I thought I would talk a little about poverty and hunger in rural Bolivia in this post. We have spent a lot of space and time on this blog discussing our experiences here in Bolivia, but there are some things that are hard to talk about here. Bolivia's standard of living has visibly improved tremendously since we were here in 2001. However, that does not mean that poverty and hunger have been eradicated. There is still a long ways to go. There are still beggars and homeless people throughout the streets of La Paz (the mothers with small children are particularly heartbreaking when they cover themselves and the children up with a thin piece of fabric for the night and huddle in a closed doorway to sleep). There are still many poor and hungry people in the Yungas as well. They are far from invisible, in fact, many work the transportation network selling food or other items to passersby all day and well into the evening. Many live in rickety shacks clinging to the lip of a hill or along the dusty roads. There is power and water available, but one must be able to afford it. There are homes along the road to Coroico and in Carmen Pampa where there is no power. Clean water is still a concern, although here on the upper campus our water is mildly chlorinated now.
Most people here live without common items we take for granted, such as a washing machine, an oven, a hot water tap, TV, heat, the list goes on. Many people, even the poor, have cell phones, largely because they are ridiculously cheap and easy to get. It seems like every house has a sign up advertising that they sell the recharge cards, as most cells are pre-paid. I would guess you can make enough selling cards to pay for your own, they are so ubiquitous.
The food here is simple and cheap, but there are plenty of people eating only lunch still (this is considered the main meal of the day). The cooperative here on campus feeds students, who must contribute financially and help out in order to eat there. This is in addition to their mandatory community service and the extra hours of service that scholarship students must work. The good news is that this program does feed students who otherwise could not afford to eat and pay for school, so it is no longer necessary to eat behind closed doors. The loss of fifty scholarships when USAID was ejected from the country in June means 50 fewer students to feed and house, but it is also 50 fewer students attending classes.
That all being said, I want to tell you about my students' first set of projects, which they completed this week. If you stopped any student on campus here and asked them why they are here, they would all say either that they are here to help their family/village or that they are here to improve Bolivia. This can sound like a pat answer sometimes, but it is very true. My assignment to them was to think about themselves, the UAC and Bolivia 20 years from now, in the context of the approaching 20th anniversary celebration of the UAC in October. What would change? What would be the same? Then they were to condense their thoughts into a Six Word Memoir in English and turn it in. The variety of dreams represented by what they turned in is truly astonishing. Some of the dreams are very big, some are very personal. Some could never have been condensed into only six words!! (This doesn't count against them in my grading process.)
The English Department will be sharing these both here at the UAC and on Facebook as part of the anniversary celebration in the coming weeks, so you will get to see them all, including those from the other classes. Please watch for them, as they are all worth reading!
Ciao!
Susan
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