Starting my volunteer work

I knew going into this trip that while I would have a lot of fun, the volunteering aspect would be difficult, and after one week I can already tell this will be hard, not only emotionally, but because boys will be boys. I am working at an all boys orphanage on the outskirts of town. The boys range from 6-16 years old and they truly are adorable. At 'Hogar de Menores Jesus Mi Luiz' the children are all there for a particularly sad reason; they were found on the streets. Either the boys have found their way to police or police have found them alone and they admitted not having anywhere to go. The goal of the orphanage is to reunite the children with their parents as soon as possible, but this I was told, almost never happens. Such is the case for a few reasons; either the parents have no proof that the boy is theirs or are unable unable to find them, or the more likely reality, that they left their kids. Cuzco is not a wealthy city by any means and many of the children come from rural families who live on the outskirts of the city or in the mountainous area of Cusco. Often times parents can not afford to raise a child who can not work yet, and instead takes up food. There are a handful of disabled kids at the orphanage and it is assumed that they were left by their parents because of their inability to work some of the jobs their parents do. As sad as these circumstances are, you would never guess it by only knowing the children. All of the boys are, well, exactly like any other young boy. They constantly want to play, they laugh, they fight, they blow snot all over themselves, and any sign of authority is enough to put them in tears or to have them go running away. What is remarkable is how these kids never show the least sign of depression, even the older ones who may be more aware of their situation. Instead basketball, thumb wars, yarn, or any type of electronic I bring whether it be a camera or my iPhone is enough to make their entire day worthwhile. The language barrier still affects the way we can interact, however, all of the boys are as good as teachers as I could hope for, in some ways quite inappropriately. When I arrive at the orphanage each day I am greeted with 25 "Amigo! Amigo's!" and I am near assaulted by these kids, but about halfway into my three hour day when I have broken up about seven fights I become the bad guy. However, that will all change when I arrive the next day...