Earlier this month, Billy and I had the opportunity to make a quick trip to Kusi, one of our homes for abandoned boys. The directors, Angel and Rosa, invited us to celebrate the graduations of 6 of their boys: 5 from elementary school (Arnold, Frank, Kevin, Martin and Mauricio) and Eloy, who graduated from high school. Since they were unable to attend the graduation party that their school hosted, Angel and Rosa decided to have a big party at home with the other Girasoles boys to celebrate their accomplishments.

Frank, Mauricio, Kevin, Eloy, Martin and Arnold

I’ve heard stories of what happens at school graduations, but had never attended one before. They are much more of an evening event compared to our high school graduations in the States. Whereas my graduation from Cranbrook lasted a maximum 2 hours, graduations here are more of a party that last all night. Wanting to make this party similar to what the boys would have experienced at their school, Rosa had a whole ceremony organized. The graduates were dressed in a (matching) shirt and tie, special graduation photos were taken, a cake was decorated, dinner was served and there was lots of dancing.

As the padrinos (godparents) for the party, Billy and I bought new Bibles as gifts for the graduates. We both were given the opportunity to share a few words- to tell them how proud we were of their accomplishments, how much we value their friendships, and most importantly, to tell them that they have a bright future and a God-given purpose for their life.

with Eloy and Martin

with Arnold and Eloy

And if we hadn’t had enough fun yet, to finish the party off, a group of friends from town joined us in an hora loca. Literally translated, the hora loca means a crazy hour, which here in Peru means a straight hour of dancing without stopping. It was so much fun to dance with the graduates and all of the Kusi boys amidst confetti being thrown, shaving cream-like snow in the air and lights flashing. By the end of the hora loca, the graduation boys were just dripping with sweat. (Lovely.)

It was a wonderful evening of sharing and celebrating. It truly is a blessing to be a part of this ministry and a part of our Girasoles boys’ lives.

The Kusi boys with the graduates

with Mauricio and Arnold during dinner

(…I have to share one last photo from the weekend. The newest boy at the home in Kusi, Socimo, arrived just a few days before Christmas. When Rosa, Billy and I were picking up a few things in town, Socimo came with us. He spent the whole afternoon holding either Billy’s or my hand, and then during dinner wanted to take a picture with me.)

Happy Graduation! is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Focusing their efforts on the people of Peru, HBI exists to build bridges between people and services in an effort to provide the most critical needs to those living in impoverished and underserved areas.

For the past 15 years, HBI has been working in partnership with SU Peru to host free medical campaigns in underserved areas of the country – typically where one of our Girasoles homes for abandoned boys exist. They send a team of volunteers from both the United States and Peru, made up of doctors, dentists, nurses, medical students and assistants to spend 1 week putting on an intense medical and dental campaign. And, if needed, each doctor/dentist is paired with a Spanish-English translator.

This year, they came to Kusi. A part of the goal for the trip was to host a free medical and dental clinic not only on the SU property in Kusi, but to also a location in the community. We spent 2 days at an already established medical post in the small town of Musho and the final 3 days at Kusi.

I don’t think I can even begin to put the experiences from the week into words. During the 5 days of clinics, the team of 6 doctors and 2 dentists saw approximately 675 patients, and the pharmacy filled approximately 1750 prescriptions.

In an effort to minimize confusion for the patients and HBI team, the clinic process is extremely streamlined. Every patient that comes to see a doctor or dentist has a registration form filled out with vitals and a brief medical history, and then is ushered into a waiting room.

During the week, I was paired with Dr. Martin, a DO student from Portland. The majority of the people we saw had severe shoulder, back and waist pain that was caused from years of working in the fields or improperly lifting heavy items, or carrying heavy packages on their backs.

And, we were given the occasional child for a well-child exam, which were particularly fun.

Coming from high up in the mountains, we frequently encountered patients that barely spoke Spanish, but communicated in Quechua. When we had a Quechua-only patient, Dr. Martin and I relied on the help from a Quechua-Spanish speaker. Thankfully, there were a few helpers (including a few of the Girasoles boys!) that were able to help. It was quite the sight to see Dr. Martin explaining to me in English, I turn and explain in Spanish to Edwin (one of the Girasoles Quechua speakers in the green sweatshirt) and then Edwin explain in Quechua to the patient.

At the end of our second (and last) day in Musho, we were given a patient named Alejo. Alejo is 62 years old and lives in Parillentana. Not knowing all of the small towns around the area, I asked Alejo where Parillentana is located. He said, “not that far, just over that way” while pointing out the window. After more probing, he eventually said that he walked 30 minutes along dusty, unpaved roads to reach the clinic.

Thirty minutes doesn’t sound like that far of a walk, but it clearly was quite the accomplishment for Alejo. The first thing we noticed about him was that he had severe cataracts in one of his eyes, and he said that he was completely blind in the other. He moved very slowly and required the assistance of a walking stick. He also had lost 3 fingers on his right hand and walked slightly hunched over.

Not being able to fix his every need, Dr. Martin started on what he could do, and helped Alejo relax and stretch out his very tight muscles. The whole time Dr. Martin was working, Alejo was telling me about his life. He has never been married, has no children, and lives alone but a nephew lives close by. Since he has poor vision and mobility, he cannot work in the fields like everybody else and relies on the help of his nephew and family to survive.

Despite his circumstances and the evident fear and worry that he experienced from not being able to work and earn money, Alejo was very thankful. Like many of the patients, he thanked Dr. Martin and me numerous times for the help. But greater than that, Alejo was thankful for his life and the simple joys, despite his situation. I saw this thanksgiving in many of our patients, both in Musho and Kusi.

A couple days later, after Dr. Martin finished examining an older woman, she burst into tears. When she was finally able to speak, she thanked us profusely for helping her. She didn’t have money to go to the nearby, very-basic health post, and even though she wasn’t going to be cured today, she was extremely thankful that somebody talked with her, listened to her concerns, and gave her some form of help.

In some situations like this woman, through the partnerships HBI has developed over the years, we were able to provide referrals to local Peruvian doctors or medical programs. The point of the week wasn’t to drop into Musho or Kusi and provide as much free medical and dental care as possible and never return. In this particular trip, the team did see and help many patients, but the goal was to build a bridge between the patient and the medical care that already exists in the Musho and Kusi area, and even as far as Lima.

Through compassion, empowerment and collaboration (with organizations like SU Peru), Health Bridges International is making a difference in communities here in Peru.

Want to see more? More photographs from the clinics in Musho and Kusi can be found on Flickr.

For more information about the work of Health Bridges International, visit their website I am the Bridge.

Building Bridges is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Each year, the boys of Kusi learn new choreographed dances to do with the visiting volunteer work teams that spend a week at the home. While they continue with the old favorites, like Jehova Es Mi Pastor and Escalando Peldaños, they add at least one new dance to the repertoire. In this dance, it is the youngest and smallest boys dancing to Giovanni Rios’ “La Iglesia Va Para Arriba.”

Starring Kusi’s Smallest is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Here are a few videos from the summer:

Boys from the Girasoles home in Kusi performing a choreography to Marcos Witt’s song “En los Montes, En los Valles”

David, one of the youngest boys at Girasoles Ica, sharing a birthday message to Jonathan, another boy from the home.

Part of the traditional soccer game that occurs every afternoon before dinner at the Girasoles home in Puerto Alegria. Hox is singing the Peruvian National anthem in the background.

More videos are online at Vimeo and photographs on Flickr.

Back Home. is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Yesterday was my last day in Kusi for the summer.

On Monday and Tuesday, the work team from Virigina wanted to host a VBS-like program for the Girasoles boys, children that attend the SU-operated school at Kusi and children from the nearby villages of Ongo and Aira. Both days the team prepared songs, games, dancing, a craft, story and skit to share with the children, which was both successful and lots of fun. On the second day, they ended the event with a big carnival in the main square of Kusi. There was face painting, crafts, games where the children spun around a baseball bat (which is quite funny for those watching) and where they had to match numbers on floating little yellow rubber duckies. They even had a beauty station with manicures for the mothers that came with their children. It was a great way to end the two days of events!

Last Day in Kusi is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

In an effort to do something different and have a little fun on my last night in Kusi, Katy (another translator who is here from England) invited Rosa, the house mother at Girasoles Kusi, and her 13-year old daughter, Alexia, to spend the night in our bungalow and have a pijamada!

So, after returning from having a delicious pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) dinner in Yungay with the work team and all 40 boys plus staff, we returned to Kusi, spread out the mattresses, grabbed our blankets and got comfortable! Pretty soon, our bungalow was full with Katy, Rosa, Alexia, Carmen (another translator with us in Kusi), and the three ladies from the work team.

We started the evening with a short devotional by Rosa and then had a time of prayer, where we were able to specifically pray for the needs of the group. We ended the night watching “Una Noche Fuera de Serie” (Date Night).

It was nice to take an evening “for the girls.” Alexia, who lives in Kusi with her brother, parents and 40 boys, is usually the only girl at events and rarely has the opportunity to spend time with friends, or have friends come visit. It was nice to be 12-13 again and spend the night just watching movies and having fun.

I couldn’t have asked for a better last night in Kusi.

Pijamada, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

Of course, there were some silly moments throughout the night. :)

Pijamada! is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

Today I went up to Llanganuco and the Huascarán National Park for the last time this year with work teams. This beautifully blue-green lake, which is 30 meters deep, is located in the valley between Peru’s tallest mountain, Huascarán, and others in the Cordillera Blanca.

Thankfully, we had beautiful weather for spending the morning at the lake and then walking through the park.

Since Billy was with me this time, we took a photo together – something that has become sort of a tradition over the past few years (in 2008 and again in 2009).

Llanganuco is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

The last few times I have been in Kusi, Rosa, the house mother that takes care of the 40 boys living at the abandoned boys home, has always asked me to have a “girls day” with her in Yungay when we had some free time between teams. Her idea is to go into the town and spend a part of the day together, doing things like shopping, going to a café, and getting our haircut. In previous years, we have done everything but get our hair cut.

Last night, I floated the idea of going to get our haircut to Rosa (who I knew was going to love it). Of course, within 10 minutes she was on the phone asking about an appointment for the next day.

Katy (a fellow SU translator who is here from England) decided to join us and we spent the morning at Yungay’s nicest salon. We all got our hair wash and cut, and all for an amazing price of S/.5. That is just $1.73. After leaving a tip, the entire morning did not cost anything more than $3.

More photos from our morning in Yungay are on Flickr.

(In the above photo, Katy, Rosa (in the middle) and I are with the two ladies that work at the salon after getting our hair cut.)

Haircut in Yungay is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

After a few months of the jungle in Puerto Alegria/Iquitos, a couple weeks in the desert Ica, and some random days in the city of Lima, I have finally made it to the Andes – in Kusi!

I first visited Kusi in 2006 with the group from my home church, First Presbyterian. At the time, there was not much on the property. We stayed in a nearby city – Caraz – and spent all of our time making hundreds, if not thousands of adobe bricks that would be used to build the city of Kusi.

It was not until 2008 that I was able to return to Kusi. I was fortunate to spend a month at the home. At this time, more buildings had been completed and there were approximately 35 Girasoles boys living in Kusi, along with the house family. The city had begun to grow and now included a functioning elementary school, bungalows, and foundations for future buildings. During the month I was in Kusi leading and translating for work teams, I was able to get to know the house family and Girasoles boys – something that has made Kusi one of my favorite places.

Thankfully, I have been able to spend more time in Kusi over the past year and a half – both with work teams and simply vacation.

This year, I have returned to Kusi with a team from Virginia. They will be here for about 10 days before returning to Lima. I will be able to stay here for a few days after the group to meet the next (and final) summer work team.

The photo, which is one of my favorites, was taken in 2008 when I took some of the youngest boys with one of my teams to Llanganuco, a national park near Kusi. I am happy to say that all 6 of these boys are still living in Kusi – they are just much taller and a few years older!

Hello Kusi! is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.

While in Kusi, we spent one of our days at the local pool. Everybody loaded up in a bus with swim gear, sunscreen, soccer balls and of course, lunch (which no surprise was rice, potatoes and chicken) to enjoy the beautiful sunny day at the pool.

Here’s a video of the boys going down (and back up) the slide.

More videos from Kusi are on Vimeo.

Summertime means a day at the pool! is a post from: Twelve Degrees South.