We want to thank everyone who has commented on the blog and emailed us with their well wishes and with their prayers. You don't know how much your words encourage us when we are falling out of bed before a long, wet day, or when we are slogging our way up a long climb - thank you and keep them coming! We encourage everyone to make their comments to us by using the "Comment" feature at the bottom of each Blog entry. This way, all of the comments will be preserved on the website and your encouragement will continue for years to come!
Today, rather than blogging about us, we wanted to focus on some true Heros - El Jordán.
Today, rather than blogging about us, we wanted to focus on some true Heros - El Jordán.
The True Heros of Our Trip - Corina Clements and some of the Staff & Volunteers of El Jordán
As you know, we are hoping that through our ride, we can raise awareness of and support for the El Jordán Centre, located in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The staff and street kids at El Jordán are excited and are following our adventures from South America. Corina passed on some of the concerns that have been expressed by some of the kids at the centre. They are worried that maybe robbers will come along and steal from us, while others worry that we have to carry all of our things and wonder if a car will come along to carry all our stuff!
Following is an extract from their website regarding our trek, and also explaining how even a small contribution can go a long way to helping street kids in the poorest country in South America. Please read it carefully and we would truly appreciate if you could visit our Donate page and make a contribution to help them in their work.
Cam & Ken's Cross-Canada Adventure!
(Website Link: http://www.eljordan.org/news_en/canandken.htm)
JUNE/JULY 2013: Two men… two Trek bikes… and over 6,000 kms… and 60 days… Check out Cam and Ken’s Cross Canada Adventure at www.camandkenscrosscanadaadventure.weebly.com!!! They are riding their bikes ACROSS CANADA!!!! ...and they have chosen to include EL JORDAN in their adventure!!!
Thank you so much Cam and Ken!!! We are following you from afar… and are excited that you can fulfill this personal dream of yours… and at the same time, let other people know about what is happening here in Bolivia.
If you would like to encourage Cam and Ken in their adventure by making a donation to our mission, here area few ideas of how far that money can go …
$10 – would buy a bag of cement for someone building their “room”… (Some of our students are getting to the point of “settling down” – buying a lot in the outskirts of the city where land is the cheapest… and for the first time in their lives, they have a place to call their own… Their house usually starts out as one room made out of wood… and eventually they try to build a room or two out of brick… (For the basic construction of a 5 x 4 meter room, they need 25 bags of cement…)
$20 – would buy 100 oranges, 10 dozen bananas, 100 pieces of bread and 10 liters of milk to be used for snacks for the people (and their kids) that come to learn skills at El Jordan. This would last us less than a week. $20 could also buy 70 apples… or 96 snack packs of OREO cookies for a treat!!!
$50 – would help a child in elementary school with their school books, uniform and a good portion of their school supplies for the year. Most of women who come to El Jordan, trying to get off the streets for good, are motivated by their children, not wanting them to suffer in the same ways they did… Many of “our girls” never had the chance to finish elementary school… but want their kids to have that opportunity… But when it is a struggle to put food on the table (if they have a table!), school supplies seem almost an impossibility to obtain… We are almost half way through our school year and yet there are quite a few kids who still don’t have their textbooks… Most of the kids get home from school and have to wash their uniform right away so they can wear it again the next day… (School supplies for high school students are almost double.)
$100 – would pay a half-time wage for the ladies we had to call in to help us with taking care for the babies who come with their moms… We offer child care for the girls who come to learn at our center. Most of our girls have at least 3 or 4 kids… We have close to 40 kids under 3 years old… Fortunately, they all don’t come on the same day… but we need help especially in the afternoons when we have larger classes… Our girls wouldn’t be able to learn new things if there wasn’t someone to look after their kids… If they didn’t learn anything new, they would continue in the same vicious cycle… and their kids would most likely follow in their footsteps…
$200 – would pay our light and water bill for a month at our center for girls.
$300 – would keep out the cold. A bale of sweatshirts (used, good quality – from North America) could keep many of our kids and young people warm this winter… Our weather might not seem extreme, but when it gets cold and damp for a week or two on end… and your “house” has no heating… and your clothes never get completely dry… a nice warm hoodie is a perfect gift…
We also have several GENERAL FUNDS:
EMERGENCY MEDICAL FUND: Unfortunately, when talking about health needs in Bolivia, it is not uncommon to hear comments like, “If you don’t have money, you could die…” In the state hospitals, for any medical procedure, the patient is required to provide everything from the surgical gloves, cat gut, anesthesia, IV fluids, and the list goes on… At El Jordan, we try to be “family” to these kids who have grown up with the streets as their home… Being family means being there in the good and bad… in sickness and health…
BUS FARE FUND: 25 cents for a bus fare doesn’t seem like much… but for the people who come to El Jordan, it is 4 pieces of bread… or 6 bananas… It is a sacrifice. What if they take two buses to get to El Jordan… and two to get home… You’re talking about a $1 now… and that could buy a notebook for their kid in school… or could buy a pound of chicken for their lunch… Some students (and even volunteers) honestly don’t have that money… and we encourage them with a bus fare “scholarship”…
EQUIPMENT FOR OUR BOY’S WORKSHOPS: For years we have realized our need to work with the men as well… not just the women and children… Our desire is to have healthy, united families. In 2010 we finally were able to buy land for workshops… Construction is done… and now we are working with a small number of young men while we finish setting up our workshops (welding, carpentry and leather). We still lack different machines to complete our shops…
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS… please write to [email protected].
THANKS again Cam and Ken…
And THANKS to everyone who pledged or gave towards El Jordan…
Following is an extract from their website regarding our trek, and also explaining how even a small contribution can go a long way to helping street kids in the poorest country in South America. Please read it carefully and we would truly appreciate if you could visit our Donate page and make a contribution to help them in their work.
Cam & Ken's Cross-Canada Adventure!
(Website Link: http://www.eljordan.org/news_en/canandken.htm)
JUNE/JULY 2013: Two men… two Trek bikes… and over 6,000 kms… and 60 days… Check out Cam and Ken’s Cross Canada Adventure at www.camandkenscrosscanadaadventure.weebly.com!!! They are riding their bikes ACROSS CANADA!!!! ...and they have chosen to include EL JORDAN in their adventure!!!
Thank you so much Cam and Ken!!! We are following you from afar… and are excited that you can fulfill this personal dream of yours… and at the same time, let other people know about what is happening here in Bolivia.
If you would like to encourage Cam and Ken in their adventure by making a donation to our mission, here area few ideas of how far that money can go …
$10 – would buy a bag of cement for someone building their “room”… (Some of our students are getting to the point of “settling down” – buying a lot in the outskirts of the city where land is the cheapest… and for the first time in their lives, they have a place to call their own… Their house usually starts out as one room made out of wood… and eventually they try to build a room or two out of brick… (For the basic construction of a 5 x 4 meter room, they need 25 bags of cement…)
$20 – would buy 100 oranges, 10 dozen bananas, 100 pieces of bread and 10 liters of milk to be used for snacks for the people (and their kids) that come to learn skills at El Jordan. This would last us less than a week. $20 could also buy 70 apples… or 96 snack packs of OREO cookies for a treat!!!
$50 – would help a child in elementary school with their school books, uniform and a good portion of their school supplies for the year. Most of women who come to El Jordan, trying to get off the streets for good, are motivated by their children, not wanting them to suffer in the same ways they did… Many of “our girls” never had the chance to finish elementary school… but want their kids to have that opportunity… But when it is a struggle to put food on the table (if they have a table!), school supplies seem almost an impossibility to obtain… We are almost half way through our school year and yet there are quite a few kids who still don’t have their textbooks… Most of the kids get home from school and have to wash their uniform right away so they can wear it again the next day… (School supplies for high school students are almost double.)
$100 – would pay a half-time wage for the ladies we had to call in to help us with taking care for the babies who come with their moms… We offer child care for the girls who come to learn at our center. Most of our girls have at least 3 or 4 kids… We have close to 40 kids under 3 years old… Fortunately, they all don’t come on the same day… but we need help especially in the afternoons when we have larger classes… Our girls wouldn’t be able to learn new things if there wasn’t someone to look after their kids… If they didn’t learn anything new, they would continue in the same vicious cycle… and their kids would most likely follow in their footsteps…
$200 – would pay our light and water bill for a month at our center for girls.
$300 – would keep out the cold. A bale of sweatshirts (used, good quality – from North America) could keep many of our kids and young people warm this winter… Our weather might not seem extreme, but when it gets cold and damp for a week or two on end… and your “house” has no heating… and your clothes never get completely dry… a nice warm hoodie is a perfect gift…
We also have several GENERAL FUNDS:
EMERGENCY MEDICAL FUND: Unfortunately, when talking about health needs in Bolivia, it is not uncommon to hear comments like, “If you don’t have money, you could die…” In the state hospitals, for any medical procedure, the patient is required to provide everything from the surgical gloves, cat gut, anesthesia, IV fluids, and the list goes on… At El Jordan, we try to be “family” to these kids who have grown up with the streets as their home… Being family means being there in the good and bad… in sickness and health…
BUS FARE FUND: 25 cents for a bus fare doesn’t seem like much… but for the people who come to El Jordan, it is 4 pieces of bread… or 6 bananas… It is a sacrifice. What if they take two buses to get to El Jordan… and two to get home… You’re talking about a $1 now… and that could buy a notebook for their kid in school… or could buy a pound of chicken for their lunch… Some students (and even volunteers) honestly don’t have that money… and we encourage them with a bus fare “scholarship”…
EQUIPMENT FOR OUR BOY’S WORKSHOPS: For years we have realized our need to work with the men as well… not just the women and children… Our desire is to have healthy, united families. In 2010 we finally were able to buy land for workshops… Construction is done… and now we are working with a small number of young men while we finish setting up our workshops (welding, carpentry and leather). We still lack different machines to complete our shops…
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS… please write to [email protected].
THANKS again Cam and Ken…
And THANKS to everyone who pledged or gave towards El Jordan…