Teachers, Engineers, and more: meet Nadir, Martin, and f/Friends

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. 

Maria Cristina Apaza Gironda, Education Sciences.  Maria’s favorite subject was Psychology, where she learned how to work with children according to their ages and personalities. Her final project was developing a classroom management model for teachers in Luribay village. Maria is also a member of the Cochabamba Friends Model School project, an independent initiative.

Martin Canaviri Mamani, Linguistics and Languages.  Martin has been involved in several writing projects for Santidad Friends Yearly Meeting. He edits “The Quaker” bulletin, is helping to write a Yearly Meeting history, and is developing other materials. Martin also wants to create materials in Aymara.

Nadir Amanda Arratia Sossa, Primary Education. Nadir student taught in three different schools, and conducted a community education project to recycle waste and use cloth bags instead of nylon.

The scholarships have been a favorite of you readers and donors, as well as of the Bolivians. So we’ve increased to 40 scholarships for this year. They’ll receive their first stipends next Saturday, March 5th.  Many thanks again to you for the interest and support that makes this possible.

I know that you might make a practice of contributing only once a year, but expenses are continuous throughout the year.  I hope you are able to contribute now, or on a regular monthly basis.

May Light and Love bless your lives and endeavors.

Newton