Program Updates

Sociology graduate Magaly Quispe is a former BQEF scholarship student who initially visited San Pedro Prison for her thesis research.  While she was there, she thought about doing AVP and asked for permission from the people in the social department - who said “Yes!”  Magaly convinced some of the other local facilitators to come in and help with the workshops, including her friend Mabel Mena Fonseca (also a BQEF scholarship student), who started out by helping with logistics – snacks, supplies, etc.

Bolivia is the first nation in the western hemisphere where both houses of the parliament or legislature are now headed by women.  This kind of dramatic social progress further inspires our work in support of educating and encouraging women in Bolivia.  Six of the 20 members of Evo’s cabinet are women.

Not parity yet, but headed that direction.

eta: Bolivia ranks 35th globally for women in the national legislature, compared to, say, the U.S. at 71st. See chart here.

The Joys of Sponsorship

When my aunt died, she left my mother a small legacy.   We decided that the best way to honor her memory was to sponsor a couple of Bolivian students who shared some of her qualities—a love of music and a love of children.

After corresponding with our two students, I had the great pleasure of going to Bolivia on the Quaker Study and Service Tour and meeting them at a potluck the entire group of scholarship students hosted for our group.  Maritza greeted me warmly and tried to explain to me about her curriculum in linguistics and teacher training. Janelle came in later with her Christian Mariachi Band which entertained our whole group.  It was one of the high points of my life.

Nancy Mamani Aspi comes from a family committed to education – her father is a teacher, her three siblings have stayed in school despite challenges.

In high school Nancy received a music scholarship so she could learn guitar, charango, and music theory.  She still loves music and practices guitar in her free time. Nancy was also chosen while still in high school to represent the indigenous young people of the Department of La Paz in a congress of eight Latin American countries held in Guatemala. The theme of the meeting was “Peace”.

Working till 2:00 a.m. to fill orders might not be every teenager’s first choice, but that’s what David, Juana and William decided to do (unknown to we adults until the next morning) on my last night in Sorata this past trip. They were silk-screening designs on T-shirts requested by recent Study Tour visitors from California, determined to complete as many as possible for me to bring back to the US. I delivered them at a group reunion the next week, to everyone’s delight.

In our very first year, students at Friends schools and colleges as well as other adults began asking to volunteer.  Now they range in age from middle-school students in family groups to retired professionals.  Volunteers help with school and adult ed classes (especially English), and come home amazed at the richness of their experience. In 2011 one family with three teens participated, a doctoral student spent a full year, and a retired teacher from the UK spent four months.

Not ready for the Andes just yet? We also need volunteers for document translation, regional committees, and spreading the word about this work.

Do you have time and talent to share in support of Bolivian Friends education?  If you’d like to experience the joy and growth of volunteering on behalf of Friends in Bolivia, please send us an email at office_ (at)_bqef.org.

2010 saw our largest class of scholarship graduates ever -  13 students completed their coursework in June, and 6 in November.  They are very, very grateful for the funds from the North that made this possible.  I thought you would like to see a little more of what these young people have accomplished and are aiming at.  Please enjoy these photographs and thumbnail sketches of 4 of them.

Juan José Choque Quispe, Dentistry. Juan was part of a team that put together a health and hygiene education program for impoverished schools. 

Ronald, 18, speaks Aymara and is in his final year at the “General Enrique Penaranda” public high school. He is one of the brightest students at the Internado in Sorata. Ronald is from a community on the altiplano called Cocoyo, which is four hours by car from Sorata.  Buses only run on Saturday and Sunday, so he goes home just one or two times per year. His father works in a cooperative gold mine near Cocoyo, and his mother farms. On school vacations, Ronald works in the mine with his father.

13 students graduated this June (mid-year: the Bolivian school year runs February - November), and 14 new students began studying with help from BQEF's donors. Below are highlights of 4 of the recent grads (more coming soon).

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Facilitators have been trained in 3 cities, and several teams have learned the skills needed to present content and run a Basic or Advanced workshop --- the mechanics and logistics of planning, organizing and setting up a gathering of 12 to 20 people for a three-day workshop.

The Bolivian facilitators and Jens Braun developed a strategy whereby local teams will organize about 10 simultaneous workshops in June in five to eight locations.  Jorge Arauz from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting will be on-hand afterwards for a gathering of all facilitators to evaluate, share, and learn from each other.  There are other requests for workshops between now and June, and Bolivan facilitators will be leading these independent of North American logistical support.