Beginnings

BQEF grew from two distinct roots. One is the long missionary work of Northwest and Central (Indiana) Yearly Meetings, through which evangelical Quakerism grew in Bolivia, starting in 1920, to 30,000 Bolivian Friends by 2000.

Bolivian teacher, Loida Cutipa,
with her class in Sorata, 1999

The other is the Quaker Study Tour series, beginning in 1995 with British Friends led by Pam and Ken Barratt, through which numerous liberal Quakers from the UK and US became acquainted with Bolivia and Friends there. BQEF sprouted from these roots in 2001.

Dona Manoukian (Langley Hill Meeting) and Newton Garver (Buffalo Meeting) arranged for two young Bolivian teachers, Cecilia Paco and Loida Cutipa, to visit the US for seven weeks in June and July of 2001. They spoke to ten different Friends gatherings in the eastern states (interest groups at FCE, FGC, PYM and BYM, as well as informal groups at two Quaker retirement communities, two monthly meetings, and gatherings at AFSC and USFW) about Quaker schools in Bolivia. Cecilia and Loida were well received by Friends here, few of whom have had a chance to meet with Bolivian Quakers. The Bolivian teachers took a rich experience back with them. It is instructive that they both enrolled again in English courses at home.

A Plan Emerges

BQE-Bo Coordinator,
Bernabé Yujra

Dona and Newton returned to Bolivia with the Quaker Study Tour in October-November 2001. They had discussions with Bernabé Yujra (now BQEF's Coordinator in La Paz) and others about education. Newton stayed on an extra week to visit schools and meet with Quaker educators. The plan's original focus was on scholarships for post-secondary education of Bolivian Friends, an urgent need because of the large number of qualified but impoverished young Friends in Bolivia.

It was soon apparent, however, that there were also other needs and desires. In response to those needs, four dimensions of the BQEF program were established:

Scholarships for post-secondary education
Exchanges between Quaker schools in Bolivia and the US
Instructional enhancement in English, science and computer literacy
Infrastructure development in support of needs ranging from books to buildings

Getting Started

At the end of 2001 and beginning of 2002, discussions were held with key people in established Quaker organizations (QBL, FAHE, FWCC, FCE, FUM, and Pendle Hill). It was determined both that these other organizations welcomed the initiative, and that none could adopt BQEF within its fold. A particularly valuable gathering of experienced Friends in Philadelphia in January 2002 impressed on Newton that BQEF had little chance of success unless it had staff and a five- or ten-year perspective. A five-year plan was prepared, and a budget for 2003, including staff, was approved in July 2002.

Bernabé Yujra coordinated the work of BQEF in Bolivia informally in 2002. In 2003, he worked half-time for BQEF while retaining his job as a teacher. Since January 2004 Bernabé has been working full-time for BQEF. He now has a part-time assistant who helps with organizing workshops and keeping records. Bernabé brings to his work 20 years of experience as a teacher, several terms on the Executive Committee of INELA, six years working with Quaker Bolivia Link, and the respect of Friends in Santidad and INELA Yearly Meetings.

Student-Initiated Volunteer Service Program

Three students from Guilford College traveled to Bolivia in May-July of 2003. They assisted with English classes in the Quaker schools and taught evening classes for adults. It was a great success and was followed that fall by Haverford graduate (and now BQEF board member) Sarah Kaufman volunteering in Bolivia for four months. A retired teacher from Britain is also considering similar volunteer service. Thus a fifth dimension has been added: volunteer service opportunities.

Working and Growing Together in the Spirit

In July 2002 and October 2003, Newton Garver met with educators from Santidad and INELA, all of whom are enthusiastic about BQEF and are working together on this project. One vision is that Friends could create model schools in Bolivia, as Friends have done elsewhere. The Spirit blows as warmly through this movement in Bolivia as in the US.

Vibrant Growth

In August of 2004, BQEF contracted for a half-time Coordinator in the US, and later that year we launched our website. $5,000 was raised in 2002, $20,000 in 2003, $35,000 in 2004, $68,000 in 2005, and $78,000 in 2006. Meeting needs of impoverished Bolivian Friends will require $100,000 this year.

Scholarships for higher education (in Bolivia) are the first priority: 15 in 2003, 25 in 2004, 35 in 2005 and 2006, and 40 in 2007. Young Friends in Bolivia are enormously grateful. We have also established computer and language labs in three Quaker schools, funded additional hours of instruction, initiated both AVP and FCE workshops (in Spanish), enriched language programs through volunteers, and founded an internado in Sorata.

Bolivian Background: Links to Articles by
Founder and President Newton Garver

Buffalo Report articles:

"Bolivia in Turmoil", 17 October 2003

"Bolivia at a Crossroads", 5 December 2003

"The Anti-political Politician: Reflections on Bolivia", March 26, 2005 (new window)

"Bolivia: Preparing the Third Revolution", 6 June 2005 (new window)

"Bolivia: Roadblocks to Power", 12 July 2005 (new window)

"Bolivia—Indian Triumph", 19 February 2006 (new window)

"A Genius at Work in the Andes", 11 August 2006 (new window)

"Progress in Bolivia", 4 November 2006 (new window)

"Drama in Bolivia: Evo Morales’s First Year", 18 January 2007 (new window)

Friends Journal articles:

"Quakers in Bolivia", February 2001 (new window)

"The Aspirations of Andean Quakers" and "Quaker Indians?", February 2007 (new window; this 6 MB PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6 or higher)


Bolivian teacher, Loida Cutipa, with her class in Sorata, 1999