News

 Through BQEF, Jeff Keith and I led a workshop about Bolivian Friends and Bolivia at FGC gathering 2012. During the workshop we looked at how Bolivian people struggled for centuries until the current goverment came to power. Bolivian Friends have sought well-being for the country by using education as a peaceful way to solve social problems and concerns in Bolivia.

  Also I traveled to two different Yearly Meetings in the western US. At the North Pacific Yearly Meeting gathering in Tacoma, Washington many Friends loved hearing about Bolivian Quaker community.  It was such a blessed experience to workship with them. At the NPYM "Quaker Fair" I shared about Bolivian Friends and about the story of the Bolivian Quaker Education Fund's work. I liked visiting with the children at this yearly meeting, talking with them and showing pictures about Friends in Bolivia.

We've talked about Magaly and Mabel's dedication to AVP work, particularly in prisons in Bolivia. We'd like to share with you a few more insights, from their joint year-end report to prison officials):

• [There is] great interest in the workshops by most people, as shown by their punctuality and participation from start to finish for the 2 ½ to 3 hr. sessions. In many cases people who have already taken a Basic invite others to take the workshop. In order to not leave their friends alone, they also attend some or all of the sessions and participate again.

• The environment in which we have been running each workshop has contributed significantly to the process of formation of community and trust among participants. With no interruptions [during the workshop], each can develop with confidence and gain a sense of belonging to the group they are participating in.

• The support of the  Department of Psychology makes people feel more confident about participating in the workshops.

Magaly successfully defended her sociology thesis on the morning of January 30th, then left immediately afterward for an AVP Basic graduation in San Pedro prison.

She went to the AVP International Gathering in Guatemala in early October, and also attended the pre-session Community-Based Trauma-Healing Workshop.  Magaly was quoted on her experience in the FPT Peace Ways  newsletter: “I learned to remember what happened, to look at it with my heart’s eyes, and to recall the good moments. Also, to trust in my community and the capacity to express my most deeply hidden traumas in order to heal them.”

There were many at the AVP Gathering from Central and South America. They met as a region and chose representatives to a new Latin American Gathering Committee.  Magaly agreed to serve as the Bolivian rep, which means she’s one of the people from 10 or more countries who will plan and organize a first Latin American Gathering.  She’s since been in contact with folks throughout Latin America and is taking the job seriously.

We introduced you to Magaly and Mabel in Part 1, here. Now we'd like to tell you a bit more about their creativity and resourcefulness in nurturing Alternatives to Violence Project workshops and participants.

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.

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.