Happy New Year to all of our wonderful supporters! We do hope that you managed to find some rest and time with family/friends over the festive period, even if it did have to be somewhat virtually this year.
We are often asked how the Alalay family are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. And we thought that there was no-one better to tell you than the children (and staff) themselves. The video includes a guest appearance by Darleny, the wonderful housemother who we have supported for the past years in her vital work looking after our children day-to-day… and an introduction from Annie, Founder/Director of “Friends of Alalay (Santa Cruz)”, registered in 2006 to support the Bolivian Alalay Foundation in their vital work with former street-connected children.
It’s always so exciting when someone from the Alalay family fulfils their dreams and takes another step into adulthood, and with so much uncertainty across the World right now, we were even more pleased than usual to get some positive news from Bolivia.
We are thrilled to announce that two of our Alalay family have passed their final exams and “graduated” from secondary school, just in time for Christmas! The two students have worked incredibly hard throughout their school years, even having to move to virtual learning during the pandemic. It felt therefore even more special that representatives from their Alalay family and close friends/family were able to join them on the day. And in the aldea (out-of-town centre where all of the children are currently living in one “bubble” due to COVID-19) a big celebratory lunch was organised so that everyone could join in the celebrations. A truly memorable ocassion and something towards which the younger (and/or newer) children can aim.
In line with our child protection policies, we’re not revealing the names of the young people, but we are of course, super proud of them and all that they have achieved so far… and very excited to see what they will do next! 🙂
Read more about how our supported children and staff team at Alalay are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic by reading our Autumn 2020 supporters’ newsletter (click image below to download). Despite all of the difficulties, it also contains lots of positive and cheerful news!
Every quarter we send out a similar short newsletter with the most up-to-date information regarding Alalay, the kids, events and our supported projects. Click here to read our newsletters dating back to 2012. If you would be interested in receiving a copy direct to your Inbox, or have any comments/ideas for improvement, please do contact us. We never reveal email addresses or ask for money.
Find out the answers to these questions and many more, by watching the following video, recently recorded for the UN Virtual World Data Forum 2020. It offers a fascinating insight into how vulnerable children (like those living/working on the streets, alongside those in institutions or internally displaced) have become even more hidden and invisible in data, why this matters when looking at COVID-19 responses, and how better data can enable better policies at all levels.
“[…] for example, when we say that 91% of children are currently enrolled in primary school or […] when we talk about the 260 million children out of school today, street-connected children are not part of these figures, not even in the numbers that are out of school, they remain invisible altogether. Without data we are unable to plan for them and their unique needs, they’re simply left behind” (Lizet Vlamings, Head of Advocacy and Research, Consortium for Street Children)
In the coming weeks, there are numerous free webinars taking place bringing together a wealth of global experts to discuss street-connected children and the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have time, I would highly recommend attending!
On Wednesday 28 November, Dynamo International (Street Workers’ Network) is running four thematic webinars (English/French/Spanish) on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people in street situations: click here to sign up / find out more.
And 2 – 4 November, the Consortium for Street Children is running their annual network conference virtually, with sessions also linked to work during the pandemic, covering innovative approaches to children’s learning; mental health and wellbeing; discrimination; and government’s human rights obligations: click here to read the full programme / sign up for sessions.
Links to both will also be shared via our Facebook page nearer to the time so please follow us. One positive of the pandemic is that these sessions can now so easily bring together global experts and interested others into one space for real learning.
The biggest FELICIDADES (Congratulations!) to the Alalay Foundation’s Founder / Director Claudia Gonzales and her incredible team who have helped so many thousands of children over the past thirty years. It was Claudia’s vision back in 1990 to offer street-connected children a home, love, family and education; and she continues to dedicate her life to them. Nowadays, Alalay supports over 1000 children each year – giving them hope for a better future. Only today we found out that a number of our oldest supported children have gained scholarships (from a prestigious Bolivian bank) to support them through University (more information coming soon!)
If you have a few spare minutes, I would highly recommend having a look at Alalay’s “Memories of Alalay” 30th anniversary website (released today) which features photos, testimonials and short videos from staff and children, past and present – including a fair few from Santa Cruz.
One of my most poignant testimonials was the following:
“Alalay I want to thank you for giving me back my hope, for allowing my heart to be reborn, for giving me a second chance… Today, thanks to your love and understanding and above all, to that hug from my Guardian Angel “Clau” [Claudia, Alalay founder], today I am a person who is eager to live… Thank you for getting me out of the cold, from the cruelty of society, thank you for being the light in the midst of so much pain. Alalay, my wish for you is that you continue to be the hope for the many children who are still on the streets not because they are bad, but because someone killed them while they were alive”.
Silvia Macias, Alalay graduate, La Paz.
… which quite simply, says it all.
Friends of Alalay is so pleased to have been part of their journey for the past 14 years… Here’s to many more, together!
Wonderful long-term Alalay supporter and world famous cellist Michael Jones continues to support kids, even during the COVID-19 pandemic!
Michael first visited Alalay in 2012, where he played a magical concert to our children who were enthralled by Bach (the vast majority had never even seen a cello in real life, let alone been allowed to touch one!)… He then offered his incredible talent at an unforgettable concert in Bristol, where we raised over £6,000 in one night… And in 2016, Michael returned to Bolivia, playing a fundraising concert at the reknowned Lorca Cafe and joining Alalay’s “street work” team (to speak with children still living on the streets, encouraging them to visit Alalay when they are ready)…
And now, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and concerts are sadly cancelled… Michael has decided to do something different for his birthday this year – a cycling fundraiser to raise funds for Alalay!
In his own words:
“I plan to do a sponsored cycle ride from Madrid to Chinchon, 50 km, during this ‘non concert’ ‘non travel’ period. Please sponsor me per km or the whole 50 km and help me to raise something for Alalay, the charity which saves and feeds many street kids in Bolivia and for whom I have played at their orphanage in Santa Cruz and seen first hand their amazing work… I will post details and pics of my ride across the mountains and ask sponsors to pay Alalay directly if I complete the course.. Pant pant, unhealthy cellist.”
As you can imagine, with our usual fundraising events unable to take place, creative ideas like this are vital to ensure Alalay can continue their life-changing work. Many of Alalay’s other donors have currently stopped all funding and we are having to make serious decisions every day to save costs (read more about measures taken so far HERE). Any donation (big or small) will make the biggest difference to the Alalay kids during this (even more difficult than usual) COVID time.
To see photos and updates of Michael’s progress, please follow his fundraiser page HERE. We will also share progress via our Facebook page. To donate to his fantastic efforts, if possible we’d currently prefer donations via our normal JustGiving page HERE(please mark any donations with “Michael’s fundraiser”) while we master the Facebook donations system!
Good luck Michael! The Alalay team in Bolivia, Bristol and around the World are cheering you on! 🚴🏆
COVID-19 continues to spread in Bolivia and specifically Santa Cruz (where our children live) – with 19 deaths in the region yesterday (15 August) and 59,505 current cases in the country as a whole (current statistics HERE in Spanish). There is a major blood donation push to ensure enough blood is available nationwide for treatment of those who become ill. We are extremely pleased to report that currently all of our staff and children remain well.
In these difficult times the Alalay family recently sent us some brilliant videos to tell us about the new measures they have put in place to protect themselves from the virus. We will share these with our supporters over the coming weeks, but for the meantime we leave you with this lovely message – thanking Friends of Alalay for our support thus far.
We could not have done it without you!
It is our first time doing subtitles and creating a new YouTube channel, so please excuse the slight glitches! We will learn 😃
After our most recent COVID-19 update and sharing of the Consortium for Street Children’s report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Children in Street Situations (read more HERE), we spoke to Alalay staff to find out how they are managing “street work” during the pandemic, to protect themselves and those still on the streets. In pre-COVID times, this vital stage in the Alalay journey involves street workers spending time on the streets interacting with the children and young people living/working working there. They talk and maybe play with them or share some food, building up trust and a relationship with the children, and encouraging them to visit Alalay (only if this is desired by the child themselves).
During the pandemic all normal street work has been temporarily suspended by the state. Instead, members of Alalay’s street work team have been supporting online training of the police, while discussing how and when normal activities can resume (with appropriate PPE). [Alalay had already been working with the police for some time pre-COVID to ensure all police officers know how to treat those living on the street and where appropriate support can be accessed]. The government has also opened a temporary centre where people living on the streets can get medical attention, food and somewhere to sleep [this centre normally only functions during the Winter months, during which time it receives weekly support from the Alalay street worker].
In normal times, children living at Alalay are encouraged to maintain contact with their biological family (with supervision, and where it is safe to do so) and Alalay organizes family visits and events. However, this has now moved to video calls only – outside visits have been temporarily suspended so as to protect everyone.
If any new child is brought into Alalay during this time, they have a COVID-19 test and the child is kept safely isolated for a period of time to ensure they show no symptoms before joining the Alalay family. All of our children continue to participate in online training and receive educational support from Alalay staff to ensure they do not fall behind in their studies. Most importantly, everyone remains well at Alalay in Santa Cruz, although sadly cases in the region continue to grow – as of 28 July, the region had registered 33,084 confirmed cases, and 33 x COVID-19 deaths were confirmed yesterday alone (see the latest countrywide and regional figures HERE).
Find out more about Alalay’s normal street work methodology, protection and prevention programmes HERE.
Yesterday’s figures (above) from the Bolivian Ministry of Health show that sadly Santa Cruz de la Sierra remains the region with by far the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in Bolivia (almost 25,000 compared with the next closest La Paz with 6,703 cases).
We remain in constant contact with Alalay and are very happy to report that all of our children and staff continue to take preventative measures against the virus and remain in good health.
However, how about those children who are not yet supported by Alalay and remain on the streets?
The Consortium for Street Children (CSC – a global network of 148+ organisations continuously fighting for the rights of street children worldwide), recently submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the Impact of COVID-19 on Children in Street Situations, drawing on evidence gathered by CSC Network Members.
In their words:
“The COVID-19 pandemic and responses to it have brought new risks to children in street situations unlike any we have ever seen before. This population, already vulnerable before the onset of the pandemic, has largely been forgotten in emergency preparedness and response. As a result, children in street situations face devastating direct and indirect consequences of this pandemic.
Directly, these children are at increased risk of contracting the virus due to their limited ability to take preventative measures, and of developing complications if they contract the virus due to underlying health conditions and compromised immune systems.
Indirectly, with support services being shut down in many countries and children being persecuted and criminalised or otherwise punished for not having a home in which to isolate themselves, they are put at increased risk of harm by the very measures governments have put in place to keep people safe. Pushed to the margins and with no means at all to make any money to provide for themselves as the rest of the community stays at home, children in street situations are at increased risk of hunger and exploitation by adults.”
Read the insightful complete CSC submission and recommendations HERE.
Alalay, UNICEF Bolivia and other organisations continue to develop and distribute child-friendly materials and resources for families and young people to educate themselves about COVID-19 and preventative measures. However, there is so much more still to do, to ensure everyone remains safe – on the streets and beyond.
We’ve just sent our latest newsletter out to supporters and (perhaps unsurprisingly) it mainly talks about our and the Alalay Foundation’s response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Simply click on the image below to read the newsletter (my email cover note is found below).
I do hope that you find this newsletter of interest. Once more I couldn’t squeeze it into my target of one page – there’s so much to say! However, I’m hopeful that when my next one comes out in the Autumn I will be able to continue with good news about reductions in the virus in Bolivia and further good news about what we are achieving, and get it onto one page!
I always welcome comments and ideas for improving the newsletter.
Best wishes
Annie
At any time, please click HERE to read all of our past quarterly newsletters, starting from 2012. And do CONTACT US if you would like to receive our update newsletters direct to your Inbox / home – they are sent out quarterly, are one-page long (in normal times!) and never ask for money, simply give a short update of news.
Friends of Alalay - working with Bolivian street kids
2 days 3 hours ago
Tomorrow Elli is running in the Bristol half marathon to support our with Bolivian street-connected children! She’s so close to her target, so please do
Help Elli Morley raise money to support Friends of Alalay (Santa Cruz)
Friends of Alalay - working with Bolivian street kids
3 months 2 weeks ago
**This Friday 24th January in Bristol** Support Bolivian street children as you sup, all while listening to beautiful music. Bar monies go to help the
Friends of Alalay - working with Bolivian street kids
4 months 2 weeks ago
Wishing all of our wonderful supporters around the World love, peace and joy this Christmas. We remain ever grateful for your encouragement: helping us give
