Friends of Alalay (Santa Cruz)

Cases of COVID-19 have “surged” in Latin America in recent weeks, with the World Health Organisation declaring it to be the “new epicentre” of the pandemic. Although cases are currently highly concentrated in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Ecuador, we absolutely do not want to be complacent at how quickly the virus could spread.

According to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, as of 14 June there were 18,459 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 611 deaths in Bolivia. Of most concern to us, the Santa Cruz region has by far the highest number of cases and assessed highest risk level, meaning the regional authorities can enact additional measures if needed (11,424 confirmed cases, compared with the next highest region of Beni with 2,954 cases).

Of course, it is much too early to understand the reasons why there are fewer cases in Bolivia overall, and such a marked regional in-country difference – we would never even begin to guess with our limited medical knowledge. However, alongside innumerable other variables, Santa Cruz generally has good private hospitals (for those who can afford to pay) so perhaps has more testing; plus scientists are even probing the link between high altitude (such as La Paz and other regions) and low coronavirus cases. Read recent Financial Times article on this topic HERE.

The Bolivian nationwide lockdown has been extended, but with certain loosening of rules since the 1 June (for example, people are now allowed out between 05:00am and 18:00pm Monday-Friday, with more restrictions at the weekends). You can read more HERE (in English) or see the Bolivian Government special website HERE (Spanish). As previously, breaking the rules can mean fines or even prison sentences. However with such a fragile informal economy, I suspect people may take increased risks to feed their families. The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) mentions big gaps and challenges within the Latin American social and healthcare systems, including counterfeit tests and fatigue of local population regarding lockdown, alongside a serious lack of intensive care facilities and resources (PPE, laboratories). If interested, find out more by downloading latest PAHO report (1 June) HERE (specifically final page).

Although we understand that a strict lockdown needed to be in place (the healthcare system would not be able to cope with the virus otherwise), and now Bolivia needs to get the economy running, our worry is that the loosening of restrictions could mean increased infection rates in the coming weeks. It’s a tough decision either way.

We have made the unprecedented decision to send emergency funds to Alalay (more about this in latest newsletter, coming soon) as we want to ensure they can continue feeding, educating and looking after our kids, plus have the finances to support purchase of PPE or fund medical costs in a worse case scenario.

Alalay is continuing to follow strict protocols and carefully designed materials to educate and protect our children. After the tragic death of the husband of Alalay founder, Claudia Gonzales, we are taking no chances.

Despite a recent pronouncement by the World Health Organisation / PAHO that “The Americas remain at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. As of June 8, we have more than 3,3 million cases reported in the Region of the Americas, more than any other region around the world. Today we are home to nearly half of all COVID-19 cases“, we remain positive for our work and I am relieved and happy to say that so far we have managed to protect everyone at Alalay in Santa Cruz from the virus.

Most of our recent posts have been about hope and solidarity with our Alalay family in Bolivia during these uncertain times. We know that our kids are safe and well protected, but what about the many boys, girls and young people still on the streets? Or those who are not safe in their own homes across the World? This danger is increasingly prevalent as the crisis deepens and more people face health issues (physical and mental), loss of income and status, financial and food insecurity and fears for their future, amongst a multitude of other concerns.

This desperate article demonstrates the plight for many in Bolivia who do not have safety, care and protection, and is well worth a read: “In lockdown Bolivia, calls from abused girls flood hotline”.

Police says more than four dozen cases of violence against children have been reported on average a day in Bolivia since the lockdown began

Read more about this horrific (and sadly growing) worldwide “shadow pandemic” of violence against women and girls HERE (UN Women) and against children now trapped at home HERE (UNICEF) (in Spanish).

The below image was shared by the Alalay Foundation via their social media pages. It was published by the Bolivian State Attorney General and states “family violence is a crime”, offering telephone hotline numbers for those affected to ring. From 15 March – 12 April, Bolivian state agencies dealing with family violence reported attending to 1,216 cases of intra-family violence nationally during the quarantine, of which four had tragically ended in femicide. Watch a video about this report HERE (in Spanish).

Let’s all be alert to those facing danger at home (child or adult, near or far) and support them if we can (and it is safe to do so). Click HERE for some great resources about support in the UK if you (or anyone else) needs it during the current time.

We are still receiving beautiful rainbows of hope, solidarity and support from around the World thanks to some of our younger supporters 🌈 Here’s some from Australia, Dubai and Belgium.. We thank you all!

Our latest newsletter (downloadable by clicking HERE) tells you much more about how the Alalay kids and staff team are coping with COVID-19 thus far. You can always catch up with our previous newsletters HERE.

In an update to the newsletter, according to the latest figures (19 April) from the Bolivian Ministry of Health, Santa Cruz is currently the worst affected region in Bolivia with 290 confirmed cases (for comparison, 133 have been confirmed in La Paz region and 61 in Cochabamba region). The lockdown continues. 33 people have already died in the country.

We continue to be in constant contact with Alalay and will keep supporters updated.

We mentioned in our last post HERE about rainbows springing up in windows around the World as a symbol of hope, solidarity and support for key workers in this uncertain time.

After the recent sad news about the passing of the Alalay Foundation Founder’s husband from COVID-19, in just a few hours the Alalay kids painted their own beautiful rainbows of hope, love and gratitude from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, BOLIVIA 🇧🇴 …

We asked our Friends of Alalay supporters from all over the World to offer their rainbows in response, and you did us proud – young, old and everyone in between! From Bristol to Kyiv, Brussels to Portishead, Malaga to Mould, Dubai to Marsden, Sievierodonetsk to Halifax, Doynton to Emsworth, Marshfield to Merthyr Tydfil, East Grinstead to London…!

THANK YOU ALL!

This idea is for everyone (not just for kids!) so perhaps you could even try displaying one of your own in your window? Do contact us HERE or on Facebook if you want it included on our virtual “rainbow wall”.

Click on the links to see some examples from ITALY (where the trend is believed to have begun), SPAIN, SCOTLAND and some truly creative ideas from the REST OF THE WORLD.

Of course, this global COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented situation for all of us, and that includes the children supported by the Alalay Foundation in Bolivia.

According to the Bolivian Ministry of Health, as of yesterday (3rd April) there were 139 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country and 8 deaths (5 in Santa Cruz – the city in which our kids live, and 3 in La Paz, where Alalay also works), although sadly we suspect the real numbers will soon be much higher, as in the rest of the World. Bolivia is in serious lockdown to try to stop the spread of the virus: one person per household (aged 18-65) is allowed outside to buy food (between 7am-midday) one day per week, all public/private transport is prohibited (except health/security transport), and there are fines/imprisonment if rules are violated (read more about further restrictions HERE).

Although our children and staff team in Santa Cruz are currently all well and safe, we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of the husband of Mrs Claudia Gonzales (Alalay Foundation Founder/Executive Director) from COVID-19. He had recently returned from a trip to America, developed serious symptoms and was unable to access a respirator in time – his passing highlights the challenges in the Bolivian healthcare system to be able to deal with the pandemic. Click HERE for an interview with his family (in Spanish), plus read further reports about the situation in Latin America HERE (Spanish) and HERE (English). We send our sincere condolences to Claudia, her family and all at Alalay at this sad time.

We at Friends of Alalay continue to be in constant contact with the Alalay Foundation, and already plan to send additional emergency funds to Bolivia in case the situation worsens and medical supplies, transportation costs or other unforeseen activities are needed. As always, we will inform our supporters of any updates as soon as we can via this website and our Facebook page.

Alalay staff recently shared the following update with us:

“Thank you very much for your message of support to Claudia and all those at Alalay. We also thank you for caring about our boys and girls. Thanks to God, all of our boys and girls are currently healthy, following the quarantine rules in the aldea (out-of-town centre where the majority of the children live) and also following the COVID-19 prevention guidelines developed by Alalay. At the moment we have enough food, hygiene and cleaning products for everyone. Our next food shop is on the 15th April, and we are taking all of the necessary preventative measures for this activity. We are very grateful for your concern and we hope from the bottom of our heart that everyone is well there”.

Fortunately, the aldea has ample outdoor space so the children don’t feel locked in, and a variety of recreational, sporting and schoolwork activities are being organised by our fantastic house parents.

Our staff team is also protecting themselves and following the quarantine rules. Some staff are working from home rather than coming in daily to reduce risk to the children. But the house parents are, of course, staying with the children and doing an amazing job. Office-based staff keep in touch with them every day to find out how they are, if they need anything, and support them. Although Bolivia is in complete lockdown and all public transportation and private car use is prohibited, Alalay have special permission from the authorities to continue with their work.

Our thoughts remain with our Alalay family in Bolivia, plus the thousands of children, young people and adults living on the streets who cannot #stayathome and are already in a truly precarious and vulnerable situation. We hope to be able to somehow still support them too.

On a final more positive note, we told the Alalay kids about the current worldwide trend for people to display rainbows in their windows as a signal of hope, solidarity and support to key workers, and in just a few hours the Alalay children painted some beautiful rainbows of their own! We will share some of their designs over the coming weeks to keep us all (Alalay supporters, staff and kids) motivated around the world that —-> “all united we will beat this”.

🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈 🌈

Friends of Alalay was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of “Richi” (husband of the Alalay Foundation’s Founder/Executive Director, Mrs. Claudia Gonzales) a few days ago.

We stand together as the Alalay family around the World in these troubling times xxx

Thanks to David Parry for the above images [click on any to enlarge] – they beautifully capture the essence of a wonderful evening of music, evocative artwork by the children and Bolivian goodies… And the fantastic people who made it happen – the musicians, behind-the-scenes helpers and attendees!

With additional donations, the grand total is now well over £2000 – every penny will go directly to help the street children to help themselves. Look at our website banner above – you are changing the lives of these same children.

Read more about the concert and its success HERE.

Promising a fantastic celebration for Beethoven’s 250th birthday – please do come to our upcoming fundraising concert in Bristol and support our work with street children in Bolivia!

Click below to download your own copies of the flyer (drawn by one of our kids) to distribute amongst your friends. We look forward to seeing you there! 🙂

You may have spotted in the news that there has been serious unrest in Bolivia after the recent Presidential Elections, with several deaths and hundreds injured in protests. We’ve been in constant contact with Alalay, and all staff and children are safe, for which we are very thankful.

Of course, we maintain strict political impartiality, but endorse the following statement made by UNICEF Bolivia a few days ago (approx. English translation below):

“With regards to the facts and information of the last few hours, UNICEF reiterates the call to those participating in social demonstrations to avoid confrontations and assure the protection of girls, boys and young people in all places at all times, avoiding their exposure to situations and contexts which could put at risk their physical and emotional wellbeing”

We continue to follow the situation closely and will update our supporters as necessary.