Community Descriptions

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Community Discriptions

By Amanda Newman

1st ever volunteer co-director

Note from the founder: Amanda Newman and Brent Stremel were the first co-directors of the volunteer program now in place in the Jungles of Bolivia South America serving our neighbors there by utilizing the South American travelers that wish to volunteer with us at the Project Angels of Hope. Amanda and Brent are instrumental in organizing and coordinating the volunteer program their efforts have shown their passion to help and by reading these descriptions of the four main communities we serve you can clearly see that they know their surroundings and the reality of the region my appreciation has no bounds for these two incredible people that have taken time out of their lives to be there with our not so fortunate neighbors and serve them with total commitment and total sacrifice we should always remember what the accomplished.

My name is Amanda Newman. I have been living in the Chapare Region of Bolivia for just over six months. I am one of the directors of the Angels of Hope Volunteer Program. First of all, I would like to thank you, on behalf of everyone who works with the Angels of Hope Foundation, for your contribution to our cause. Without generous people like you we would not be able to reach as many children as we do today.

I could never be able to illustrate in writing everything I have seen and learned since being in this different, yet beautiful place. You see things here that you would never see at home. Things like babies being pushed in wheelbarrows, fifteen people crammed in a small taxi, and young children tending to cows on the side of the road. What I would like to do is give you an idea of what life is like for children and their families here in the Chapare. I hope that by writing this letter to you, you may have a deeper understanding of why we are needed in this area, and I hope to share with you a little piece of my experience and why your donation is so valuable.

During the composition of this letter I worked directly with the doctor visiting the president of the community and several families. In other communities it was possible to gather all of the children in one general location for interview and photos, but due to the length and spread of General Roman, children had to be visited house by house. We had our staff split into teams to finish the job. Working with Doctor Ramiro Angulo was a real treat. He is not only the foundation’s beloved doctor, but he also acts as the director. He has a special vocation for improving conditions for the people of this area. He was born here in the Chapare 33 years ago, but unfortunately his mother died in childbirth. Shortly thereafter, his father moved him away from the Chapare area. The Doctor returned four years ago with commitment and dedication to the children of this area. I asked him once why he was so concerned with the children. He said that apart from the toll that childhood malnutrition and disease can take on a human, in order to change a country you have to start with the children. With this philosophy, the doctor has been an instrumental part in the growth of this foundation.

General Román

Your sponsored child lives in General Roman. General Roman is one of the larger communities in the area with about a hundred families instead of the usual thirty to fifty. The community stretches along the main road, which parallels the river, with families having their farms on either side. When I say farms, it is not the industrial beauties we are accustomed to, but small farms without the machines and conveniences of modern technology. Driving along the road you are surrounded by tropical vegetation, green and lush. After travelling the road many times, you can pick out what is a farm: a small cluster of papaya trees or ditch full of corn by the side of the road. There appears to be no order and no maintenance of weed growth. It is not uncommon to see several different types of crops growing in the same, unsymmetrical area. Most families have five to ten hectare plots. Families grow crops year round and produce such harvest as tomato, papaya, rice, palm, banana, oranges, yucca, and corn. Crops are generally taking to the market in Cochabamba, an eight hour drive in a cargo truck. Unfortunately, families will spend over half of what they make at the market on the truck rental and fuel.

Because of General Roman’s close proximity to Villa Tunari, many rich people from other cities have bought land for their summer homes. Along the eight kilometres length of General Roman, about every fifth house belongs to someone from out of town. Imagine living in substandard conditions without enough money to buy meat while your next door neighbour comes to town for vacation with his nice car and servants. For the purposes of this letter, I am going to exclude the rich vacationers.

General Roman is actually the community that the foundation belongs to, as well as the buildings for the volunteer program. General Roman built a small cluster of buildings to be used for official business about eight years ago. The community quickly realized that they did not have the money to fund any programs after the construction. Rather than just let the buildings rot, they donated them to the Angels of Hope Foundation and thus our school and medical clinic was born.

The Sindicato: Community Government

The community of General Roman officially began July 23^rd in the 1930s with the establishment of the Sindicato. The best way to describe the sindicato is a very formal neighbourhood committee. Each community has created these sindicatos to protect the interests of their members, quite similar to the labor unions of the mines. Members of the sinidicato are elected by every adult over the age of 18. There are thirteen elected members each serving a term of one year. In addition to the president, there is a secretary for the treasury, the meeting minutes, sports, health, education, community cleanliness, advertisement, political involvement, defense (police), a representative for the women in town, and two people in charge of communication between families. Meetings occur once each month where business is discussed with every adult in town and dates are picked for games or community cleaning. While the secretaries are in charge of a specific area of concern, the entire community is responsible for producing the desired results.

Each family in the community is obligated to join the sindicato paying 4 boliviano each month, which is about fifty cents. The purpose of the sindicato is to try to create a community family by working with the families to determine and solve the needs of the community, such as creating roads and schools. They have a church, which no other communities have, and they also have two schools, one of which they are allowing the foundation to use for our first graders. Their school serves grades one through three. Older students still interested in attending school ride in taxis or walk the three to five kilometres to the school in Villa Tunari or Chipiriri.

One of the only programs that is being organized at the moment in General Roman is a plan to prevent the river from destroying their farms. The sindicato of General Roman for the past three years has been building structures to slow the river as it swells during the rainy season. They are called gabiones, which are large cubes made of wire fence filled with large river stones. The idea is to place them along the edge of the river bed and when the river begins to change course or swell, the gabiones will stop the river from tearing through their farms. Since General Roman is a huge farming community that is located along the river, programs to prevent erosion of their fields is fundamentally important to the families. This year the sindicato has joined with two other sindicatos to build these structures along the riverbed. There was a week in August when hundreds of people came to the river to work. The work requires picking stones up from the river bed, moving them along a human chain, and then heaving them into the large wire cages. Our volunteers joined in several days work side by side with men from these communities.

We had the pleasure of visiting with the dirigente (sindicato leader), Isaias Flores Morales, on the 18^th of October, 2006. He had just come from a full days work on the river, but still had a big smile and energy to go around. On our visit he was particularly excited about a tortoise that had crawled up to his house. His daughter, who attends the foundation’s school, found the tortoise. She was quite afraid of the big thing so Isaias decided to give the tortoise to the foundation. This is the first year that Isaias has been dirigente, however, he has been constantly involved in the sindicato since he was eighteen. On an interesting side note, his grandparents helped pioneer the establishment of the sindicato.

General Roman and the Foundation Angels of Hope

General Roman has always been a close ally to the foundation and our cause in not only donating land, but supporting all of our programs. Because of General Roman’s close proximity to the foundation, the community members can easily access the free medical and dental clinic. The doctor and dentist, and all of the foundation’s facilities, are a direct result of sponsor donations. However, medical care can only go so far when a person’s home life is less than sanitary. Most families have no suitable bathroom facilities. Most of them either dig a small hole or use the terrain around their house. Many families do not have the resources or the education to improve this condition. The foundation Angels of Hope has derived a plan of attack for solving this problem.

Working together with each family, our volunteers and the foundation will provide a set list of supplies including roofing, cement, large screws, tubing, and the base for the latrines. The families will be responsible for providing wood or bamboo for the above ground outhouse, and the rocks necessary to reinforce the septic tank below ground. Families will be provided with the basic drop-hole latrines. Volunteers and the foundation will work jointly with the families to dig the holes and construct the latrines. In this way, each family with access to wood and stones, which is everyone, will have the opportunity to create a sanitary bathroom facility. The program is scheduled to begin in November 2006. While it is only a start on the long road to permanently improving health conditions in the area, the foundation is making the necessary steps into the communities thanks to further support from sponsors and the new volunteer program.

Sad Reality: a Closer Look

While a drive down the only long cobbled stoned road that is General Roman may appear to be paradise to someone looking for a vacation home, the majority of its members face a different kind of reality; a closer look shows that life here is quite difficult. Houses in General Roman are modest at best. Most families in the Chapare live in houses slightly smaller than the size of a one car garage. Each house is generally accompanied by a small kitchen that resembles backyard tool shacks separated from the living area. Houses in the area are usually two stories tall, with the first story being used for a common area, while the second floor, accessed by a ladder, is used for storage and sleeping. It is actually considered normal for a family of eight to sleep together on the wooded floor of the second story; fortunate families have straw mattress pads and mosquito nets. Houses are made of wooden planks giving the houses a thrown-together-almost-falling-down look. Floors consist of no more than dirt or a few wooden planks. No house in the Chapare is complete without signs of laundry strung out around the perimeter, and clean clothes hanging over the walls. There are no bathroom facilities, no garbage pick up, and no clean sources for water. In fact, many people collect their water from the river which has high counts of bacteria. Unfortunately, census data is not available at this time for General Roman, but a drive down the long road and a visit to one of the homes reveals enough.

Everyday Difficulties

Since families live spaced apart on their farms in General Roman, getting a sense of community is quite difficult as you may be a five minutes walk from you nearest neighbour. While the foundation is located in General Roman, it is situated at the beginning of the eight kilometre stretch of road, so some families must walk quite a long way to see our doctor. Furthermore, many people choose not to see the doctor because they can not afford to stop work for a full day. Thus many people are sick and have become used to being sick all the time. This is actually a problem throughout Bolivia and especially the Chapare.

There are no stores to buy food, toilet paper or other goods in General Roman. Getting to the closest market, hospital, middle school or hardware store requires a long walk or waiting (and paying) for a taxi, an event which can take half the day. Because families have very little money, they must take care when buying supplies. Staples, such as pencils, notebooks, blankets, shoes, clothing and toys, take a back seat when you are facing six starving children and very little money. Diets consist of rice, potatoes, yuca, and the occasional egg. In general, most people each rice or yucca every meal of the day. Imagine eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Families rarely eat meat or vegetables. Even though most families grow crops of fruit, there is not enough grown for personal consumption as well as for sale. Most of the people in General Roman, and for that matter in the Chapare, are malnourished and suffer from minor aches and pains that turn into major problems due to the lack of vitamins in their diet.

Despite all of these hardships, we were always greeted with smiles. The people here have nothing, but they are happy. At times you find yourself filled with this sense of wonder only to take a second look back at the reality. While you are faced with interior beauty it is easy to forget the ugly exterior, but the truth is that no one, no where should ever have to live like this.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. There would be no foundation if concerned and caring people like you did not take an interest in what is going on throughout the world. There would be no free access to the doctor, dentist, or pre kinder education. In addition, I would not be here today if the foundation was not here. I would not have been able to share in the wonderful world of General Roman if people like you did not share their hearts with families of the Chapare. I wish you could be here to see the beauty and the hardships, but I hope that this letter has given you a better sense of life here and what the foundation is doing. I know there are huge parts that are missing, but the experience of visiting General Roman has filled me with the sense that even though these people are without many things, they are still wonderful, loving and full of smiles, and that is a lesson we all can learn from.

God Bless you for your generosity

Gualberto Villarroel

The Setting

Your sponsored child lives in Gualberto Villarroel. If you drive down the road in front of the foundation you will eventually end up in this community. The two lane cobble stoned road stretches for about six kilometres where it goes down to one lane. About two more kilometres and you reach Gualberto Villarroel. As soon as the road goes to one lane you get the feeling that you are no longer anywhere near civilization. Cars rarely travel down this stretch of road and life seems almost non existent except for the few houses and orange farms speckling the countryside. It is quite a beautiful site, but the thought of your car breaking down and facing a days walk back to town creeps in to leave you with the sense that you are out in the middle of nowhere. It is an eerie feeling for me, but I cannot imagine what it feels like to live out there.

The community stretches along this road, which parallels the river, with families having their farms on either side. When I say farms, it is not the industrial beauties we are accustomed to, but small farms without the machines and conveniences of modern technology. Driving along the road you are surrounded by tropical vegetation, green and lush. After travelling the road many times, you can pick out what is a farm: a small cluster of papaya trees or ditch full of corn by the side of the road. There appears to be no order and no maintenance of weed growth. Actually, on one visit only did I see men cutting the grass in their orange grove. Two men were using weed-whackers to cover an area of ten hectares. It is not uncommon to see several different types of crops growing in the same, unsymmetrical area. Most families have five to ten hectare plots. Families grow crops year round and produce such harvest as tomato, papaya, rice, palm, banana, yucca, and corn, but the main produce is oranges. Crops are generally taken to the market in Cochabamba, an eight hour drive in the cargo truck. Unfortunately, families will spend over half of what they make at the market on the truck rental and fuel.

The Sindicato: Community Government

(Explained in the General Roman letter above)

We tried to visit the dirigente at his home October 18^th, 2006, but found he was working on the river. His one-story shack doubles as the only small store in Gualberto Villarroel. You can buy things like shampoo, soap, and candies, and it appeared as though they might have had a refrigerator, but I am not sure that it was working.

Latrines

While it is quite difficult to reach Gualberto Villarroel, they are one of the communities most in need. Because of their far distance from any of the nearby towns, reaching a doctor is next to impossible. We gathered all of the dirigente’s of four communities, including Gualberto Villarroel, to make several proposals. One of them was offering transportation to children going to schools in other towns, as well as offering transportation for people needing to visit the doctor. The main reason for the meeting was to discuss with the leaders of the communities our new latrines program.

Sad Reality: a Closer Look

While a drive down the only long cobbled stoned road that is Gualberto Villarroel may appear to be paradise, families face a different kind of reality; a closer look shows that life here is quite difficult. Houses in Gualberto Villarroel are modest at best. Most families in the Chapare live in houses slightly smaller than the size of a one car garage. Each house is generally accompanied by a small kitchen that resembles backyard tool shacks separated from the living area. Houses in the area are usually two stories tall, with the first story being used for a common area, while the second floor, accessed by a ladder, is used for storage and sleeping. It is actually considered normal for a family of eight to sleep together on the wooded floor of the second story; fortunate families have straw mattress pads and mosquito nets. A house in the Chapare is not complete without signs of laundry strung out around the perimeter, and clean clothes hanging over the walls.

Houses

Houses in Gualberto Villarroel are much more disadvantaged than what would be considered as typical in the area. Data collected from our census, taken during the month of April 2006, detail the living conditions of 27 families in Gualberto Villarroel. According to our census, exactly half of the houses are covered by asbestos roofing tiles, 25% have a thin, corrugated tin roof, and the other 25 % has some combination of the two. Precisely 86% of houses have walls made of wood and 14% of houses are made with bricks and wood. When I say houses made of wood it is not the wooden houses we are used to seeing. Try to imagine wood planks barely nailed to the frame giving the houses a thrown together lopsided look. There is no such thing as insulation or paint or any kind of material to seal the cracks. It is barely sufficient to keep out the rain and offer some hint of privacy (to see pictures of houses visit to photo gallery of the website www.projectangelsofhope.org). 82% of families have nothing more than dirt floors, while the other portion of families lives with a basic cement floor. Only 60% of people in Gualberto Villarroel have electricity which is used for one or two light bulbs. Appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwaves and other electronics are almost nowhere to be found. The remaining 40% of families use candles or lanterns.

Sanitation

In other communities, there are several sources of water families can use: city water, wells, or rivers and streams. In Gualberto Villarroel, every single family in our census draws their water from wells. This means no running water. It is also highly likely that the wells are full of water that is contaminated. The fact of the matter is that all water sources in the area are not without contamination. A biologist volunteer utilized a water testing kit and found that each source of water has high counts of bacteria and should not be consumed (you can find out more about this on our website www.projectangelsofhope.org). Most people in Bolivia, due to tradition and education, boil their water before drinking it, which 21% of families in Gualberto Villarroel do. Unfortunately, 79% of people drink their water straight from the source, which means that they are drinking contaminated water. People in this area are riddled with stomach parasites and infections. In fact, most people in the area are accustomed to living with one illness or another and find chronic diarrhoea normal. The doctor is constantly treating patients for stomach problems, but when they return home the sources of contamination have not been reduced and patients are once again exposed to that which makes them continuously sick.

Furthermore, garbage pick up is non existent for the communities of the Chapare. While there is little evidence of trash around the streets, according to our census, three families dig a small hole for their trash, three families burn their trash (often in their make shift kitchen stove), and one family does both. The remaining twenty families throw their trash in what is called campo abierto, which basically means anywhere around the yard. Adding to the sanitation problems one discovers that bathroom facilities are virtually non existent and the majority of families respond to natures call in their front yard. The truth is that all 27 families who participated in our census have neither a latrine nor a toilet. Eighteen families dig a small hole in the yard, and the other nine families go wherever they are. This leads to the main source of contamination for the water and food. Hopefully the foundation will be able to help those families most in need with prolonged assistance from sponsors.

Living Far From Society

Since families live spaced apart on their farms in Gualberto Villarroel, getting a sense of community is quite difficult as you may be a five minutes walk from you nearest neighbour. The sense of isolation is worse when a family member is sick. Getting to the doctor is not an easy task as taxis are scare and our bus only comes around once in the morning. Visiting the doctor requires sacrificing a full day off work. For this reason, many people choose not to see the doctor. Many people in the Chapare are sick and have become used to being sick all the time. This is actually a problem throughout Bolivia.

There was only one small store in Gualberto Villarroel to buy small things, but markets where you can find food, clothing or other goods are over eight kilometres away. Getting to the closest market, hospital, middle school or hardware store requires a long walk or waiting (and paying) for a taxi, an event which surely takes all day. Because families have very little money, they must take care when buying supplies. Staples, such as pencils, notebooks, blankets, shoes, clothing and toys, take a back seat when you are facing six starving children and very little money. Diets consist of rice, potatoes, yuca, and the occasional egg. In general, most people each rice or yucca every meal of the day. Imagine eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Families rarely eat meat or vegetables. Even though most families grow crops of fruit, there is not enough grown for personal consumption as well as for sale. Most of the people in Gualberto Villarroel, and for that matter in the Chapare, are malnourished and suffer from minor aches and pains that turn into major problems due to the lack of vitamins in their diet.

Despite all of these hardships, we were always greeted with smiles. The people here have nothing, but they are happy. At times you find yourself surrounded with this sense of wonder only to take a second look back at the reality. While you are faced with interior beauty it is easy to forget the ugly exterior, but the truth is that no one, no where should ever have to live like this.

The Foundation Angels of Hope is growing into an organization that is making permanent improvements in the lives of the people who live in the Chapare. Thanks to the donations we have received, mostly through sponsors like you, we have a blossoming medical clinic and dental office, which see hundreds of patients weekly. We have a preschool where over 100 children are fed, medically treated and taught basic sanitation such as brushing teeth and washing hands. We even have the prospects of adding a second preschool. Each year families receive gifts for Christmas, called canastoñ. This is a large plastic bowl, which can be used for washing dishes or clothes, filled with food stuffs such as flour, sugar, salt, lentils, quinua, detergent and more. Children also receive a backpack full of school supplies and books at the beginning of the school year. And let us not forget about our proposed latrine program, which hopes to provide over 300 families with sanitary bathroom facilities, thereby effectively reducing major threats to health and contamination.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. There would be no foundation if concerned and caring people like you did not take an interest in what is going on throughout the world. There would be no free access to the doctor, dentist, or pre kinder education. In addition, I would not be here today if the foundation was not here. I would not have been able to share in the wonderful world of Gualberto Villarroel if you did not share their hearts with families of the Chapare. I wish you could have been there to see it, but I hope that this letter has given you a better sense of life here and what the foundation is doing. I know there are huge parts that are missing, but the experience of visiting Gualberto Villarroel has filled me with the sense that even though these children are without many things, they are still wonderful children with a loving families.

God bless you for your generosity

San Lorenzo

The Setting: San Lorenzo

Your sponsored child lives in San Lorenzo about a kilometre from the foundation’s school and clinic. San Lorenzo is a small hamlet with more or less 34 families. There is one small, cobblestone road that runs through the middle of the neighbourhood. They have a one room school serving grades kinder through third with one teacher. After third grade the children still interested in attending school ride taxis to the school in Villa Tunari or Chipiriri, about three kilometres away. The houses are quite close together with very little yard space, but leave a certain close feeling to the community environment. The area is quite clean with little evidence of garbage strewn about. Flowers speckle the scenery while skinny, lazy dogs bark as you pass their home and grandmothers squat on their porches watching the day go by.

The Sindicato: Community Government

(Explained in the General Roman letter above)

In San Lorenzo, each family has their plot of land on the mountain for their crops, but the sindicato has allotted sections of its own land to the families. In other words, they have created their own little pueblo, or village. Most families built their homes on these small plots of land creating a neighbourhood away from their farms. Families are, therefore, located in one central area surrounding the school and soccer field.

Jipi Japa Association

There is also a regional organization of women who work with jipi japa. Jipi Japa is made by boiling and drying a type of palm leaf. It is used to create jewellery boxes, hats and decorations. It is basically crafts made out of what appears to be straw. It actually takes several days to create a small box. In a period of two weeks, one woman can make a beautiful hat that will fetch a price of 60 boliviano, which is the equivalent of about $7.50 US. The jipi japa organization, with the help of USAID, has set up a way for the women to export their products thereby creating more profit for the artisans. Each community is in the process of constructing shops for the women to gather, learn, and store their creations. On every visit I have made to the communities, there was always a women working on her latest beauty and they are eager to show you their completed projects.

Community Life: the Upside

Evident after my second visit to San Lorenzo was the close community that has resulted from the central location and the sindicato. During our visits the children behaved as though they were one large family. In fact, it was hard to tell which children were siblings as all children were taking care of each other. On one occasion a two year old began to cry and was comforted by several children not her siblings. It is actually quite common in Bolivia to see a child of five taking care of his/her younger siblings. In fact, during our interviews many older siblings came with their younger siblings papers and helped them answer questions if they were too shy to speak for themselves. This is a sad reality as both parents and older children must work in the fields to sustain the family needs. Thus the younger children are left to fend for themselves at home. The system works well, however, because the children are always willing to share what they have with the other children and they learn from an early age how to be caring. Furthermore, each person in the community looks out for each other. For example, there were several mothers around who were being equally mothering to all the children.

Before formally entering the town of San Lorenzo, we first had to speak with the president of the Sindicato, or the dirigente. Isidro Zerda is a hardworking man with a happy disposition. He is always concerned about shaking your hand because he has been working and thinks he is dirty, but in the end he will undoubtedly come through. In this case, the dirigente is the father of one of the foundation’s employees, Mario Zerda, and both of his granddaughters attend the foundation. He was happy to welcome us into the community and tell us about the newest of their programs, which is creating initiative for each family to build latrines. It was at this point that we found a way for the foundation’s volunteer program to provide further assistance to the communities.

San Lorenzo and the Foundation Angels of Hope

Because of San Lorenzo’s close proximity to the foundation, the community members can easily access the free medical and dental clinic. In fact, I recognized many people in San Lorenzo I had previously seen waiting for the doctor or dentist. The doctor and dentist, and all of the foundation’s facilities, are a direct result of sponsor donations. However, medical care can only go so far when a person’s home life is less than sanitary. Most families have no suitable bathroom facilities. Most of them either dig a small hole or use the terrain around their house. In San Lorenzo, the sindicato has provided instruction plans to each family able to buy materials for latrines. Unfortunately, many families are unable to build latrines due to lack of sufficient funds. After several meetings with the dirigente, we have derived a plan of attack for solving this problem.

Isidro was actually in the middle of reinforcing his septic hole with large stones when we first arrived in San Lorenzo. Excited at the prospect of aiding the communities with more than just free access to a doctor, dentist, and pre-kinder education, we headed off to meet the children and their families.

Visits with the Children: Smile for the Camera

We visited San Lorenzo several times during the last week of September 2006. Yussela was conducting the interviews with each child while I was taking their pictures. Taking pictures is a huge ordeal in Bolivia. Fathers would lovingly fix there young child’s hair, proudly standing by as they light up for the camera. Young girls would run into their house to change clothes. Actually, most children are initially terrified of the camera, however, once they learn that they can see the picture after it has been taken, it becomes a spectacle for the whole town to see. At one point, I was surrounded by fifteen children each one amazed that they could see the girl posing on the digital screen.

It even became a game to pose the children in different places and try to make them laugh during the photos. One child climbed up into a tree and decided that would be a good place for photos, even for the baby. Probably something I will never see again: a two year old poising for pictures in a tree with two large chickens in it. Afterwards her brother helped her out of the tree. Little things go a long way when you have no other means of entertainment.

The Atmosphere and the Children

Throughout our visits there was always a radio playing in the background. The children laughed at me when I began to dance. The children actually found my stories and my attempts at speaking Quechua, a native Indian language, quite entertaining as well. On one occasion the kids pointed out a hug bee’s nest. I told them the story of how we had huge wasps in our house and killed them with bug spray and a lighter. They thought that was really funny.

During our visits, we saw children working with their parents after school on a tree growing plantation (small farm). We saw children playing with wheelbarrows and even had some volunteers race down the road with four children piled in the wheelbarrow. At one point, I heard a chirp, looked down only to see a two year old with a baby chicken on her shoulder. Most of the children were wearing flip flops, but many children simply went without shoes.

I have come to realize that there are some things that never change; certain aspects of childhood that can be found all over the world in every different economic condition. You still have the giggly teenage girls and the boys who stand off to the side. Children here are either shy or extroverted when they meet new people, just like at home; and their favourite activities are still playing with their friends.

After the photos had been taken we remained for a while talking with the mothers and watching the children play. The kids here have few real toys and must resort to their imagination for fun and games. A favorite game here is putting flip flops on their hands and sliding them along cement. Kids at the foundation can be seen racing along the cement walkways on all fours. Several of the little girls asked what I was writing in my notebook and I told them I was taking notes so that I could compose a letter to their sponsors so that they could learn more about life here. I explained to them how many things are different in the United States, such as chickens running around in the front yard and house. They were amazed that we don’t have chickens in our houses. Rain began to trickle upon us signifying the end of our visit. The children all said good bye and asked us excitedly when we were going to come back. The smell of flowers lingered in the air as the sun set and we headed home. As walked away from San Lorenzo I was overcome with a great sense of neighbourhood and sharing…

Sad Reality: a Closer Look

I have tried to paint a beautiful, organized picture of this community, but alas the time has come for us to face the grim reality of life in San Lorenzo. While it may seem that this community is doing well, and respective to other communities they are much better off, a closer look shows that life here is quite difficult. Houses in San Lorenzo are modest at best. Most families in the Chapare live in houses slightly smaller than the size of a one car garage. Each house is generally accompanied by a small kitchen that resembles backyard tool shacks separated from the living area. Houses in the area are usually two stories tall, with the first story being used for a common area, while the second floor, accessed by a ladder, is used for storage and sleeping. It is actually considered normal for a family of eight to sleep together on the wooded floor of the second story; fortunate families have straw mattress pads and mosquito nets. A house in the Chapare is not complete without signs of laundry strung out around the perimeter, and clean clothes hanging over the walls.

Houses

In San Lorenzo, however, many of the houses are only one story and much smaller than what would be measured as typical. Data collected from our census, taken the last week of September 2006, detail the living conditions of 28 families in San Lorenzo. According to our census, exactly half of the houses are covered by a thin, corrugated tin roof, while the other half has asbestos roofing tiles. Precisely 73% of houses have walls made of wood and 23% of houses are made with bricks. When I say houses made of wood it is not the wooden houses we are used to seeing. Try to imagine wood planks barely nailed to the frame giving the houses a thrown together lopsided look. There is no such thing as insulation or paint or any kind of material to seal the cracks. It is barely sufficient to keep out the rain and offer some hint of privacy (to see pictures of houses visit to photo gallery of the website www.projectangelsofhope.org). 45% of families have nothing more than dirt floors, while the other portion of families lives with a basic cement floor. The majority (70.4%) of people in San Lorenzo have electricity which is used for one or two light bulbs, with one family owning a small television. Appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwaves and other electronics are nowhere to be found. The remaining 30% of families use candles or lanterns.

Sanitation

There are several sources of water families can use: city water, wells, or rivers and streams. Twenty families get their water from the city, most via the tap outside the school house. Two families use a well to get water, one family collects water from a nearby stream, and three families walk over three kilometres to the river for water. The fact of the matter is that none of these water sources are without contamination. A biologist volunteer utilized a water testing kit and found that each source of water has high counts of bacteria and should not be consumed (you can find out more about this on our website www.projectangelsofhope.org). Due to tradition and education, 75% of families boil their water before drinking; nevertheless, 25% of people drink the water however they find it, which is one of the main reasons that 42.7 % of the people living in San Lorenzo are sick. People in this area are riddled with stomach parasites and infections. In fact, most people in the area are accustomed to living with one illness or another and find chronic diarrhoea normal. The doctor is constantly treating patients for stomach problems, but when they return home the sources of contamination have not been reduced and patients are once again exposed to that which makes them continuously sick.

Furthermore, garbage pick up is non existent for the communities of the Chapare. While there is little evidence of trash around the streets, according to our census, many (92.5%) families either throw their non-reusable trash on the ground, burn it (often in their make shift kitchen stove) or both. Adding to the sanitation problems one discovers that bathroom facilities are virtually non existent and the majority of families respond to natures call in their front yard. The truth is that 22 out of 28 families are without bathroom facilities. Mentioned before was the latrine program in San Lorenzo; however, according to our census only five families have latrines, while another five are in the process of building their latrines. That leaves 18 families that are still without a sanitary place to use the bathroom. Hopefully the foundation will be able to help those families most in need with prolonged assistance from sponsors.

Community Life: the Downside

While living in the community area has its benefits, it does mean that most families have to walk over five kilometres everyday to go to work on their farms. The village has no doctor or nurse, so the families must also walk to see our doctor. Luckily, the foundation is close to San Lorenzo and easily accessible; other communities are not so fortunate. This is also true for markets and other necessities. There are no stores to buy food, toilet paper or other goods in San Lorenzo. Getting to the closest market, hospital, middle school or hardware store requires a long walk or waiting (and paying) for a taxi, an event which can take half the day. Because families have very little money, they must take care when buying supplies. Staples, such as pencils, notebooks, blankets, shoes, clothing and toys, take a back seat when you are facing six starving children and very little money. Diets consist of rice, potatoes, yuca, and the occasional egg. In general, most people each rice or yucca every meal of the day. Imagine eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner…Families rarely eat meat or vegetables. Even though most families grow crops of fruit, there is not enough left over for personal consumption. Most of the people in San Lorenzo, and for that matter in the Chapare, are malnourished and suffer from minor aches and pains that turn into major problems due to the lack of vitamins in their diet.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. There would be no foundation if concerned and caring people like you did not take an interest in what is going on throughout the world. There would be no free access to the doctor, dentist, or pre kinder education. In addition, I would not be here today if the foundation was not here. I would not have been able to share in the wonderful world of San Lorenzo if you did not share their hearts with families of the Chapare. I wish you could have been there to see it, but I hope that this letter has given you a better sense of life here and what the foundation is doing. I know there are huge parts that are missing, but the experience of visiting San Lorenzo has filled me with the sense that even though these children are without many things, they are still wonderful children with a loving families.

God bless you for your generosity,

Santa Elena

The Setting: Santa Elena

Your sponsored child lives in Santa Elena. The community of Santa Elena is situated along side the main road in between Villa Tunari and Chipiriri. It is about three kilometres from both towns. From the side of the road it doesn’t seem like much; just a few houses in one area. Take a turn down a small, on lane road and you find a little village surrounding the school and large soccer field. The community is spread out over a two kilometre radius and has just fewer than 50 families. The small road makes a sort of large square through the village with houses sprinkled on either side. The unused soccer field sits next to the school, which has a basketball court out front that is used by the children for small soccer games. The school is a one room building that has grades one through three with one teacher. Standing next to the school building is the old school building, now an abandoned shack. There were several children playing inside peeking through the cracks and standing in the doorway. The school house is also used three nights a week for free adult education. Most of the mothers in town and two men come to learn how to read and write.

The Sindicato: Community Government

(Explained in the General Roman letter above)

The Sinidcato of Santa Elena actually holds their meetings, however, several kilometres from the main road and village. We were invited to a meeting to discuss several issues concerning health and education on October 10, 2006. We had to drive about three kilometres from the main road to the river, where we had to proceed for another two kilometres on foot. The little hut is out in the middle of the woods giving a sense of secrecy to the meetings. About forty people were gathered sitting on wooden benches or the ground. The Doctor said we were there to discuss latrines and they replied that they had been waiting for us. We sat down and the doctor proceeded in explaining our latrine program.

Latrines

Working together with each family, our volunteers and the foundation will provide a set list of supplies including roofing, cement, large screws, tubing, and the base for the latrines. The families will be responsible for providing wood and bamboo for the above ground outhouse, and the rocks necessary to reinforce the septic tank below ground. Families will be provided with the basic drop-hole latrines. Families will work jointly with volunteers to dig the holes and construct the latrines. In this way, each family with access to wood and stones, which is everyone, will have the opportunity to create a sanitary bathroom facility. The program is scheduled to begin in November 2006. While it is only a start on the long road to permanently improving health conditions in the area, the foundation is making the necessary steps into the communities thanks to further support from sponsors and the new volunteer program. The people of Santa Elena accepted our proposal and we left them to have further discussions. That was actually my last visit to Santa Elena, but I will never forget that secret meeting in the woods.

Jipi Japa

There is also a regional organization of women who work with jipi japa. Jipi Japa is made by boiling and drying a type of palm leaf. It is used to create jewellery boxes, hats and decorations. It is basically crafts made out of what appears to be straw. It actually takes several days to create a small box. In a period of two weeks, one woman can make a beautiful hat that will fetch a price of 60 boliviano, which is the equivalent of about $7.50 US. The organization, with the help of USAID, has set up a way for the women to export their products thereby creating more profit for the artisans. Each community is in the process of building structures for the women to gather, learn, and store their creations. On every visit I have made to the communities, there was always a women working on her latest beauty and they are eager to show you their completed projects.

On my first visit to Santa Elena, the foundation was actually donating five large bags of cement for the floor of the jipi japa house to be built next to the main road. We were invited into the dirigente’s humble house where four women were lounging around working on their crafts. After a few moments of speaking in Quechua, the native Indian language, we unloaded the cement and took our leave. It was a short visit, but enough to spark my interest in seeing more of Santa Elena.

Setting up the Meeting with the Children

During the composition of these letters I worked with Yussela, the foundation’s administrator, and Daysi, the newest addition to our foundation she is one of our community coordinators. We visited each community interviewing each child and taking their photos. In Santa Elena, we decided to pick a day when all of the children would meet in the schoolyard. Before formally entering any community for activities, it is customary to first speak with the president of the Sindicato, or the dirigente. On October 5, 2006, we visited the dirigente once again at his home in order drop off the list of children and discuss a place and time. After several moments of speaking Quechua with the dirigente, our official business was finished and Yussela suggested seeing more of Santa Elena.

It was at that time that several children began to show curiosity at their visitors. I recognized many of the children from the foundation school and began to have a conversation. They were shy at first, but showed me a small parrot in a cage. He was eating bananas and berries. After asking what type of berries they were the children took me to a small tree filled with these blackberry treats. Kids were climbing in the tree while others were pulling on branches and I was picking the berries. They were delicious! The fruit here is amazing. One little boy even shared his loot with me after I had handed out all of my berries. Little boys were running around with sticks pretending to play cowboys and Indians. I picked up a tire and we started rolling it back and forth. Girls were coming up to us with flowers and I started putting them in their hair over their ear. One girl initially didn’t want the flower in here hair, but that changed once all the other little girls had flowers in their hair…they were so cute.

The sun set and we headed back to the foundation, our bus full of patients for the doctor. Several kids were chasing us as we made our way around the town and back to the main road. My heart was full of excitement at the warm welcome, the memories of childhood racing through my mind, and the delicious fruit in my stomach. I knew our return would be just as wonderful as this day.

In the School Yard for Pictures: the Typical Bolivian Day

On September 9, 2006 we had scheduled our meeting with the all the sponsored children in the Santa Elena schoolyard. It was the typical Bolivian day. We were supposed to arrive at the school at 3:00pm. Around 3:15 Yussela, Daysi, and I headed for our bus, only to realize that the driver was no where to be found. After searching the school and surrounding grounds, we decided to call him on his cell phone. His phone was not on. After scratching our heads for a while, we decided to get the doctor to drive us, but he was with a patient so we had to wait. Waiting is something that occurs everyday here in Bolivia. Brent Stremel, the other volunteer director, once told me that “if you are in a hurry, you can be sure that you are the only one!” Shortly after 3:45 the doctor was ready and we finally got in the bus to head off. It was at that point that we realized the bus driver had the keys. Slightly hot and bothered, but at this point laughing at the irony, we tried the bus driver again on his phone and this time got through. Five minutes later he came running down the road and we were finally off, an hour late.

As we were halfway to Santa Elena we heard this loud noise. It sounded like the bus had just ran into another car. Upon further inspection we realized that the bumper to the bus had fallen off and we ran over it! No worries though, never any worries in Bolivia, we just picked up the bumper and put it inside the bus and drove on. When we finally arrived at the school yard there were only about eight children ready for pictures. Yussela gathered them together and told several of them to summon the others. The teacher provided a table and chair for us and we began our work. Daysi was checking the list of children, Yussela was conducting the interviews with each child, and I was taking their pictures.

Picture Time, Everybody Smile

Taking pictures is a huge ordeal in Bolivia. Most children are initially terrified of the camera, however once they learn that they can see the picture after it has been taken, it becomes a spectacle for the whole town to see. At one point, I was surrounded by fifteen children each one amazed that they could see the girl posing on the digital screen. Chaos reigned as it so often does in Bolivia, with children running around playing, making monkey noises, and taking part in the photo session. Little things go a long way when you have no other means of entertainment.

Well just as more children began to show up; the battery on the camera went dead. So we had to explain to all the children that there was no more battery and we would have to return on a different day. They were disappointed, but once again no worries as they all began to play. The boys were playing soccer and the girls were playing a game similar to jump rope. So we called the bus driver to come pick us up, but he was going to be about an hour. You may think that we just had a stroke of bad luck, but nothing is easy here in Bolivia and this day closely resembled most days. But you had better make the best of things, right?

Childhood Games

I sat for a while watching the children play. Twenty boys playing soccer on the concrete basketball court all with bare feet. A girl riding an oversized bike through the field managed to pop a wheelie when the soccer ball got caught between her tires. Other girls were playing with a large elastic band. The band was placed around two girls standing about six feet away from each other. Other girls would then jump over the elastic band in different ways. The band was raised from foot level, to knee level, and then to waist level. I expressed an interest in the game and Yussela asked me if I wanted to play. At first I thought no, but then I decided it might be fun. So I took of my flip flops and we joined in the game. The three of us adults were playing this child’s game, and they succeeded in reminding us of why they were games for children. Apart from my sore muscles the next day, at one point I was attempting to do the jumps at waist level, tore a hole in the butt of my jeans and broke their rope. Once again no worries, as they fixed the rope easy, but it was a good laugh for all, including myself.

After that, I decided I had better stick to sitting by and watching the soccer game. Daysi, who is quite the athlete, decided she could show these boys a few things and jumped on the field to play. The elastic band game died down as all the girls sat by the sidelines in awe: nineteen boys and one girl play soccer. When I asked one of the girls why they weren’t playing soccer they replied that it was for boys. At first it appeared to be a normal little league soccer game where all the kids chase the ball around, but these kids were actually really good. The bus finally arrived and we headed back to the foundation. I couldn’t get over the amazing visit that we had; all of the amazing visits we have had in Santa Elena. The children, who are shy at first, but open up and you realize they are no different than children in the U.S.; although, children here must resort to their imagination for entertainment due to the lack of television and toys. Things like big rubber bands and tires and sticks become games that last for ages. What a fulfilling experience. Unfortunately, there were several children who were not able to participate. They were standing by watching the game while tending to six cows feeding in the larger soccer field. I guess this brings us to the other side of this magical community.

The Sad Reality: a closer look at Santa Elena

I have tried to paint a beautiful, happy picture of this community, and in many ways it is beautiful and happy; but alas the time has come for us to face the grim reality of life in Santa Elena. Houses in Santa Elena are modest at best. Most families in the Chapare live in houses slightly smaller than the size of a one car garage. Each house is generally accompanied by a small kitchen that resembles backyard tool shacks separated from the living area. Houses in the area are usually two stories tall, with the first story being used for a common area, while the second floor, accessed by a ladder, is used for storage and sleeping. It is actually considered normal for a family of eight to sleep together on the wooded floor of the second story; fortunate families have straw mattress pads and mosquito nets. A house in the Chapare is not complete without signs of laundry strung out around the perimeter and clean clothes hanging over the walls.

Houses

In Santa Elena, however, many of the houses appear to be falling apart and are not what would be measured as typical. Data collected from our census, taken the last week of July 2006, detail the living conditions of 37 families in Santa Elena. According to our census, exactly 75% of the houses are covered by a thin, corrugated tin roof, while 22.8% have asbestos roofing tiles, and 2.8% have a roof made of palm leaves. About half of the houses have walls made of wood and the other half of the houses are made with bricks. When I say houses made of wood it is not the wooden houses we are used to seeing. Try to imagine wood planks barely nailed to the frame giving the houses a thrown together, lopsided look. There is no such thing as insulation or paint or any kind of material to seal the cracks. It is barely sufficient to keep out the rain and offer some hint of privacy (to see pictures of houses visit to photo gallery of the website www.projectangelsofhope.org). While it may sound better to have a house made of brick, they are usually only one story and trap heat inside making for unbearable nights. 43.2% of families have nothing more than dirt floors, while the other portion of families lives with a basic cement floor. Only 56.8% of people in Santa Elena have electricity which is used for one or two light bulbs. Appliances such as refrigerators, washers and dryers, microwaves and other electronics, including television, are nowhere to be found. The remaining 43.2% of families use candles or lanterns.

Sanitation

There are several sources of water families can use: city water, wells, or rivers and streams. Twenty families get their water from the city, with several families sharing each tap. One family uses a well to get water, one family collects water from a nearby stream, and fourteen families walk over one kilometre to the river for water. During the five months of the “dry” season, the nearby river dries up and the fourteen families must walk over three kilometres to the next river. The distressing truth is that none of these water sources are without contamination. A biologist volunteer utilized a water testing kit and found that each source of water has high counts of bacteria and should not be consumed (you can find out more about this on our website www.projectangelsofhope.org). Due to tradition and education, 51.4% of families boil their water before drinking; nevertheless, 48.6% of people drink the water however they find it, which is one of the main reasons that many of the people living in Santa Elena are sick. People in this area are riddled with stomach parasites and infections. In fact, most people in the area are accustomed to living with one illness or another and find chronic diarrhoea normal. The doctor is constantly treating patients for stomach problems, but when they return home the sources of contamination have not been reduced and patients are once again exposed to that which makes them continuously sick.

Furthermore, garbage pick up is non existent for the communities of the Chapare. There is little evidence of trash around the streets, however, because according to our census most (94.5%) families either throw their non-reusable trash into a hole in the ground, burn it (often in their make shift kitchen stove) or both. One family actually throws their garbage directly into the river. Adding to the sanitation problems one discovers that bathroom facilities are virtually non existent and the majority of families respond to natures call in their front yard. The fact of the matter is that 35 out of 37 families are without bathroom facilities. Two families are fortunate enough to have a latrine, but 31 families dig small holes and three families go wherever they are. Hopefully the foundation will be able to help those families most in need with the continued support of our sponsors. The lack of sanitary bathroom facilities is the number one cause of illness in the area, as well as the spread of disease and contamination of water sources.

Everyday Difficulties

While living in the community area has its benefits, it does mean that most families have to walk over five kilometres everyday to go to work on their farms. The village has no doctor or nurse, so the families must also walk to see our doctor. This is also true for markets and other necessities. There are no stores to buy food, toilet paper or other goods in Santa Elena. Getting to the closest market, hospital, middle school or hardware store requires a long walk or waiting (and paying) for a taxi, an event which can take half the day. Because families have very little money, they must take care when buying supplies. Staples, such as pencils, notebooks, blankets, shoes, clothing and toys, take a back seat when you are facing six starving children and very little money. Diets consist of rice, potatoes, yuca, and the occasional egg. In general, most people each rice or yucca every meal of the day. Imagine eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Families rarely eat meat or vegetables. Even though most families grow crops of fruit, there is not enough grown for personal consumption as well as for sale. Most of the people in Santa Elena, and for that matter in the Chapare, are malnourished and suffer from minor aches and pains that turn into major problems due to the lack of vitamins in their diet. A closer look at the children playing on the soccer field revealed that they are all underweight and have rashes or sores that are becoming infected. In fact, every time we have visited Santa Elena the bus returns to the foundation with at least one or more patients.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you. There would be no foundation if concerned and caring people like you did not take an interest in what is going on throughout the world. There would be no free access to the doctor, dentist, or pre kinder education. In addition, I would not be here today if the foundation was not here. I would not have been able to share in the wonderful world of Santa Elena if you did not share their hearts with families of the Chapare. I wish you could have been there to see it, but I hope that this letter has given you a better sense of life here and what the foundation is doing. I know there are huge parts that are missing, but the experience of visiting Santa Elena has filled me with the sense that even though these children are without many things, they are still wonderful children with a loving families.

God bless you for your generosity,

Amanda Newman

Independent Catholic Lay Missionaries:Serving Bolivia's impovereshed people
Angels of Hope is a Tax Exempt 501(c)(3) Organization
Michaelmarroquin@hotmail.com
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