Visit to Milton - World Vision

This is going to be going to be one of my longest posts, but it is probably the most important story of our adventure. So bare with me as I tell this story.


Last spring, Wyatt was baptised. As a special gift, Bill "adopted" a child, through World Vision, in Wyatt's name. Since Mom and Dad were in Bolivia, he choose a child from there. It turns out the child is actually from a village not far from Cochabamba, where Mom and Dad are. When we were making plans for this trip, we thought it would be an amazing experience for us to visit him.


So our visit was yesterday, July 22nd, and it was incredible. We wanted to take the family gifts, so before the visit we went to the market.





Here Jordan and Mom are buying grains, sugar, flour, etc. As you can see in this picture, you have to buy it by the kilo. It does not come pre-packaged. We had also gone with Bill at home and bought the kids American candy, coloring books, cars, dolls, stuffed animals, soccer ball, etc.



So yesterday, two trucks picked us up at 8:30 in the morning. The Director of World Vision- Turaque, the village where Milton lives, and a translator drove Wyatt and I in one truck and the office manager and the agricultural director drove mom and Jordan in the other truck.

After an hour drive, we arrive at the ADP (World Vision) office. Very nice but bare minimum. They were all waiting for us and served us breakfast of bread and cheese made by the village. We were going to have a long day and they wanted to make sure we were fed. They introduced us to everyone who worked there including the education director, the nutritionist, and the chaplain. All very nice and so welcoming. They kept saying how grateful they were for our visit, when really it was we who were honored. We were given ADP or PDA hats to wear to identify us as World Vision people. You will see us wearing them in the pictures.


Here we are sharing cheese and bread. They explained that they hired women in the village to make the bread and cheese, and then they would deliver it to the schools and each child would receive a roll for breakfast. I explained to Jordan and Wyatt that the children did not have choice of cereal or pancakes, etc. like they do. Just one roll, every morning.

After our "meal" we then traveled to one of their "projects". They wanted to show us where some of our donation monies were going. Another 20 minutes away, on a rough dirt road, they were very proud to show off a village of 34 homes. Each home had a greenhouse and a reservoir that World Vision had helped them build. The reservoir helped supply water during the dry seasons for their crops and animals and the greenhouses helped feed their families. These "simple" additions to the village make life possible for these families. It was great to see how proud they were of these accomplishments and I was so grateful to have been a very small help.

Wyatt in one of the greenhouses where they grow celery, strawberries, tomatoes, etc. to help feed their families. Other harder plants such as barley and potatoes were grown in the fields.

One of the 34 reservoirs that literally supplies life to this village. The reservoirs are built to collect rain water during the rainy season and to last through their dry season, which is now.

A view out the truck window gives a perspective of how dry and desolate the landscape is.

Another "project" of world vision is to supply schools and pre-schools to the villages. We were honored to stop by one of the pre-schools on our way to Milton's house. It was crazy to see the conditions these children were learning in. My job is to make sure the conditions of Sierra Vista KDO is up to and above state codes so to see these children with dirty faces and dirt floors, no windows and no heat was crazy to me. Yet they were happy and learning and so sweet. It is such a big deal for World Vision to offer such a facility and I can not express how grateful I am that they do. Pre-school is so important and they are doing a wonderful job with what they have.

The children were making these cute little ducks when we got there. You can see by the walls that they are teaching. The teacher was very proud of her students and showed off scrapbooks, YES, a type of scrapbook that she was doing on each child keeping track of their work. What a saint. One of the mother's of the children had prepared us a traditional drink made of corn. It was very sweet but we knew what an honor that was so we drank.

It was very hard for me to leave the school. I could have stayed there all day playing with these kids. I love my job working with kids and these children.... well I truly can not explain how they touched my heart.

We then were on our way to Milton's house. We were told that we had to go on another road because the one we were on was too dangerous. We drive for another hour on the worst "road" I have ever been on. I would not even call it a road. We are told that Milton's family even poorer then the families we have seen so far. I can not even imagine this, as we have seen poor already. We are also told that Milton walks this "road" to school everyday, taking him 1-2 hours.

Here is the first view we get of Milton's house. Where the dark shadow is, is actually a little valley with a tiny creek where the family gets their water. I mean a tiny trickle of water.

We are introduced to the family and then taken into their house because the wind is blowing like crazy (but we are told it is actually a very warm day). The house is actually a two room (but you have to go outside to get to the other room) adobe home. The father made the home out of mud and straw bricks, that he made. The roof is made of branches and the doors are just pieces of wood. The room we are taken to is actually the bedroom. It is just big enough for two full beds. Five people live in this room. There is no dresser, the clothes are hanging on rope from the ceiling. If you look behind Wyatt and Milton, you will see potatoes piled in the corner to keep dry. I am sitting on the other bed, that is how close they are together.

Here Wyatt and Milton are getting to know each other. Milton speaks a traditional language of
Quechua'. The Chaplin for World Vision translates to Spanish to our translator and then she translates to English, making communication very difficult but we managed. Milton was very shy at first. I can only imagine how strange this all must have been.

Here we are still in the bedroom handing out the gifts we brought. The two girls are Milton's sisters. We brought gifts for them as well. The doll the little one is holding speaks in Spanish and English, she did not let it go of the doll the whole time we were there. Other than a stuffed car I saw on the bed, the toys we brought were the only ones I saw in the tiny room.

After a bit, the mother brought us out a bowl of food. It was potatoes, pasta, onion, tomato, and the white is cheese. It was good but hard to eat knowing what a great "expense" to the family it was to feed us. We ate, as to not insult, and I was very humbled by her hospitality.

Running the width of the home, on the outside, is this bench. She had it covered in blankets that were woven by her, with wool she made from her sheep. This is where we sat to eat. She also served us a traditional drink made from barley. It was sweet and hot and we were told it was a very religious drink.

When mom and I brought our bowls to the other room of the house, we found the kitchen. As you can see, mom is warming herself by the "stove". There is no table, no sink, no refrigerator. In fact, we later discussed that there was not even an outhouse.

This is the other side of the kitchen. You can see the remains of their preparing our lunch.

After lunch we walked up the hill to their field. Here they are demonstrating how they get the barley off the stalk. The "broom" she is brushing the barley with is homemade along with many of the tools he uses. The field is plowed with their cow sometimes but most of the time by him with her guiding it. These people work so hard to try and feed their family. It is so humbling. They keep a lot of the barley as food for themselves and their sheep and then sell the rest to buy other supplies. They also have a potato field that helps supply them with food. Later the mother gave mom three bags of potatos. We hated to take it, knowing it would feed them for weeks, but did not want to seem rude.

Jordan and Wyatt are showing the kids how to do a puzzle. Milton is loving one the suckers we gave him. His little sister ate candy and cookies the whole time we were there. Our World Vision "guides" explained how sugar is a great expense and that the parents can not afford it for the children. I hope she did not have a tummy ache after we left. We also brought the kids jacks and that was fun watching Wyatt teach them how to play.

Milton then took great pride in showing off his sheep. If you go back up to the picture of the house you see a rounded rock wall attached to the house, this is the sheep pen. This picture looks dirty because it was that windy-dirty.

Here is all of us: Milton's mother, father, older sister, me, Jordan, Wyatt, Milton, his younger sister, and mom. At one point mom had the girls outside and their poor checks were so dry, mom pulled out lotion from her purse and was putting lotion on them. They loved it. Of course, mom gave them the lotion.

The little sister was so cute. She was not shy and loved it when mom or Jordan would tickle her.

Wyatt and Milton saying goodbye. I kept telling Wyatt it was time to go and he did not want to leave. When they finally said goodbye, Milton's eyes welled up. There was not a dry eye there. Every one's heart was touched, and I pray that these children remember each other, and that all their lives are changed. I know I am.

A note about World Vision: I have always been leery about sending money to organizations. You know, wondering how much money really goes to the children and if they really are helping. I can not say enough good things about World Vision. Our experience could not have been better and there is no doubt in my mind that the money we send is changing lives. If you ever feel a calling to donate to an organization, I strongly recommend you look into World Vision. You could see the love in the the workers eyes for these families and I have now personally seen the good they are doing.