The Chapare Region

Description of the Chapare Region

Bolivia is located in center of South America, bordering with Brazil, Parguay, Peru, and Chili. The climate is harsh, with rain 300 days per year. Yet sometimes it may go months without any rain at all.  The humidity is consistently high at around 95% with temperatures going as high as 110°. 

The Chapare area is populated with native Bolivians from over 17 regions of the country with as many languages. Some of the people live in small villages, but most live separated in the countryside.

Tuberculosis, yellow fever, malaria, dysentery, hepatitis, and other diseases are comparable to the most plagued African countries. 

Regional Assistance and
Local Organizations

One of the reasons that the Marroquins chose the Chapare is that there was little or no support in that region of the jungle. 

There is the Catholic Church that is over worked. The two priests there have at least 30 villages and over a 200 square mile area.  Most of which can not be reached by car or bus. The younger of the two priests is 70. The priests get to many of the locations only once a year. The two masses they give in the main Church have an attendance of 12 people per service. 

They have approached orders such as the Franciscans and the Jesuits. All have said the same things: "It's too rough to work there, it's too dangerous, it's too isolated. The people are too ignorant to respond." Or, they were told, "The climate is too hard to work in. There are too many diseases, mosquitoes and snakes." 

There are no police or ambulances. There are no bus systems or regular taxies. There is no real government presence of any kind except for the union, which acts more like a governing board since there are no industries. 

There is a hospital near the main church that is run by the priests. It requires four to six hours for the average family members living in the region to walk to the hospital. A big problem with the hospitals is that the general population believes that you only go there to die. 

In brief, we may be the only ones out there to provide a safety net and hope.

To learn how you can volunteer and help us help these people, CLICK HERE!