An update from Viviana

Dear all,

All our children are thriving, growing, changing. The home in Urubamba with our teenagers is very peaceful and centered; I attribute this to the excellent work performed by Kellye, a young woman showing always love and respect to the children.

I’m profoundly grateful when I see RUSBEL, 14, trusting Kellye to the point of leaning on her, of poking her on her arms, of laughing openly when she teases him; this boy comes from deep trauma and was unable to connect to others, was unable to accept loving touch; now he’s more trusting, happier, confident on himself. Rusbel is an Origami expert! and great at drawing and painting. 

LUIS, 16, in a hurry to be 18!! Falling in love and discovering the ways in which hearts and minds work; he’s strong-willed, challenging, and tender. Schoolwork is not his priority at this time, he was always eager to be the first in his class … he tells me that now girls distract him and his feelings don’t allow him to concentrate as much as before … this too will pass as he grows and learns to know himself.

SONQ’O, 16, is very happy about finally having surgery to correct his septum. His surgery is scheduled for this coming Saturday, October 5th. He will be having 3 different procedures at once: correct broken septum, remove abnormal growth on both sinuses, correct the tip of his nose. We’re going to Cusco on Saturday, will stay at an Airbnb for 2 or 3 days to prevent infections and then will move into the youth home for the remaining 2 days before going back to Urubamba. He looks forward to new beginnings; the experience of having lived with a broken nose has hindered his behavior and his relating to the external world.

SOLEDAD, 12, our youngest child is becoming a teenager!!! her moods are constantly changing, she’s becoming self-conscious, and very challenging. She enjoys school and her classmates, she’s becoming a great baker and often calls herself a “RepostPartera” (someone that in the future will be a Repostera (Pastry Baker) and a Midwife!) She tells us that after attending a birth she will shower new mothers with delicious pastries and deserts!!

MARLIT, 15, learning to live with and to love her sister Soledad. She’s excellent at school, sweet mannered, strong-willed and a cat lover! She’s a great caretaker of the two cats we have at home, one of them just had 3 kittens, and Marlit is busy finding new homes for the 3 although she works on convincing us to keep them at our home …

LISBET, 18, loves her Arts School, and proudly shares her accomplishments on drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and dance. She shines when she speaks about her learning and experiences at the University.

ADA, 18, working now as a hired help at a Vet’s clinic where she worked as a volunteer for a couple of months; she goes back and forth about deciding if to go or not into Veterinarian School. She’s threatened by the competitiveness of University life … we are working on overcoming that fear.

ERMELINDA, 22, she’s graduating from Chemical Engineering School doing her practicum at the University’s Cacao Processing Plant at the same time that she works on completing her thesis on Grey Water Treatment. She wants to go to Israel once she completes her current work, to learn about water treatment plants and ways to have available water in areas where the lack of it is a problem. Ermelinda continues to support us by coming every weekend to the Urubamba home to supervise the teens while Kellye, Avishai and I take a weekend break.  

ZENOBIA, 20, she completed her training at the Fine Pastry and Bread Institute, and is now looking for employment as well as continuing with her English and Dance classes. She’s beginning to participate in Festivals and other events where she’s able to sell her delicious products.

LEO, 24, he’s currently the “Cusco’s house chef”. He struggles to remain healthy and centered; his working for us is helping him to maintain his goals in place and he shows pride on what he does. Everyone at home is very happy and grateful for his cooking. We are VERY grateful to TRISJA MALISSOF for facilitating the necessary money for 6 months, to pay Leo a monthly salary. He’s also working with Zenobia at Festivals and events offering vegetarian, vegan, and omnivorous foods.

JOSE, 22, very busy completing work for Ninos del Sol, under the supervision and care of Lauren and Avishai. Jose is graduating at the end of the year as a Graphic Designer and is currently working as a volunteer at a Video Production Company.

BELISARIO, 21, an excellent, questioning, philosophical young man with very high grades at Economy School. Beli continues to be a College Star! He comes to the Urubamba home every weekend to be the private Sciences teacher for our high school kids in need of help with Math, Physics, Geometry, and Chemistry. Beli loves running and working out to strengthen his physical body to match his mental strength!

RAUL, 20, loving his advance at Tour Guides School, learning about Peruvian History and the mysteries of our ancient civilizations. He enjoys meeting new people, he’s charming and well informed. He’s currently working on learning English as he sees that this is an important language to learn to succeed in his field. Raul looks forward to graduating and working since he would like to eventually continue his education at the University’s Archeology School.  

JORGE, 20, hesitating to continue with the career at the International Business Administration School; he finds the business world “empty” and is looking into transferring to Psychology School. He’s profound and questioning, He looks deeply into “why am I here” and into “what is my aim in life”? Jorge is learning to connect to his brother Sonq’o and is being very supportive of him during this time of his upcoming surgery.    

A report on our kids away from home:

DORIS, very happy at Kibbutz Samar; learning and growing within!

MARIA FLOR comes and goes with her now 2 years old child; still unable to settle down. The great news are that she now shares life with her older sister

GUADALUPE who is working at INKA RAIL, one of the companies running the Machu Picchu trains.

SORAIDA is working at a local store in Urubamba, comes home often and spends some nights at home since she broke up with her partner.

RAYSHIEL, very happy, independent and looking into traveling outside of Peru … she tells us she may want to follow her younger sister Doris and go to Israel.

YULISSA and EXWAR, are now a couple and share life together with GUADALUPE and MARIA FLOR.

With love,
Viviana