Projects

Anniversary of Villa Tunari

The month began with the anniversary of Villa Tunari on Sunday June 4.  The town hosted a fair and had a parade all day Sunday put on by different groups in the area.  The Foundation was proud to take part in this parade.  Volunteers arrived at the project to help dress the children in their uniforms and serve them breakfast.  Chaos reigned as the bus was loaded to the brim with teachers, parents, volunteers and children.  Amidst all the confusion, and the rain, the parade commenced successfully.  The first grade classroom had actually been practicing their marching moves.  Children and volunteers held painted canes representing the Bolivian flag.  As with any parade we passed through a review board which announced the foundation, what we do and they even thanked the volunteers for their efforts with the school.  An exciting experience for those involved, especially listening to the crowds approval over the brass of a local marching band.

On an interesting side note I must mention the fair.  The fair was set up around the town plaza, which is a large grassy area with park benches and a playground.  It consisted of little stands where people could buy food, drink and other goodies.  Amusement rides included fuzball tables, trampolines, merry-go rounds with plastic cars on them, and pedals go karts for the kids to play with.  The festivities lasted over a week, starting with the anniversary of Villa Tunari and ending with the celebration of Saint Anthony the following week.  children were entertained all week by what appeared to be meek in comparison to the grand scale of fairs that I have seen in the United States.  Even though the fair equipment was outdated and can be found in many of our backyards, children were more than happy to entertain themselves on what was to them first rate.  Our volunteers even got a game of fuzball going with local teens.  I guess when you don't have much a little will go a long way, but it was really nice to see people who were able to appreciate childlike fun without all the lights and expense.  My view of Bolivia has been forever changed after experiencing the Festival of Villa Tunari.

Number one to PAN

There are two Bolivian organizations that are set up to assist groups, like our foundation, in their attempt to aid the poor.  One of them is SUMI, which is concerned with the health of children and mothers.  SUMI provides medicine to supply our pharmacy.  The other organization is PAN.  PAN is an organization interested in improving education in Bolivia.  They have provided our school with tables, chairs, refrigerators, and large supplies of foods such as sugar and flour.  They also supplement the teachers salary each month and provide opportunities for the teachers to take furthering education seminars.   The week of July 19 Blanca, our Kinder A teacher, attended one of these seminars and spent the week working with PAN.  Upon her return to the Chapare, we learned that we are now considered the number one organization that PAN deals with.  This means that our organization, out of almost 100 organizations, is run more efficiently and has succeeded in providing quality healthcare and education to a large number of children.  The school is now their model organization and this standing will ensure that we continue to receive aid from them.  This also puts us in a position to receive more aid upon the expansion of our program.  Congratulations to those who have worked so hard to make this school a great one!

Children playing on the playground.

In 2004 the foundation received a donation from Michael and Susan Stremel which was used to build a large playground for the children. The wooden structure, however, did not age well in the tropical environment.  When I arrived here in March, the playground was locked up and no kids were allowed to play on it.  The doctor decided that it had become unsafe.  With the help of our volunteers a renovation process began.  Four months later the playground is up and running.  We have repainted and varnished the entire structure, replaced rotting wood with new wood, fixed the rusting slides, replaced the tire swings with a large net, built a sandbox, replaced the roofs of the towers, and taken out the wobbly bridge.  A big thanks goes out to Mario, Inbar, Liron, Hadas, Zohar, Susan, Catherine, Dom, Coby, Yael, Yaeli, Justin, Dar, Anat, Orr, Elad, Or, Itay, Liat, Lilach, Hila, Liraz, Liana, Roey, Romain, Jean-Sebastien, Job, Max, Caleb, Laura, Terri, Piet, Madeleine, Anna Marie, Valentin, Liz, Liam and the Stremel family. Because of your devotion kids are now able to play on the playground during recess. Vamos...all kids let's go play in the playground!!!     Today I watched as children streamed into the park for the first time.  Tears came to my eyes as children ran around in shear joy and excitement.  I delayed the newsletter this month to report the opening of the park and to show everyone the pictures of the children playing...I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.  Take a look at more pictures by clicking here.

To view the Newsletter from last month or the month before visit Past Reports.