http://airlineamb.org/index.html
A group from Airline Ambassadors came to visit La Paz this week. Paula, a long time friend of Dianne, was on her 19th trip down here. Paula and her group support many of the projects Dianne is involved with. I was lucky enough to travel around La Paz with these people and learn about some new projects they are helping to fund.
Helping Hands- http://helping-hands-project.squarespace.com/
This organization is located only blocks from my house in San Pedro. We were invited to their center for lunch. It was a great experience to meet the young people they are helping. They told us about what they are studying in the universities and what their dreams are for the future!
Caritas La Paz- http://www.caritas.org/worldmap/latin_america/bolivia.html and http://www.caritasbolivia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=28
Caritas helps families in need here in La Paz. I have been working one morning a week with Caritas at the homes of Disabled children who are not going to school.
The donors visited the homes of families and heard their stories:
A mother renting a single room for her, her husband and 3 small children (2,4,9) She has been unable to work since her hip dysphasia has gotten worse. She told us that they are barely able to feed their children. She wants to open up a small kiosk near home to sell food items for extra income. She received $100 as start up capital!
a very young family with 2 children (4 and 2) the father recently lost his job with benefits. the 4 year old has a birth defect in which one leg is significantly shorter. The doctors have advised surgery. The parents would like to open up a dinner spot outside their garage for income to raise money for the surgery. They received $100 as start up capital!
A family of 4, mom dad and 2 daughters (13, 15) who just moved here from Beni (another province in bolivia) and have been struck with a lot of bad luck at once. The father was in an accident in which he lost his sight in one eye, therefore could no longer work as a driver. now he has glaucoma in his other eye and is in danger of loosing what sight he has if he does not keep up his treatment. Mom works 7 days a week as the sole earner of the family. the 15 year old daughter had to quit her job recently when she became epileptic. She started having grand mal seizures a couple times a week. She has just started an expensive medicine. the 13 year old has ovuitis, a chronic infection of the eyes. She has gotten one surgery to insert and inter-ocular lens. She now needs another surgery for the other eye. She also requires expensive eye drops. This family wants to start a small cafe, tea, bread stand near their house to help pay rent and medical bills. They received $200 dollars as start up capital!
Hacha Uru-This is an organization of parents with disabled children. The organization grew out of Caritas, and has recently become its own independent organization. Hacha Uru meets at a center on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Their children are able to get help from a physical therapist and an educational psychologists, while the parents meet to discuss issues. The parents fight for equality in education, healthcare, and legal rights. They fight hard for the inclusion of their children into mainstream schools.
Hacha Uru also tries to provide ways to create small businesses. A new group of parents (mostly mothers) has formed and will be making handcrafts to sell at markets and stores for extra income. I hope to be working with this group on Wednesdays! The crafts group received $200 as start up capital!
Uruguay High School-This is an amazing school. it is a public high school in which 1/4 of the student body is deaf. Many of the students from Huascar Cajias feed into this high school. There are 5 signing interpreters working at the school. unfortunately, the state does not pay the interpreters for their work. This year, the donors have given a years worth of salary to all 5 of the signing interpreters!
When we went to the school on Wednesday we were in for a treat! The kids had prepared a great show for us! There was a performance on the pan flute, 2 miming acts, a dance act with traditional and modern dance, and a theatrical performance!
Father Lutz- I dont know the official name of this organization. But his organization helped the street kids here in La Paz. He had a shelter for the boys who worked as shoe shiners during the day.
we got to see a great concert of a group formed out of this organization. They play traditional music, but the lyrics were about the suffering and struggles of the kids on the street. It was a moving experience.
Huascar Cajias- The school I volunteer with!
