News

January 10, 2012 -- In line with our belief in the importance of family, Kaya has been able to reunite many of our children with their families over the years. Recently, one child in our program was reunited with his family in Santa Cruz after over a year of visits with his family and counseling with Kaya’s clinical team. Another child at Kaya has also started regular visits with his biological father, with whom he has never lived. We hope that this is the beginning of a healthy and stable relationship between this father and son pair.

November 29, 2011 -- The Kaya Center is always in a state of activity, with our dedicated staff discovering new and innovative ways to engage the kids in their learning. Most recently, the kids at the Kaya Center have been learning about news journalism. They have been exploring what types of stories should be included in a newscast and have been working to produce their own “Kaya News” program to bring these lessons to life. The kids really enjoyed writing the news stories, dressing up, and filming themselves.

November 28, 2011 -- On November 12th, Kaya Board member Debra Pooley and her husband spent a few minutes at a great house party telling their friends and family about their connection to Kaya, Deb's recent trip and encouraged others to get involved.  They explained brieftly how Kaya was founded and showed a video clip and pictures. Debra has been a Board member with Kaya for over 8 years but recently took her first trip to La Paz.

October 24, 2011 -- Kaya recently saw the departure of Kaya’s beloved Director Paula Vargas.  Paula was with Kaya only a short time but leaves a culture of excellence, commitment to family and a strategic plan for impacting more children in La Paz.  She remains nearby and will be a friend to Kaya for years to come.

September 19, 2011 -- Kaya Children International is hosting a dinner to celebrate the work of Kaya and to raise funds for programs serving the street children of Bolivia. The event, which will be on Thursday, October 13th from 6:00p.m. to 9:30p.m. at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will include a cocktail hour, seated diner, short presentations, raffle and musical performance. It will be a time for old Kaya friends to reconnect and to introduce new friends to our organization. Join us in praying for the success of the evening.

July 4, 2011 -- Last month, the Kaya Center moved to a new building better capable of serving the needs of the children, the staff and the organization as a whole.  The building, rented by another international non-profit for over 10 years, is conveniently located for children in the residential program, children from the community and family members.  The space will serve as the Kaya Children International headquarters in La Paz, Bolivia for years to come.

March 15, 2011 -- At the Kaya Center, the children are taking part in a micro micro industry that is giving them the chance to make jewelry, scarves, and cards. They open a small bank account withing Kaya Children at the Banco Kaya (or Kaya Bank) where they can "borrow" the money they earn from their business for supplies. At the moment their only customers are the staff, but they have plans to host a community craft fair in the new future to exhibit their work.

February 22, 2011 -- Back in December, six boys whom have been with us for years, moved from their permanent house to an on-site apartment as they prepare for more independent life. All had graduated high school and are in their first or second year of univeristy and/or technical school. The transition to independent living hasn't been completely smooth sailing for the boys, but with the support of the team in Bolivia, particularly that of Javier, the case manager who works closely with them, they have made great progress over the past couple of months.

February 17, 2011 -- Kaya Children's board members came from all parts of the country this past weekend to attend the board retreat, moderated by two members of Applied Evaluation Systems. Paula, our site director, also flew in from La Paz for the retreat. Spread over the course of two days, board members engaged in meaningful discussion regarding the health of the organization, participated in exercises to clarify and streamline Kaya Children's guiding principles, reflecting on where we currently stand, and brainstorming our next steps moving forward.

January 10, 2011 -- Kaya Founder and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Chi Huang, was featured in the "OneVoice" section of the Summer 2010 volume of the Texas A&M Foundation Magazine, Spirit. Click here to read the full article, Big Wheels Come Full Circle (starting on page 10).