Bolivia

June 2014Debbie Hadas

Our trip was organized by Mano a Mano

This St. Paul-based non-profitworks with Boliviancommunities toprovide improvedaccess to health care,water, and education.

From the airplane window

We flew to La Paz (13,325t ft.) andthen to Cochabamba.(8,300 ft.)

We visited some Mano a Mano offices in Cochabamba

At the Arani School

Arani is a townof 11,000 people,not far fromCochabamba.We visited, and worked withteachers from five elementary schools.

Our plan was to give workshops on graphic organizers, or “mapas mentales.”

There was a welcoming ceremony.

Jackie Smith helped raise the Bolivian flag.

We visited classrooms in several schools.

Classroom walls

Some classrooms featuredstudent drawings.

We showed teachers how to make and use flow maps.

Here, they areworkingtogether tosummarizea story.

They worked carefully.

More collaboration

Dave Smithadmires the teachers’ work.

The teachers were happy for this chance to collaborate.

Some teachers brought their children.

The kidsalso madeflow charts.

These teachers are presenting their flow chart.

They havesummarizedThe Rainbow Fish.(A Spanish translation, ofcourse.)

One group made a map ofthe Animal Kingdom.

We also demonstrated tree maps - then they made their own.

The music teachers made a tree map about Bolivian folk music.

The technical education teachers made a map of kinds of tools.

The religion teachersmade a mapaboutprayers.

We showed the teachers how to compare and contrast with double bubble maps.

This group compared the threeregions of Bolivia.

This group compared animals

And they illustrated it!

After the workshops, the teachers met.

They evaluated theexperience, and when we left theroom they plannedtheir next steps - and selected a committee to represent them!

The first night in Arani was party night.

Bob and Jackie sang“This is our Land” at thetalent show. Children recited poemsand told jokes.Some teens put on a short play they wrote.

Some of the teachers sang a song for us.

Then theypulled us onto the dancefloor!

The second night in Arani was the banquet.

Speeches, gifts, food, a live band,and more dancing!

Two days later we visited more classrooms.

The students were making tree diagrams!

The parts of the head.

This girl also wrote sentences with the vocabulary words. Cool!

Here’s a tree map a teacher made in his notebook!

This is the school library - books Mano a Mano donated last year.

Teachers can check outthe books, or classes can come and visit.

The school director and one of the teachers

We were all moved at the dedication of allthe adults towards theeducation of the childrenof the community.Time and again, we saw how the community of Arani cherishes its children.

We also got to visit some other Mano a Mano projects.

This is at CEA(Center for Ecological Agriculture).

It’s a simple demonstration of theadvantages ofterracing.

The traditional slash and burn agriculture leads to erosion.

The farm has animals.

Guinea pigs are prolificbreeders, and so a good source of income. (They are sold for meat, not as pets.)

Animals also produce waste - that is collected.

Human waste is collected too.

Everything goes into a biodigester - which these farmers have come to learn how to make.

The final product:

Methane!

We also saw the dedication of part of a water project that Mano a Mano is sponsoring.

First there were speeches.

Then the symbolic opening of the sluices.

Finally, an amazinglunch wasspread out on the road.

We were high up!

Way down thereis the reservoir where the water will flow.

We then had time to be tourists.

We visited thebeautiful cityof Sucre.

And then flew to Santa Cruz, ready to fly back to Miami.

Here’s the rainbow macaw at thezoo.