You may recall that I visited the enchanting hidden gem that is Bolivia last October and during my trip I spent time with the street kids in Santa Cruz. Here I met with Annie Syrrett (founder of the UK charity ‘Friends of Alalay - Santa Cruz) who talked me through the fantastic work which is done for the many children of Santa Cruz. They are underprivileged and unfortunately have to beg and steal to survive on the streets in the drains where most use solvent abuse to ease their pains.
I took a Steppes football which I gave to the new arrivals at the boys centre and they were absolutely over the moon to own something of their own and as you probably know Latin Americans, like us, are fanatical about football. In addition I took over supplies of toothbrushes and toothpaste which was kindly donated by Colgate which was brilliant as they are taught how to brush their teeth. This is wonderful for the children as they do not have such privileges and the dental care is poor. I understand from Annie that the first time she introduced the children to toothbrushes they were ecstatic to own something and closely guarded these.
In short you can see this is a charity close to my heart where every penny goes towards helping these endearing children. One of Annie’s current projects is to renovate a cabin, in need of dire repair as a new medical centre just an hour outside of Santa Cruz . Here they are working towards being more self-sufficient with keeping chickens and soon pigs plus their own vegetable patch.
A medical centre will provide even more security for the street children and of course generate more money for food, clothes and education. This will also dual as volunteer and overseas visitors accommodation plus school and educational visits.
So how can I help? Well I have decided to climb Ben Nevis later this month for the charity to help fund the medical centre renovation which is due to start in the next couple of months. I am aiming for Monday 14th June and hope to summit the same day.
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles at 1,344 metres and it will be peak midge season so it will certainly be a challenge for me! If you would like to donate to my challenge and the Bolivian street children please do so on the Just Giving website below, every penny shall go towards the medical centre and of course food and education for the children so every little helps!
CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR EMMA
Alalay have already had some success stories of street children heading off to University, studying law and IT and this is such a wonderful opportunity for these children who are not necessarily orphans but their parents are unable to help them due to alcoholism, prostitution or just financially.
www.alalay.co.uk