Orphanage Photos
December 5th, 2005 by MikeToday I successfully snuck some pictures of the older babies at the Coto Coto orphanage. Here is a picture of the peaceful and secure entrance. Im not sure if they intended it to look like a jail, but it definitely is secure. We have to sign in every time we show up.
And here are a few of the kids from the 20 in the baby building.
| Jose |
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| Pablo and Edwin |
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| Pablo and Ana |
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| Guerrmo |
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| Jonathan |
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| Nayeli, Gabby, and Estefany |
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A few more pictures of daily life… Here are the mini buses we take to work, called Combis.
Here is a view of one of the schools getting let out. Its pretty impressive to see so many of the same uniforms but they sure can clog up the Combis!
Lastly, here is a view of Huancayo from a nearby mountain. On Sunday, Alicia and I scrambled up the closest mountain. Unfortunately, we never found the lake that was supposed to be on the other side. Many hidden valleys got in the way so we probably didnt quite make it to the other side.
December 6th, 2005 at 3:58 pm
I had no part in taking the pictures of the children!
December 6th, 2005 at 6:15 pm
The kids are so cute! They all look roughly the same age. Are there just young children at the orphanage and do any of them ever get adopted?
Rena
December 7th, 2005 at 6:27 pm
Yeah, the kids are even cuter in person! Their looks here are a bit interesting probably because I was playing hide-n-seek with the camera so the staff wouldnt catch me.
Actually, one of the toddlers just got adopted this week. Its felt a bit more mellow in the toddler house as a result. A family from Spain came and got him yesterday. They are bringing him back each day this week to ease the change. It must be tough to lose all of your playmates at once, not to mention moving to another country. Adios Arturo!
December 9th, 2005 at 3:10 am
The orphanage seem to be fairly neat and well equipped place. The kids are not tied to chairs or locked in upside down turned baby cribs. I still remember seeing some of the more horrible pictures of orphanages from Romania, China, and somewhere elsewhere I forgot. This place has to be benefiting from your, all volunteers I mean, presence and money. Do you know who mostly funds this place by the way?
How often you get new orphans? What is the average stay per child? What is the age structure like?
Do the kids receive vaccinations like we have in the USA?
How often adults read books to them? Seem like they are less than one year old, or about one year. Maybe you could try reading some Spanish language picture books, might be a good way for you to learn to pronounciation and vocabulary too.
And dont forget to sing to them too… learn some local lullabies or nursery rhymes. Perhaps you could also sign some American nursery rhymes too, if that is OK to the other staff?
December 11th, 2005 at 1:27 am
Mike, I hope you’re not in trouble for taking those photos? Are you OK?
December 11th, 2005 at 2:13 pm
Actually, if you look closely, youll see the three girls ARE tied to chairs. Usually when we arrive, most of the kids are in cribs. If any are out, they are usually locked in a room on mats on the floor with tons of junk toys. Sometimes they are barricaded in a portion of the room in baby walkers. Usually no-one is watching them.
I cant answer your statistics questions but one of the 12 toddlers was adopted by a couple last week. One of the 20 babies (Pablo, above) is scheduled to leave with new adopted parents next week.
Weve heard the Coto Coto orphanage is very famous in the region, and thus well funded. The organization we volunteer with does regularly donate as well.
We did purchase a childrens book but the older toddlers seem to show the most interest in it. I do try to sing little bits in Spanish. Ill save sign for someone else!
July 31st, 2007 at 11:11 am
hey there
just so you know…johanna and guillermo were just adopted
oh…and i want to adopt jonathan now
i was at coto coto in may for one month and fell in love with all the kids
yay! coto coto
October 26th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
hi
I realize this has been inactive for a while, but i am looking for an orphanage to volunteer at this spring and am wondering if you would reccommmend coto coto? Im also wondering if there have been any changes in the runnning of this place, such as is it still true that the enfants are not to be held for long periods of time? or are they tied up and left unsupervised??
October 26th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Yes! I would recommend Coto coto but I haven’t been there since the original post. The kids are probably mostly new ones but I’m sure they will still need love!