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  • Hey it's me Destin.

  • Welcome back to Smarter Every Day.

  • Every December it's a tradition for me to make

  • a video down here in Peru

  • about an orphanage project I've been working on.

  • Specifically it's with Not Forgotten

  • and I make the video every December

  • because I want people to vote for Not Forgotten

  • on the Project for Awesome website.

  • This year I'm not just gonna update you

  • on the orphanage.

  • Apparently there's an Amazonian river monster

  • project that I've been a part of

  • that I didn't know about.

  • So today let's go check out the orphanage

  • then I'll tell you about river monsters.

  • Let's get Smarter Every Day.

  • If you're new to this project

  • just know that for several years some friends of mine

  • have been working to build an orphanage

  • in Iquitos Peru because it has one of the highest

  • rates of abandonment in the world.

  • With your support, last year we completed the first phase.

  • Check this out.

  • There's one major difference this year from last year.

  • Look closely, you'll see it.

  • There's kids..

  • all over the place. [laugh]

  • We have an operational orphanage in Peru.

  • It's a big deal.

  • Cause these guys are not on the streets.

  • The system in Iquitos is so saturated

  • with abandoned children,

  • specifically boys,

  • that as soon as the paperwork and licensing

  • to setup the homes was complete,

  • over a dozen boys were immediately accepted.

  • These kids are hilarious.

  • And for some reason they really love making zombie faces.

  • Traditional orphanages work like this.

  • You get somone to build a really big building

  • that can house a bunch of kids

  • and then you hire a couple of workers

  • to run the place and provide for the physical needs of the children.

  • Not Forgotten is different.

  • The focus of the entire structure

  • is a father and a mother.

  • As boys enter the home they become brothers

  • and the entire house becomes a family.

  • The boys are given stability by consistent love from parents.

  • Let's meet the families.

  • Meet Merry and Moises.

  • [spanish]

  • (Destin) Many families interviewed for the position of house parents

  • and these were among the first selected.

  • They're super patient,

  • they laugh a lot

  • and in just the short amount of time

  • I spent with them I could tell they're doing this

  • for all the right reasons.

  • One of the coolest things to me

  • is that they have dinners with family,

  • like a family unit.

  • So we're disturbing dinner.

  • This is dinner time at Moises' house.

  • [spanish]

  • OK one of the host parents, Isaac is a music teacher

  • and he's about to play for us.

  • [music]

  • [applause]

  • Alright, check this out.

  • Somebody saw the video last year

  • and sent in an anonymous donation

  • to give the kids transportation

  • to and from school.

  • So they use the van to bring the kids here

  • to school. It's a public school

  • but it's privately funded,

  • which means it has really cool stuff

  • like a library,

  • a computer classroom,

  • there's a wood shop,

  • there's also a place to learn about cooking.

  • We factored in the cost of a psychologist

  • to periodically visit the boys to make sure

  • all their emotional needs are being met.

  • Also if the boys are having trouble with any subject at school

  • they get special tutoring from a private professor

  • that comes to the home to make sure they don't fall behind.

  • Education is key,

  • and for me this is one of the most important parts.

  • Just listen to how excited these boys are to be learning

  • English from Isaac's wife, Ruth, their mother.

  • [excited interactions]

  • So one of the cool things about this place

  • is that these guys have their own rooms.

  • And they're very proud of them.

  • So we're gonna get a little tour of the room.

  • Can you show me?

  • This is Jack,

  • he's gonna tell us about his space.

  • [spanish]

  • It's your bed.

  • [spanish]

  • Yeah, your closet.

  • [spanish]

  • Your drawers. Yeah.

  • Closet

  • Closet?

  • [spanish]

  • Escritorio, Si. Bueno.

  • [laughs]

  • He tried it in English and said it was his closet.

  • Perfecto.

  • So Rodbin is trying to catch the river monster.

  • So he's got a hook here.

  • This is for the fish?

  • If you visit the meat market at Iquitos

  • you'll see pig heads,

  • alligator tails,

  • and even turtles which I didn't see coming.

  • One of the most common foods is called the arapaima.

  • It's one of the largest fresh water fish in the world.

  • Three years ago the local director of Not Forgotten, Jean,

  • released six of these things into the pond

  • in hopes of some day using them to feed children at the property.

  • I've heard the locals call these things paiche

  • but I've never actually seen one.

  • So it looks like Rodbin has caught a paiche.

  • Let's go check it out.

  • You serious?

  • Look at that thing.

  • That thing is huge!

  • OK we've found the river monster.

  • This is a paiche.

  • They're gigantic.

  • Look at that.

  • Holy cow.

  • I'm going in with the river monster.

  • I'm gonna pick it up.

  • Holy cow.

  • Oh my gosh.

  • You're gonna get this picture right?

  • It's like a dinosaur. Here we go.

  • OK, I don't wanna hurt him.

  • Look at the slime.

  • Pick it up one more time?

  • You're gonna get a good pic?

  • Alright, so people think that we've been working on an orphanage down here.

  • We're actually raising huge river monsters.

  • You want to touch it?

  • Look at the kids.

  • Yeah you touch it?

  • Alright let's get him back in.

  • I hope you enjoyed this episode of Smarter Every Day.

  • If you enjoyed it, please consider going to the Project for Awesome website

  • and voting for Not Forgotten,

  • but more importantly if you'd like to partner with us

  • please consider going to Patreon.com/notforgotten.

  • You can go there, you can help us offset the operating costs.

  • We're trying to save abandoned children

  • and give them a stable environment to grow up in.

  • I think it's a really good thing.

  • I support it heavily.

  • patreon.com/notforgotten

  • I'll leave a link right over here.

  • You can click it.

  • Go consider helping us offset our operating costs

  • for getting kids off the streets.

  • It's a good thing.

  • I'm Destin, you're getting Smarter Every Day.

  • Have a good one.

  • [spanish]

  • Alright. No paiche were harmed in the..

  • Oh wait, we're eating it!

  • [laughs]

Hey it's me Destin.

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