

They were both young and unexperienced. Nonetheless, they were touched by the children’s innocence and their heart braking stories. The students engaged themselves in the fight for a world without street children. The street children’s rough environment became their working location.

For over a year they had been dreaming of making a documentary film about street children. The opportunity came to them when an experienced coworker said yes to helping them with interviews of the children. Some of the children lived in the more dangerous areas of Santa Cruz, where older street adults and drug dealers could get aggressive if you brought a camera around.

The documentary “Barefoot Children” was filmed in March and April 2009.

At first the Barefoot Children Project was just an idea of how to promote the documentary, but the idea was changed during the planning. As the students got more involved  and increased their understanding of the street children’s reality, they wanted to aim higher. They came up with a vision: 

“We want to see a world without children working and living on the street”

So this is what I have been working with the last five months. I hope you will see the children, hear their stories and be inspired by them. The movie will soon be available on DVD.

The movie trailer:

It's all up to you

2009-04-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

I was walking down the street talking to my friends. It was late and we were on our way back home. When I walk in the street my eyes are now automatically looking for street children, and as we were walking I suddenly saw a kid laying on a bench. I looked at him closely and I thought to myself; Do I know this kid? I continued walking since I was thinking about other things than work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about who is this kid. Marius and I decided to leave our friends for a second and go back in order to talk with this kid. Just to find out who he was.

We sat us down on the bench, quiet without saying anything. I looked at the boy, but he wouldn’t look back at me. He was about 11 years old. I could tell that I had seen this boy before, but I couldn’t remember where. I then asked,
- Hey, boy, do you know Alalay?
The kid looked at me with a firm smile on his face without saying anything at all. He was dirty after working the whole day as a shoe shiner, and he was about to go to sleep. I could tell that I really knew this boy. Without a doubt. After a few moments of silence the kid looked at me saying,
- Yes, I know Alalay, and I know you as well.
I continued,
- How long have you been in the street?.
- About a week, he told me.
- And why did you leave Alalay?
- Because I want to earn some money...
- Money? I repeated.
He just looked at me, smiling. I continued asking him about what he thought about returning to Alalay. He said:
- Returning? Well...I don’t know.
- You don’t know? I said.
- No, I don’t know. It’s just that I like to earn some money. I don’t like being in the street, but returning...well...I don’t know.
I then used about five minutes explaining him what his options are. How his future can be, but that it is all up to him. I finished telling him that we can go right now, and that he could sleep in a warm bed already this night.
- What do you think? I said.
- I don’t know, he answered. Really, I don’t know.

Then two guards came over to us, asking us what we were doing with the boy. I explained everything, and finished asking them what they think the boy should do. If he should go with us, or sleep in the street. The two guards hold a little speech for the boy. Trying to help him to understand. Once again the boy said:
- I don’t know, maybe...I don’t know.

Then another man came over to us. A man who was living more or less in the street. A man with a past almost impossible to imagine. He was now living his life by making poems in the street. Earning a few dollars a day. He sat down on the ground looking the kid deeply into his eyes. He started,
- I know what I am talking about...you see...I live in the street, and I now how this life is...look...this people here can take you to a place where you have a future. A place where you can study and become a man with a great life. Here in the street you don’t have any future at all.
He continued talking with the kid for a few minutes, ending like this,
- It is now up to you. It is up to you to choose what you want to do with your life. It is your choice. Choose the right one.
The kid looked at me once again and said,
- I don’t know, maybe...

We were sitting waiting a few minutes, in silence, until he told me that he would go tomorrow. I said,
- Okay, meet me at my office tomorrow morning.
- Great, he told me. There I can play with the computer and everything.
- Yeah, you can. And you can take a shower and clean you cloths. See you tomorrow!
- Okay, see you tomorrow, hermano Esteban.

We left him there in the street, hoping that he would come tomorrow...

...He never came...

Pictures are for illustration only, and have nothing to do with the actual event.

And he lived happily ever after

2009-03-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

I was sitting on the grass with my first-aid kit in my right hand. It was deadly hot as usual, so the shadow from the gigantic building behind me was more than appreciated. I was working, and as you might know my work contains of two parts. Walking and talking. And now I was telling a 13 year old boy what he could do if he left the street. How his future could be like. How happy his life can and will be if he choose to leave. All he have to do is to say - Yes, I’ll try my best to change myself. I was telling him about the homes he could go to. All the things he could learn. I tried my best to help him think. Help him understand and to take the right decision.

The thing is that he had decided earlier that day to leave the street together with a friend. When they were about to leave he had changed his mind. Both his friend and I really wanted him to go, but he said no again and again. That was when I started to talk with him.... 

When I finished talking he looked at me. Staring into my eyes. Then slowly looking down starting to draw a long line in the sand. We were sitting like that for a few moments. Waiting. But the message he was sending was obvious . I said to myself:
-He’s not going to say yes. In fact, he’s not going to say anything at all. I told him what I say too many times a day.
- You think about it, and if you need anything at all. You let me know, okay? He left the scene going back to his home. His home underground.

I want to tell you one thing with this story. And that is that the reality of working with street children is harsh and difficult. I’ve told you earlier about both how street children become street children and how it is to be a street child. What I want you to know with this post is to tell you my own reality with the street children. From the point of view I see them every day.

I can tell you that “And he lived happily ever after” is a rare thing in this work. The kids doesn’t come running saying that they want to leave the street, nor is it possible to take all of them to an orphanage or something similar. The street is not what it looks like. In fact It’s a harsh and unfair underworld. It’s a world full of drugs and abuse. It’s a world the kids get addicted to. That’s the reality. It’s not a movie. It’s real. Fully real.

And my work is to get the kids to choose to leave this world. How is it possible? I have found that a big part of the answer is faithfulness and trust. First, you have to be there. Be there to show them that you win if you choose to leave. Be there to be a positive person in the middle of their reality. A person who understands. Understands their reality. Their world. Second, you have to get them to trust you. This you do both by fulfilling the faithfulness part, and show them that you want only good things for them. You play with them, laugh with them and talk with them. You give your person to them. You give all you have and you don’t let them down. Never.

I turned my face against the other boy. The friend of the boy who just had went back underground. The boy next to me, who had been washing windshields for months, was now ready to leave the street. He was ready to change. To live a better life. He started walking with me against the bus with hope and dreams in his eyes. Meeting his new future. This is what makes this work worth the effort. You do not make things. You make futures and lives.

Foto: Marius Tarladsen

See me - faces of Alalay

2009-02-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Being a street child

2009-02-13T12:29:00.000-08:00

The life of the street child is hard. And then I mean really hard, but still most of the children living in the street prefer to stay there. They prefer to have the freedom it contains. The feeling of being able to choose what to do by themselves without anyone telling them what to do. For them it is a life without authorities and abusive parents.

I have so far met three children living in the street who have told me that they used to live in Alalay, but they left the project in favor of the street. In the street they have what they need to escape from a life which is brutal and unfair. I am not saying that the street is not brutal, but rather that there, they have the drugs to forget all the brutality.

I have earlier told you about how street children are becoming street children. I will now try to give you a little wider perspective and give you a little peak into their daily lives.

I want you to think that you now have lived a few months in the street. You were sometimes at home “visiting” in the beginning, but this stopped quit quickly. You were now living constantly in the street. The only family you in reality have is the other street children and you have found yourself a street family.

A street family is basically a group of street children living together. In these groups you can almost always find some older street children. Maybe 20-25 years old, and among these there is sometimes a girl who act as the mother of the family. The older boys are the leaders and protectors of the family. All these older boys and girls are street children who never left the street when they were young. They are basically examples for the younger street children, but extremely bad examples. Here you can find the distribution of drugs and glue. The family is also a source of knowledge about robbing, begging and different types of work.

You wake up around midday. You feel an extreme pain in your body. Almost unbearable. The pain you are feeling is the result of yesterdays robbing who went really bad. You got caught by the police and they were hitting you for a long time all over your body. Yesterday you didn’t feel anything because you were drugged, but now you could feel everything. Quickly you find your little cup of glue and start sniffing. This ease the pain and lets the thoughts fly away from this world ones again.

You look around you. You are in your home. A little tunnel under the road. This is a part of the bigger channels which got the function of leading all the rainwater out of the city and into the river. Here you can stay hidden without any police bothering you. This is your bedroom and “drug room”, and it is called “abajo” which means down under.

Your living room is the city, but for the most part the surrounding area of your channel. Here you find food, beg, rob and hang out with your friends. In your case this is a park and a huge marked nearby. Perfect for everything you might need. This area got a lot of street children too which means that there are a lot of friends around.

You get out of the channel to find yourself some food. Today you do not have any money because the police took all you had yesterday. You beg without much luck. You have to rob some food. It is quite easy because you are a professional.

You hang around half drugged until around five in the evening. Then you gather with your family “abajo” Here you plan todays robbing and you drug yourself a lot to make sure that you do not feel anything in case you are to be caught.

At the same time the police is starting to arrive at the scene. They are there just to find the street children, nothing else. They are there because they know that this is the time that the street children is going out to rob, and this is the best time to catch them. In the eyes of the police the street children is more or less animals. Someone just want to kill them. Yeah, and that happens sometimes.

You leave the channels with a partner. You are both quit small. Perfect for robbing and hiding. You walk around the marked robbing until around eight o’clock. Then you go to sleep after a long day. You take some drugs which makes you able to forget everything and sleepy. You crawl down under a few cardboards “abajo” and go to sleep.

Foto: Marius Taraldsen
Redigering: Svenn Åge Sletner

Three friends

2009-02-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

What makes you keep going

2009-01-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

I felt everything had gone wrong. The whole day had just been a lot of shouting and negative response. I was so tired of it all, but still I was there with my kids. In a way pretending that I felt everything was right. First of all I was alone with my kids. Thirteen of them. Being in charge alone with so many kids is a lot of work in itself. What made all very difficult was that the water went. It was more or less gone the entire weekend. This makes cleaning here in Alalay almost impossible. Without water no clean clothes, rooms, plates, cups...basically everything. And worst of all - No water to drink. I guess you can imagine how it is when every single one of the kids is complaining about all this when it is nothing to do about it. This makes you tired, frustrated and sometimes angry. But a part of this work is to keep all this inside and keep going.

I was sitting playing with my kids. Just to get all our problems out of our mines. After a few fights and some competitions one of the kids said something I’ll never forget. Hermano Esteban do you know what? I answered; no, what is it? You know, you are like our second dad...you are...really...you know...our dad. I didn’t know what to say. I had no words. Isn’t that so, he said to the other kids. All the other kids nodded indicating that they agreed. Then one of the kids came over and gave me a big hug and said. You are really nice, daddy...

Becoming a street child

2009-01-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Why! I can hear the word in my head over and over again. Why! It won't stop. It is there all the time. I am trying to sleep, but I can’t. My problem is that I’m thinking. Thinking about the children that is sleeping just a few minutes from my door. They are outside. I am in my bed. Here, right now, and I can’t even do a little thing about it. I’m thinking about injustice. Thinking about poverty. I am thinking about the world, and myself in all of it. I can’t find the answer. My head is just a mess. I stay awake more than two hours in my bed. Just thinking...

I’ve now worked a long time in the street, and I would like you to get a share of how it it’s like. I would first like you to know how it might be to live in the street. It is impossible to give you the entire picture, but I will try my best to give you something.

First of all I want you to imagine yourself going to another world. A world called the street. This is not the world as you know it. It is a harsh and ruff world. Almost constantly rude to you. And this you have to live with if you like it or not. You are a kid. Maybe about ten years old and you do not have a home. At least not a home you can go to without getting beaten or abused by your angry and drunk father.

It all started very slow. You first went to the street to work. You went because at home your family didn’t have any money for food and you had to earn some money for the family. After school you took your windshield cleaning kit and went to the city to earn a few cents. Then coming back home late in the night tired or more correctly exhausted . You did this for a long time. But then things started to be very bad at home, and your father started to abuse you. You didn’t longer want to stay at home. Home was now the same as being in prison.

You had started to make friends in the intersection where you worked and they had different type of drugs to help you forget all the problems at home. You knew they lived in the street, but that didn’t mind you now. You tried their drugs ones and you forgot all your problems. It was so good. You could fall to sleep dreaming about the time you were happy. An escape from the reality.

After this you started to be with the street kids instead of working in the day. This made things just worse at home. Less money meant more beating. But it was worth it. The feeling of escaping all of it with sniffing glue or taking drugs made it all worth the pain.

After a few days you stopped going home, because it was better to just be in the street. Here you had friends. Even some of the older boys had offered to protect you! All you had to do was just to bring a few things to him every day. Just a few cent or something and he would protect you against all the danger of the street. This was a really good deal and you accepted. You were now a part of a street family.

In your new family you learned how to rob. How to hide from the police. How to beg in the best way and how to speak the street language. All this made you more confident in yourself. More grown-up. Sometimes the police took you and hit you hard. A lot harder then your father used to do, but you had the glue to make you forget all the pain.

You were now a real street kid.

Stepping out of the nest

2009-01-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

When I meet new Bolivians they always ask me if I have seen something else than Santa Cruz. Being able to say yes to this question has been something I have really wanted to do. Not that saying yes to this is a very big deal, but that I want to know something more about Bolivia. I have been in Santa Cruz for three months now without taking one day off from work. I have rather done the opposite. But finally, I didn’t have any choose but to go to La Paz for infield. And I have to tell you that to finally take some days of really meant a lot. I had a fantastic week in La Paz and Coroico. Coroico is a little town three and a half hours outside La Paz.

The beautiful city Coroico

I discovered after several warnings that coming to La Paz (especially by plane) is not a joke. The thin air 4000 meters above sea level is really something. A few steps felt like climbing a mountain. My entire body felt strange. Pain everywhere, and worse of all. No air to breath in.

Luckily this past by just after a few hours and I could start enjoying the amazing city of La Paz. I visited the Aldea and the Alalay children of La Paz. I also met my fellow students again. It was really great. Finally I could speak norwegian again with someone else than my teammate. (nothing personal mate)

The entire south-america team

Then followed a great week with a fantastic infield course. It was like connecting the charger and charge up all the empty batteries. I believe you can say that we charged each other. A lot of credit to Hald for this. They know how to do exchange.

I am now back in Santa Cruz ready to continue my work. Three more months with the greatest work in the world is really something I am looking forward to.

The Aldea of Alalay, La Paz

Our hotel in Coroico

The veiw from the hotel

Christmas in Alalay

2008-12-30T11:24:00.000-08:00

After a long time away I am now ready to give an update about what is going on here in Bolivia. The last weeks have been stuffed with new experiences. Everything from spending Christmas in Alalay to a big black dog attacking me in the street.

I can tell you, spending Christmas “alone” (not with your family) is really something that I am not going to recommend. That your family call you and tell you that they are going to open the presents at home does not make thing a lot better. It made me miss home. Christmas have to be spent with the family.

Christmas in Alalay contained nothing special but a better dinner and a lot of presents. Everything was very different from what I had expected, but it was a nice experience. We ate chicken with rice and french fries. We were supposed to eat pig, but this was put away in advance of the same day chicken donation. This donation made us eat chicken day and night in different forms until this day.

The funny thing is that it is a tradition to eat at midnight between the 24th and 25th of december. You can imagine yourself 70 kids from 3 to 15 years waiting until midnight to eat. Yeah, they get tired. Really tired. Especially, when the last time they ate were 9 hours ago. Almost all of the kids below 10 years of age slept before the time passed 10 in the evening and still we were waiting. Nothing really happened. We were just sitting waiting at the table, more or less, from 9 to 12.

When we finally finished eating it was time to play with small firecrackers. It was like new years eve in Norway in small format. Really strange, but very fun.

Tomorrow is new years eve and I suspect that it will be a kind of repeated Christmas without the presents. The truth is that I really love to spend this time with the kids even though the way of celebration in Alalay is really strange for me.

Okay, I will have to tell you more later...Post to be continued...

(The charger for my mac stopped working a couple of weeks ago, that is the reason for this low activity on my blog. I am working all I can to get a new one, but it is difficult here in Bolivia. I will come back stronger later)

Here are some photos from the last week:

La fiesta de los niños de la calle

2008-12-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

I now have the privilege of looking back on a day stuffed with impressions and stories. I had an unique opportunity to get to know a big part of the children living on the streets of Santa Cruz. We actually had a big party were all of the street children were invited and there were a lot of children who came. I had the greatest time of my life.

The day started with a search and pickup job. We went to the marked I wrote about in my last post to look for the children we had invited a few days before. What made me really happy was that we actually found the boys we didn’t find a few days ago. We gather a total of thirteen children in a taxi (Yeah it is possible), but when the taxi driver didn’t agree on the price all of the children had to go out again. Suddenly eight of them were gone, and we decided that I should take the ones we had and go to the party. Marius and the educadora stayed to find the others in order to come to the party later.

I found myself sitting in a taxi with five street children and an unhappy taxi driver. He didn’t really want kids smelling like shit in his car. That I understood, but he went anyway. With one kid on my lap and four others in the back I remembered that I didn’t know the address. Like everything in this world, things have an solution. So had this problem. One of the kids in the back offered kindly to help and I put all my faith in that this kid knew what he was telling the taxi driver. I then started, unsure if we were driving in the right direction, my process of getting to know this kids a bit more. Smiling, laughing and joking.

We made it to the party without any more problems and I could lower my shoulders for now. The party had everything a party should have. Activities, workshops, soda, food, presents and more. Both me and the children had a great time. I got an unique opportunity to get to know them and at the same time have a lot of fun. Fantastic!

A part of the party was to go to a place where the kids could eat and sleep. Everyone were invited to join this part as well but not everyone wanted. As I was walking to the combi I found a kid laying on the ground bleeding a lot from his face. It was blood everywhere. A lot of kids and other volunteers stood around watching unsure of what had happened. I had no clue, but I offered to treat the boy with my first-aid kit which I had in my backpack. With my hands shaking I started to clean away all the blood in his face. I found that he had been cut right over his eye, and I cleaned the wound properly. After a while the bleeding stopped and I finished my work with a piece of bandage.

Again relieved that things went well, I got myself into the combi. Here I sat down with about fifteen other kids. Some girls with small kids, some small boys and some older. Me as the only “gringo” in the car got tested if I really could stand the pressure of being with them. They were hitting me with all the street talk you can imagine. This is hard to explain, but the street children have their ways of testing you. Luckily they never found my breaking point. They gave up just after a few minutes.

After a few minutes with normal talk, the smell of glue became intensively strong. Almost everyone were sniffing. The mothers, the little boys and the older ones. Right next to me. I almost got drugged myself because of the smell. It was a strange feeling sitting there. Very strange. Everyone were looking at me trying to find out who is this strange norwegian. We all looked at each other communicating without words.

We arrived just in time for me to avoid a big headache. It was like I had been holding my breath for hours without really doing so. Fresh air in my lungs was a great feeling at this point. I went again to join the final part of the party.

This part was the most interesting for me. First, I got a great introduction to another project which is working with street children. Second, I got to have several longer conversations with the kids. I had a great time.  

The strangest thing was when the party finished. The ones who didn’t want to stay said goodbye to me as they were leaving a normal type of party. The girls with the normal kiss on the chin and the boys with a firm handshake. Seeing them leave out that door going back to the street made me a bit sad, but I know I will see them out there in the street again. This is the children I am working with. These children living the life on the street of Santa Cruz.

Maybe tomorrow

2008-11-26T11:13:00.001-08:00

The sun in Santa Cruz has no mercy. It works like an constant oven trying to dry out all the water of your body and this day was no different. I was walking the streets of Santa Cruz looking for street children hanging around the channels and parks of the city. I could feel the sweat down my spine, almost unbearable. It made me feel like taking a bath without really wanting to.

I was in a marked and right now looking for three boys about ten years old that left their home a few days ago. All I knew was that they were around somewhere in the marked. Somewhere between all the shops, people and cars.

After just a few minutes of walking the educadora say to me. “Look over there! Do you see the boy in the red T-shirt?” I turn around looking closely. It is not one of the boys we are looking for that I can see. He is older. Maybe about thirteen years old and I quickly find that I know this boy. I have both seen him and talked to him before and then I suddenly realize who he is. He is the boy who left the street. The one who said he wanted new close and a place to sleep. This is the boy we took to a home just two weeks ago!

He actually went back to the street! I could feel the sadness rise in my head. I had really hoped that this boy would stay but he didn’t. I reminded myself of the work I was doing, but I couldn’t help to cry a little inside myself. It hurt to see him like this again.

We continued our search for the boys through the marked but they were not to be found. The educadora told me that there was no use looking more. I argued for the opposite but she still said no. We will look more tomorrow, she said. I stopped arguing because I know that I still have a lot to learn. It takes patience. Sometimes more than I want it to take.

I turned my face back home convincing myself over and over again that I will find them some time in the future. Maybe tomorrow, I convinced myself. Maybe tomorrow...

Faces of Alalay

2008-11-26T10:57:00.000-08:00

The first impression

2008-11-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

I am now sitting in my bed tired after my first real day in the cabaña with 13 boys sleeping on the other side of the wall. After a day with school, fighting with the new Norwegian, cleaning the house, doing homework, watching movies and taking a bath it is not so veered that all of us (the kids too) are tired.

The names of my kids are the following: Oliver, Edvard, Edson, Josue, José Manuel, Josue w., Leo, Mosues, Ricardo, Iver, Alejandro, Roy and Alex. They are fantastic boys. You can almost believe that they are normal kids with a normal past. Unfortunately, they are not. They are kids with backgrounds I really can´t imagine. Some are from the street, others are here because of other reasons. The thing all of them have in common is that this is their home. This is their life. Right here in this house. This village. To me this seems like a summer-camp which never ends. I walk around every day thinking; What can I do to be something good in their life? The answer is so far...be here for them...and you bet I will the following six months.

Today I discovered that taking pictures is not a problem in the Aledea. I have been kind of careful with the camera since I want to focus on my work, but today I couldn’t keep it in my room anymore...It was more popular than I expected...

Meet Alalay

2008-11-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

I came to the Aldea without any clue of what, where or when I was going to work. The thing that you don’t get very much information about things here can be kind of confusing from time to time, but there is nothing else to do with it but to ask. And asking is what I do these days. I ask about routines, names, words and what ever you can Imagine. I have the responsibility for thirteen boys between 8 and 11 years old. Everyone full of energy day in and day out. I didn’t understand anything of what they said in the beginning. They have another way of speaking. The Santa Cruz dialect with a childish unclear way. It is really difficult, but I start to understand them now. I just have to learn all the words who got something to do with cleaning the house, fighting, playing and of course blaming another of something someone else did.

My name is now Estèban. I got this name because my real name is way to difficult to say in spanish. I am called “Hermano Estèban” by the kids in Alalay. I don’t have numbers for how many times I have heard “Hermano Estèban, I don’t want to do that” or “I want to climb on you, hermano” When I give permission to be a tree to one, it doesn't take long before six or ten other boys hang around my neck saying “Me too! Me too! hermano Estèban! Please!”

I still have a way to go before I understand everything which is going on. Getting respect from the kids is another task. A difficult task. I have to get respect in a language the kids know way better than I do. That is hard, but I can see a great improvement the three days I have been working with them. A week more and I will catch up with their vocabulary (which is by the way very small, but different from what I know) and then things will be easier. Not easy, but easier. It is challenging, but I love it!

Bienvenidos a la realidad

2008-11-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Then I was there, Santa Cruz aeropuerto. I was ready to meet a person from Alalay at the airport. The time said three in the morning and I was really exited. Finally I am here, I said. And then one hour past by. Three hours past. There were none who wanted to say “Bienvenidos a Bolivia” to me. But after about twenty calls showed a nice person up to drive us to our bed. Six hours after we arrived. I have to say; Viru Viru is a really boring airport.

I have been here in Santa Cruz for about two days now. I have noticed a few thing about Santa Cruz already. First, the way they speak is not so different as I expected. Second, It is very hot, and third the Bolivians don’t say too much about what you are going to do or were you are going to be. This can be frustrating, but I am starting to get used to it.

A good example is our first day here. The guy who is in charge of us told us; Yeah, now we are going to the house where the girls live.(First stage Alalay) We went and suddenly he was gone. He just told us that he was going to pick us up at three in the evening. There I was in a house full of girls that I did not know. I felt strange, but I grabbed the first change I had to talk to someone. It was a girl about thirteen years old. She needed help with some homework. I helped. We laughed a little about my misunderstandings because of the spanish. We had a great time. Suddenly a little girl came over to me. She just needed me to hold her. Care about her and listen to her. She asked me; Do you live at the street? No, I said. She said, I do. The street is my home. That is where I live. She was about 5 years old.

Today was just the same, but today we knew. The only difference was that today we went to the boys house. The boys are different. I could see even more the work of the street in them than the girls. I could see their wounds. I could feel them. Both, trough the way they spoke and their extreme need of someone to be there for them, and of course their physical wounds.

In the evening happened something I will never forget. I had my first time at the street working with the children who actually lives at the street. This is where the children who lives in Alalay comes from. This is their past, but today I saw the reality of this past. I was there sitting on the side of the road with two educators (The ones who work at the street). Then the children came out of the tunnel that runs under the road one by one. Some sniffing glue. Some with huge wounds or scars. Some teenagers and some kids. I got what you can call a shock. I knew this reality, but I had never seen it live. I turned silent. I could just watch. I could not speak. The kids did not know me so they did not speak to me either. But they were there sitting right next to me. Sniffing, joking and yelling. I could smell the dirt. I could smell the street. It was terrible.

I am hopefully going to work at the street at least once a week from now on. It is going to take time to know these children. A lot of time. Maybe in a few months they will accept me, or maybe not at all. This work is impossible, but I believe that they can change. I really do. I just have to be there for them without expecting to get anything back. This work is extremely important. Two kids left the street today because of this work. I just pray that they wont go back.

(The picture is for illustration only, from Alalay.org)

Countdown starts!

2008-10-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

The last week has been very busy. A lot of things have happen. I visited a project in Ventanilla (Tierra del niños), had a sightseeing in Lima with my family, had another sightseeing accidentally, were standing in a combi with 24 people with a crazy combi driver (like a hiace), went to the beach (got a little sunburn), drove ATV on the beach, ate the heart of a cow, tried raw fish, been a local attraction in Lima (because of my white skin), been studying spanish, had my first real spanish conversation and put my shorts on for the first time since I came.

Now it is just six days until I am in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I can´t wait. This is what I have been waiting for and now it is closer than ever. I will leave Peru saturday this week. Yeah, I am exited.

Here are some shots I have taken the last week(s). Enjoy!

All pictures are copyrighted. All use have to be agreed with the author.

The world with contrast

2008-10-11T15:35:00.000-07:00

Lima is big. And when I say big. I mean it. 12 million people in one city. That is a lot of people , and I live in a family with two of this 12 million. I will say one thing about them. They are the nicest, the funniest, the best, the kindest and the most amazing people in the world! There are no words for how great they are. I laugh every day with them. It is fantastic.

They live in the nice part of the city. Until a couple of days ago, this was the only part of Lima I had seen. I have been kind of feeling like I have been in the United States. I thought Lima is just nice. Where are the poor people? I am not here to see just this. I got everything back in my face when I visited a district called Villa Maria. Only 30 minutes away from my fantastic home I found one of the biggest slums I have ever seen. Only 30 minutes! It is not only a slum. It is a desert too. It is another world.

Another thing who scares me is; How can people live in Lima without doing something about what is going on only 30 minutes from their home. It is like I would go to buy something in the store in Norway. Here you jump between two worlds in that same amount of time.

We visited a fantastic project called CEDTEP in Villa Maria. They work with adolescent mothers. It was amazing to see their work. Mothers as young as 13 years old. Yeah, it is amazing and scary at the same time. To see the little ones, so nice, but the mothers are way to young to be mothers. But with CEDTEP they learn to raise their children. The mothers manage very well despite the situation they are in. This is a light shining in the middle of the slums of Villa Maria.

This is the world with contrast. Black and white do exist. This is the real world, but hope is there in the middle of the slums. What can you do to make a change?

Words! Please stay!

2008-10-10T20:09:00.001-07:00

I am confused. Really confused. When you start to speak three different languages in one sentence. You are confused. My brain is working like a damp-machine day in and day out. It is working on high speed, and sometimes the turbo sets in as-well. The spanish language is starting to hunt me. The first thing I think about in the morning is...well...spanish. The last thing? Yeah...you guessed it. It is like a stream. A stream of words going in and out of my head. Some of them stay. Some are leaving right away. The good thing is that the amount of “staying” words are increasing day by day, and the amount of outgoing sentences are also increasing.

This is the feeling of learning a new language where the language is. This is the feeling of happiness and joy for me who have been, and is still pushing myself to learn this language. It is not easy. I have to say, really, it is a lot of work. BUT, I am getting there...little by little.

It has been a dream, but it is not a dream anymore!

2008-10-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Imagine yourself in this position: You use the whole weekend to pack and say goodbye to your family and friends. It’s a lot of work, but you have to do it. You have never been in this situation before. Everything is totally new. The fact that you are going to leave everything for seven months scares you a bit, but you can’t really understand it. It’s so strange. You feel like you are going on a normal two week vacation, but you’re not. This is real. You try to tell yourself that this is real. No dream. It’s not a dream! Still it is a dream. You have been waiting for this so long. For the last six months. You have been walking around thinking. How is it going to be. Will I learn to speak spanish? Will I be a good volunteer at Alalay? You can never find the answer. You realize that the answer is that you can not know. You have to live your life day by day and see. You just have to do your best. No one can demand anything more from you. You can only be your best.

You arrive in Lima around 16.30 local time. You are tired. Extremely tired. You have been more or less awake for the last 36 hours. You have been traveling for a total of 22 hours, and the excitement of finally being in Lima makes you feel a false refreshing energy in your body. You meet the staff from the Stromme foundations office in Lima. They are so nice to you. Smiling. Greeting you in the Peruian way. You really fight your heavy eyebrows to try to be nice back. It works in a way. Luckily. Then you get into a car and drive to your host family. You meet Lima for the first time. Looking out of the tinted windows of the car you see a new world. You can’t really figure out what it is, but it is okay for now. After a 40 minute drive you are finally there. You are ready to meet the family you are going to spend three weeks with. You don’t have words for how nice they are. They show you the house. It is nice too. They make you a meal and you sit and talk. Some in english, some in spanish. You go to bed and you think to yourself; What an amazing day. So lucky I am to be here. Thank you so much for everything God. You are just amazing!
Then you fall to sleep with peace in your mind, and a big smile on your face.

På kanten av stupet

2008-09-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

Nå har jeg vært her på Hald i ca 4 uker, og tiden for å reise til praksisplassen begynner å nærme seg. Jeg begynner å bli klar nå. Veldig klar. Snart forlater jeg landet for syv måneder. Syv måneder uten det norske og kjente.

Før jeg begynte på Hald tenkte jeg at disse seks forberedelsesukene kun var en slags ventetid før jeg skulle dra, men der har jeg på mange måter tatt grundig feil. Vi har faktisk undervisning. Undervisning som er helt fantastisk bra! Jeg har blitt så positivt overrasket over hvor gjennomført alt er. Vi har engasjerende fag som er relatert til det vi skal gjøre i 7 månedene som kommer. Vi har skole fra kl. 9 til kl. 16 mandag til fredag. Det kan kanskje høres mye ut, men det er det ikke. Dagene går så fort at jeg ikke klarer å holde styr på hvilken dag det er, og nå er foreberedelseskurset snart over.

Når vi ikke har skole så skjer det masse sosialt. Vi er mange nasjonaliteter her noe som gjør hald til en meget spesiell skole. Jeg føler nesten at jeg alerede er i utlandet siden det er så mange forskjellige mennesker på en plass.

Disse ukene her på hald har gjort meg mye mer klar for uteoppholdet. Jeg er klar nå. Så klar jeg kan bli. Snart gjenstår kun pakkingen. Følelsen jeg har i magen nå kan ikke beskrives. Det er alt på en gang, men jeg gleder meg aller mest til et fantastisk lærerikt år i Bolivia.

Hump i veien?

2008-07-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mye har skjedd i det siste. Eller kanskje det er mer riktig og si det stikk motsatte. Uansett, jeg hara den siste tiden brukt store deler av dagene til å lære spansk. Jeg lærer og lærer, prøver og prøver. For litt over en uke siden møtte jeg en skikkelig hump i veien. Jeg mistet stort sett all lyst på å lære språket. Det har rett og slett ikke gått så fort framover nå som det har gjort tidligere. Mye av grunnen er nok at nå kan jeg det meste av strukturen og sånt, og trenger å begynne å sette det ut i praksis. Denne demotiverte holdningen førte til at studiene ble lagt på hylla i godt over en uke. Helt til i dag. I dag fikk jeg nytt mot til å fortsette. Minimum to og en halv time per dag er målet, men det blir ofte mer. Nå begynner det å nærme seg med storm skritt, og jeg kan ikke så alt for masse. Mange jeg snakker med sier at det kommer til å gå lett som bare det når jeg kommer dit, men jeg vet ikke helt.

Jeg må innrømme at jeg egentlig er litt bekymret for spansk nivået. Når jeg tenker på det har jeg en ting å trøste meg med. Jeg er bedre i Spansk en Tysk. Tysk som jeg har hatt på skolen i to år kan jeg nesten like dårlig som jeg kan vietnamesisk, og vietnamesisken min er ikke særlig god. Likevel er målet mitt og kunne holde en vanlig samtale på spansk før jeg drar, men der er jeg ikke enda. Jeg vil snakke med folk når jeg kommer til Peru og Bolivia, og skal jeg klare det må jeg kunne språket.

Ellers har det for en god stund siden blitt bestemt at jeg skal til Santa Cruz. En by der det vistnok er veldig varmt. Blir sikkert bra, og jeg gleder meg masse. Jeg har store ambisjoner for oppholdet. Noen ganger tar jeg meg selv i bli litt for engasjert når jeg snakker med andre om det. Etter som jeg har studert gatebarn i stort sett alt jeg kan finne av bøker og internett ressurser har jeg blitt bare mer og mer interesert/opptatt av temaet. Dagene mine i sommer har stort sett sett ut som dette: 2-3 timer spansk. 2-3 timer studie om fattigdom og garebarn. 4 timer jobb. Har gått fint, men det kan bli litt lite tid for jobb, men det går greit når jeg jobber for meg slev.

Ok, nå er det mindre en 3 uker til jeg begynner på Hald. Gleder meg og er veldig spent på samme tid....

And it has begun!

2008-04-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Planen for neste år er klart. Jeg skal til Bolivia igjennom Hald Internasjonale senter. Nå er det ikke lenger noen tvil. Jeg har kommet inn, og jeg må lære meg spansk. Fort..Jeg kan egentlig ikke noe enda, men innen bare noen månder må jeg kunne snakke spansk. Jeg må. Når jeg kommer til Bolivia har jeg ikke noe valg. Kun spansk...Men Gud er med på reisen og det gjør at jeg ikke bekymrer meg i det hele tatt. Jeg vet at det kommer til å gå bra. I tillegg har jeg vært så heldig å få Marius med på turen. Det kunne ikke vært bedre. Det kunne rett og seltt ikke vært bedre...

Jeg skal jobbe som voluntør hos Alalay i Bolivia. Alalay er en organisasjon som jobber med gatebarn i byene La Paz og Santa Cruz. Det er under strømmestiftelsens program ACT NOW jeg skal reise. Det begynner med et 6 ukers forbredelseskur på Hald i mandal, før det bærer til Peru der jeg skal ha en mnd spanskurs. Deretter blir det 6 mnd arbeid med gatebarn i Bolivia før det hele rundes av med et 6 mnd avsluttningskurs på hald.

Mer info:
www.hald.no

Det er fattigdomsbekjempelse som står på programmet. Hald sin visjon er GO - LEARN - BECOME. Jeg skal lære...masse. Samtidig som jeg forhåpenligvis får mulighet til å gi noe. Jeg gleder meg kjempe masse og jeg kan nesten ikke vente med å få lært meg spansk. Får lurt inn litt mellom eksamens/tentamens rushet for tiden : )

MORE TO COME!