Saturday 14th Aug to Monday 16th Aug saw 30 intrepid individuals taking to their bikes, and pedalling coast to coast for the street children! These brave souls got themselves alll the way from Whitehaven to Newcastle – 180 miles in total – all to raise money and awareness of the plight of street children in Latin America.

Day 1 – Whitehaven to Carlisle

The team did wonderfully tackling the 68 miles from that first dipping of the wheels, to the final arrival at the Carlisle YHA. It was the longest distance that the team had to achieve, and they did it superbly. A few tired legs and some very sore bottoms, but all arrived safe and well. On to Once Brewed next – Sunday is all about hills… Please keep praying for strength of legs and willpower of iron!

Day 2 – Carlisle to Once Brewed

Today was the toughest day for hills and climbs. The mileage was shorter, but the undulations were punishing. The teams were met by an overall climb of 800 metres – ouch! However, they met that challenge with courage, determination and with beautiful smiles on their faces. Yes, the legs hurt and yes, the bottoms were sore, but they didn’t let anything get the better of them. It was thrills, but unfortunately, spills as well. We did have one falling off incident, but thankfully, she’s fine. A few grazes and bruises, but she got straight back on and kept grinning. She was more concerned about the bike than her knee! The team are tired, but elated, spurred on by the knowledge that they did it! They have achieved amazing things over the last two days. More to come tomorrow…

Day 3 – Once Brewed to Newcastle

The final day loomed with quite low temperatures and a very heavy mist which spread itself along Hadrian’s Wall like a blanket. The cyclists made sure they had plenty of layers to keep warm, but the first few hills certainly warmed them up enough! The day was very long, with some horrible hills, but some great downward stretches as well which were enjoyed by all – 34 miles an hour! The team did amazingly well, with many of them achieving more than they imagined before they started this morning! As they came into the Newcastle coastline, there were cheers, waves and sheer joy as the teams passed the marker that told them they had reached the end of the challenge. It was remarkable to see, and a real pleasure to be part of. Well done to all the cyclists and thank you from the children for all the love and support you will be sending them.

Violeta’s Story

16 year old Violeta is the only girl among five siblings. His father migrated to the United States 15 years ago when she was only a few months old.

“I think my father did not love me. He went to the United States when I was a year old and never heard from him. When I was 13 years old I got to meet him for the first time.”

From an early age, Violeta’s mother forced her to work as a plastic bottle and can collector at a dump in the sprawling market and bus station called “La Terminal”. Delinquency and drug levels are very high here, and the area is rife with disease and ill-health.

If Violeta ever questioned her mother’s demands, she was abused verbally and physically.

This is how the street team in Guatemala City found Violeta. After much persuasion and many, many months of building up trust and understanding, Violeta’s mother agreed to allow her daughter to be given a place in one of the Toybox-supported homes.

After a while, the staff began to see significant changes in Violeta. She has improved her behavior dramatically with her classmates and teachers, and has discovered a great desire to learn. She is helpful, tidy and the first to get up for school every day.

Violeta says: “Now I have friends, a home and can attend school. I know that soon I will be able to go back and help my mother to leave the dump. My wish is that she may change one day, just like I did.”

Project Focus – Dolores Medina

Fundación Dolores Medina is a home for boys who have come off the streets of San Salvador. This transition is a hard one, but the leaders of the home are hopeful that the boys will choose to stay, even when the lure of the streets is strong.

The house has the most amazing garden where the boys grow many different plants – chillies, tomatoes, lettuce, watercress – all beautifully cared for. The growing and caring for the plants is a brilliant form of occupational therapy – a far cry from the fast, harsh life of the streets.

The project provides educational support, food and health care for the boys. It also helps to build links to reunite the boys with their families where possible. The Toybox Red Alert network gives vital support to the staff of the project, giving them the training they need to offer the best care possible.

Most recently, the boys continue to enjoy cultivating their vegetable garden. Some of the produce gets sold on to members of the community and the rest of it is used to feed the boys. The leaders report that the boys are getting on well in the home. They are looking to develop more street work with help from the Toybox team.

Good Treatment ‘Vaccination’ month coming up!

This September will be the very first Month of Good Treatment for Children in the city of Cochabamba. The government in Cochabamba city has set this up after the Toybox Child Ambassadors held a ‘Vaccination’ campaign that reached an amazing 17,000 adults last year!

How does the Vaccination work?

- The children perform dramas and plays in the central squares and parks of the town, to attract attention.

- Children speak to the gathered adults about the problem of violence in the home and explain that this is one of the main reasons children in Latin America go to the streets.

- Then they ‘vaccinate’ each adult who would like to take part by giving them a sticker, a sweet and a little vaccination card which the adult signs and take away with them.

- On the card are the ingredients of a happy home – a little love, a bit of kindness, some understanding…

- The Vaccination last one year, or until the adult treats a child badly.

The Vaccination campaign has grown year on year, with more and more adults being reached. 17,000 adults were reached in Cochabamba, Bolivia with the message of good treatment during 2009. This attracted the attention of local media and the local government who have decided to make every September a month of good treatment for children in the city. This is an incredible achievement by the children.

A national competition to find the Young Global Education Ambassadors for 2011 is now open to schoolchildren in the UK. The winners will have the opportunity to visit Bolivia in February 2011 with Toybox and the Global Campaign for Education.

14 and 15 year–olds in the UK (year 10 in 2010-11) are invited to apply through their school for the Steve Sinnott Award. This competition will give two committed individuals, and their teacher, the amazing opportunity to travel out to Bolivia and investigate the barriers to education that street children face.

The competition aims to raise awareness of the need to provide every child with a full primary education by the year 2015. This is one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that world leaders agreed back in the year 2000. Since that time, some progress has been made, but there are still 72 million children around the world who are missing out on an education.

The winners will meet street-living and street-working children and hear from them about the challenges to a full education that they are facing. Children from Toybox-supported projects will give the students a unique insight into the lives of young people the same age. The students will also meet with community leaders and politicians, to hear about progress on education for all in Bolivia.

On their return to the UK the young campaigners will help ‘spread the word’ by speaking at union conferences and to the media. They will also feature in a short film, which will form the centerpiece for next year’s Send My Friend to School Campaign, organized by the Global Campaign for Education, to inspire schools across the country to help get free, quality primary education worldwide by 2015. This year 1 million pupils in over 9,000 schools are taking part in the campaign.

Steve Sinnott was a passionate advocate for Education for All. During his time as General Secretary of the NUT, Steve was a committed member of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), which believes that education is the best route out of poverty. The Steve Sinnott Award was set up shortly after his untimely death in 2008. As a result of donations in memory of Steve, this exciting award scheme was created to further the skills of young education campaigners.

This year, the award is generously co-funded by Domain-London – a fully integrated communications agency specialising in the not for profit sector. Domain-London’s CEO Andrew Saunders commented “It’s great to have the opportunity to be involved in such an important project building bridges between children here and in Latin America.”

How to Apply

Toybox can only accept entries from children with the full support of a school, as a teacher must accompany the students on the trip. The students will be asked to produce a joint presentation in any medium (powerpoint, film, audio etc) which should show why they will make great campaigners.

Apply here.  For further information please contact David Westwood on david.westwood@toybox.org, ring Toybox on 0845 4660010 or visit www.sendmyfriend.org/award to download the details.

The closing date for entries is 10th November 2010.