Toro Toro Backpack Distribution

By Julia Haas

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are pleased to announce the completion our backpack distribution project! As most of you know, we were unable to raise our usual, yearly support for a Christmas project. Instead, we decided to use the donations we received to buy school supplies for schools in Toro Toro, a small village about five hours from Cochabamba. The goal of this year’s plan was to deliver backpacks containing school supplies to the students of small local schools.

The week prior to delivery two of our volunteers, Julia and Bill, prepared the supplies by packing pencils, pens, notebooks, erasers,colored pencils, journals,
rulers, and sharpeners into the backpacks for the long trek through the mountains.

The journey began on a sunny, Thursday afternoon. We managed to fit all the backpacks and our four volunteers for the project into our four-wheel drive vehicle for the journey ahead. Toro Toro is a village deep in the mountains that is known for its beautiful scenery, spectacular canyon, caves and dinosaur fossils. It is still quite un-touched by the western world because of its remote location. The road to Toro Toro from Cochabamba is a winding path of rocks laid into the mountain. It crosses rivers, streams, and other obstacles making it an interesting drive. Luckily, we successfully made it to our destination on Thursday night.

On Friday, we woke up bright and early to the extraordinary scenery Toro Toro has to offer. We prepared the backpacks one last time and began our expedition deeper into the mountains to our first school. Although sometimes it seemed unlikely we would make it through the paths that are considered “roads,” we somehow managed. For the first school, we parked our truck on the side of the road with no school or building in site. We then grabbed the packs and made a half-hour trek on foot through the mountains.

Eventually we arrived at a small school with about eighteen students who live nearby in the mountains. They hardly spoke Spanish (since they speak Quechua instead) and were obviously tentative to approach the gringos that had arrived. Despite their reservations, they gladly accepted the new backpacks. It was an unforgettable experience to see these children who live so remotely. In the words of our volunteer Bill, “that was mind-blowing.”

The third and second schools were much easier to access. The second school was actually visible from the path through the mountain and had about twenty-two students. These students were thrilled to havevisitors and receive new backpacks.

As we made our way back to Cochabamba, we handed out the remaining backpacks to the children who live near the road. As soon as they saw we had backpacks for them, they came running with big smiles on their faces!

Although you were not able to accompany us on this memorable experience, without your support, this whole trip would have been impossible. As we distributed each backpack to every smiling child, it was as if you were there with us making a difference too.

Thank you so much for your support in this project. There are now over 200 children with new school supplies to enhance their education.

To see a slide show of the adventure click here.

BOLIVIA BACKGROUND

Bolivia is famous for its breathtaking Andean landscapes, Inca ruins, large indigenous population and Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake. Less well known, however, is the fact that two thirds of the country is covered with virgin rainforests that form part of the Amazon basin. Given its enormous variety of ecological zones, the country also offers an enormous diversity of cultures, from the Guaraní of the orient to the better-known Quechua and Aymará Indians in the altiplano.

Bolivia is infamous as the country that has had 190 coups since independence in 1825. Despite its relatively small population, enormous reserves of natural resources and relatively stable democracy over the last 20 years, Bolivia is still one of the poorest countries in South America. Many experts say that this is largely the result of wide-spread government corruption and the international imposition of neo-liberal economic measurements. The city of Cochabamba, for example, became internationally known in April 2000 when the local population refused to except the sale of its local water supply to transnational companies. Notwithstanding all this, Bolivia remains one of the safest countries for traveling in Latin America.

Volunteer Bolivia is based in the city of Cochabamba where most of our activities take place. Bolivia has three major cities: La Paz/ El Alto, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba.
Third in size, Cochabamba is home to approximately 800,000 people and the largest open-air market in the country. Nestled in a high valley (8,430 ft./ 2570 Mts.) and surrounded by numerous small-farming villages, the department of Cochabamba produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. These features, combined with the Mediterranean climate (temp. mean of 66F/19 C) throughout the year, make it a highly desirable place to live.

NEW ARTICLE

Just a quick note to let all know we have an article in the recent copy of Canadian Student Magazine check it out.