The Mothers of Calamarca
talkative members of "The Mother's Club"
We attended a session of the "Club de Madras Calamarca" on Monday. This isn't something we're funding now but "Save the Children" wanted us to take a look. "Save the Children" is a highly rated and effective charity organization that we've worked with in the past. You may remember this little girl, learning to brush her teeth in a Meal-a-Day funded "Save the Children" Hygiene Education program in Bolivia.
Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund of the Americas is looking at funding a similar program to that being done in Calamarca. The new program would involve poor indigenous Bolivian women farther away from the capitol city, La Paz. (Let us know what you think of this sort of program. Send me an email at stephenjohnson@verizon.net ) The exciting thing about helping these poor women develop themselves is that the whole family benefits. Their husbands love the program. We did extensive interviews with the women pictured above and learned what a positive impact this program has already had in their community. You'll hear those interviews in a future (longer) Meal-a-Day video. For now, here are three short clips to give you some idea of what's happening in Calamarca:
trying not to contaminate each other or La Paz
There's a reason for this. A good reason. We got invited to stop by the tea company (Windsor Teas) that may be working with the ladies of Calamarca. We had to don the protective gear for the tour of the tea bagging process. Thanks, Windsor, for the fascinating tour and the cup of tea!
thinking of the next generation
Our visit to Calamarca was a highlight of the trip so far. And that's saying a lot because we've seen so many wonderful things. On Tuesday we visited another neighborhood Bruce Peru school in Bolivia and went into the notorious San Pedro jail in La Paz to talk with teen-age participants in a Meal-a-Day sponsored workshop on "Better Decision Making Skills." More on those projects later.
With love, from Quito,
Steve