la asunta: parte dos

One of the coolest things about visiting students in their homes or places of employment is that I get to see them in their realm. I'm on their turf--the place where they are proud and confident; they are always excited to introduce me to their family or to show off their work. For me, it's a phenomenal opportunity to know our students in a way that I really can't know them at the UAC-CP.

Janneth Quispe, a UAC-CP thesis student currently working as an intern with ARCo in La Asunta, credits her Carmen Pampa Fund scholarship for allowing her to study at the UAC-CP.

For example, Janneth Quispe. I've known Janneth pretty much the entire time she's been at the UAC-CP. But during the two and a half days I spent in La Asunta a few weeks ago, visiting her at the ARCo offices (where she's doing a five-month internship helping farmers develop business plans), I gained a new appreciation of Janneth. I admit, she even surprised me a bit. I was wowed.

In a country that, especially for young indigenous women, doesn't have many opportunities for (higher) education or professional work, Janneth proves she is an exception. I couldn't help but notice that Janneth was solidly holding her own as the only woman in an obviously male-dominated environment. "You know," she told me later, "I'm a feminist...and I'm proud that the UAC-CP is a place for women...where women can go forward."

Janneth almost lost her opportunity to 'go forward.' "Actually," she confessed, "I was going to leave the UAC-CP." After her first year in the College's Pre-University program, she explained, her parents were having very rough financial times and, as the oldest of four children, she was planning to leave her studies to go work. The cost of the College, though minimal, would have been unaffordable.

Though she was prepared to leave, her classmates encouraged her to apply for a scholarship. "My friends told me to wait and see," she recalled. "They said 'You're a good student, maybe you will get a scholarship.'"

Janneth enters data before heading out for an afternoon (and evening) visiting farmers in the countryside. In the background is a giant map of La Asunta and all of the many communities in which she works.

In fact, to Janneth's surprise, the College awarded her a full scholarship from Carmen Pampa Fund based on academic success and financial need. It's a scholarship she's maintained throughout her academic career at the UAC-CP. "It helped me so, so much," she said. "And when I think that maybe I wouldn't have returned to college the following year...Who knows? I'll never know."

What Janneth does know is that she's going to graduate from college. Her thesis project, a study of the application of vermicompost on four varieties of garlic in the community of San Pablo (near Carmen Pampa), is in its final stages. When she's not working at ARCo, she said, she's interpreting data and writing her thesis. She hopes to present the first stage of her findings at the end of August.

When I asked her about her experience at the UAC-CP, especially now as she considers her work with ARCo, Janneth told me: "At the College, I have learned so many things. But I feel especially grateful for the training I received from my professors. The truth is, I am really capable of the work I do; I'm confident and comfortable with the person that I am. And," she said, "I think I would be very different if I didn't study in Carmen Pampa."

Because of her determination and her CPF scholarship, Janneth will never know what might've or could've been. Instead, Janneth Quispe will be one more name I'll have the pleasure of adding to our list of graduates.

second semester

Tomorrow, as I travel back to my beloved Minnesota for a visit with family and friends and a barrage of Carmen Pampa Fund activities, UAC-CP students will be settling in for second semester classes.

UAC-CP Vice Director Hugh Smeltekop greets students last Friday morning who returned from winter break to register for second semester classes.

Students returned to Carmen Pampa last Friday and Saturday to register for the new semester--a tedious process in which students must wait in line to present required documents (national identification card, high school diploma, health certificate, etc.)

Usually, students are able to return for the start of the semester with some money in their pockets--money that they've been able to earn during the three-week break. With these earnings, they will pay their first of five tuition payments for the semester. But, for some, it's often a scramble to come up with the resources to register. Though many have worked during the break (earning approximately $5-6 a day), it's hard to cover all expenses (travel costs, school supplies, computer lab and student activity fees, food cooperative membership, etc.)--despite the College's already subsidized tuition costs.

UAC-CP thesis students Ariel and Paula and UAC-CP graduate Vilma Yujra help with the College's registration process.

Last Friday I found a student sitting alone on the steps facing the Campus Leahy courtyard looking a little glum. When I checked in with him, he confessed that he wasn't sure he would register for classes this semester, even though he had made the 24-hour journey from his family´s home with the intention of doing so. "I have enough money to pay for registration," he said. "But once I pay that, I know I won't have the money to pay for the remainder of the semester...or for the food cooperative."

I happen to know this student very well. From a visit to his home, I know his family has virtually no income--his parents, both illiterate and uneducated--are subsistence farmers in a remote, rural area. It´s a miracle he graduated from high school, let alone arrived at the UAC-CP.

Of course, he's the perfect candidate for a scholarship, but with too many students in need and too few scholarships to provide this semester, he didn't make the final cut when it came to grades. And yet, when it comes to character--I know him to be responsible, honest, hardworking, and kind. He's the type of student we can't give up. To tell him he can't study because he is poor isn't an acceptable answer.

"Register," I told him. And when he asked about how he'll afford the yet-to-come costs, I shook my head and told him honestly,"I don't know. But we'll find a way...and whatever it is you'll have to work hard to earn it. ...it's really important that you stay and study this semester." Still looking a bit doubtful, I assured him everything will be fine. Even though I, myself, am unsure of how the ends will come together, I have faith in the common Bolivian mantra: "todo es posible." Everything is possible.

Tomorrow morning, just about the time my U.S.-bound plane bids farewell to the runway of the La Paz airport, UAC-CP students will be settling in for their first class of the second semester. I hope they'll all be concentrating more on their coursework than worried about how to pay for food or tuition. And, more importantly, I hope nobody slipped through the cracks because they were afraid they couldn't afford to return for the second semester.

embassy visit

It isn't every day that we have traffic jams and body guards here in Carmen Pampa.  But it isn't every day that we have a visit from the top U.S. Embassy official, either.

This morning, an entourage of SUVs arrived at the College's upper campus--Campus Leahy. In addition to USAID officials, they brought Dr. James Creagan, the Chargé d' Affaires, a.i., at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, who is, for all practical purposes, serving as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia (though, officially, we have been without an ambassador for nearly one year).

Bishop Juan Vargas, Fr. Freddy del Villar and Dr. Mary Norris (Director of USAID's Office of Integrated Alternative Development) look on as Dr. James Creagan meets with Carmen Pampa native Amadeu Aliaga, manager of the UAC-CP's meat factory.

Our special visitors made the three hour journey from La Paz to Carmen Pampa to see first-hand how the UAC-CP, with financial and technical assistance from USAID, is a working model of successful, sustainable development in the Yungas--the mountainous rural area northeast of Bolivia's capital city.

Lidia Cuevas, Director of the UAC-CP's Nursing Department, talks about the College's focus on practical experience. She is pictured with Nicolás Quenta, former governor of the Department of La Paz, Jose Luis Beltran, UAC-CP Agronomy Director, and Msgr. Juan Vargas.

The contingent started their tour on Campus Leahy. Near the new dormitory project, UAC-CP Director Fr. Freddy del Villar talked about the history of the College. He reminded all of us of the time, not so long ago, when there was no possibility for a young person from the rural area to study at the college level--the time when there were literally, and figuratively, no roads leading out of Carmen Pampa.  

Fr. Freddy told our special guests about how Sr. Damon Nolan, working with the local Diocese of Coroico and the Villa Nilo Sub Central (governing Aymaran nation), built the impossible: a college for poor, young people from the rural area. Sixteen years later, here we stand, Fr. Freddy said--on one of two campuses of an internationally recognized college that educates approximately 700 students a year and has more than 200 graduates currently working in their field of study (in fact, UAC-CP graduate Pamela Rocha who now works with USAID also attended today's visit). 

Of course the group toured the College's laboratories, library, meat factory, and coffee plant. But I was most happy to see Dr. Creagan take the time to literally sit down and talk with a group of UAC-CP students. Casually, the students each introduced themselves and talked about their areas of study and plans for the future. "What I have learned from these students," Dr. Creagan later said, "is that they have the desire to return to their communities, to improve their zone."

Aurelio Catari asked that I send special greetings on his behalf to Sr. Damon. "I worked very hard alongside Sr. Damon to make sure education would be available to people in the countryside. The College is a work of God."

A few leaders representing various institutions within the Municipality of Coroico also joined us for part of the day. They all expressed their appreciation for support received from USAID and talked about the importance of working together in the future.  

"I don't think there is a more noble cause than education," said local farmer and community leader, Aurelio Catari. "We are the only college in the Nor Yungas. Before the UAC-CP, we had no opportunities to further our studies after high school. But now," he continued, "the College provides a future. I want to thank USAID, Sr. Damon Nolan, and all the people who support the College to make education possible."

Dr. James Creagan and Fr. Freddy del Villar pose for a picture at the College's coffee plant.

"I am really impressed by what you have here and what you are doing," Dr. Craegan told a group of USAID and UAC-CP representatives before lunch. "The College is small, but growing and I see a real future here. You are doing great work." He added that he would like to see both government agencies and individuals join forces to support the College.

While the road out of Carmen Pampa has been built, it has yet to be smoothly paved. Hopefully visits and testimonials from people like Dr. Craegan will help us secure funding and support so that we can offer our students the best education--so that we can fulfill Sr. Damon's original pre-road vision: to ensure that people live dignified lives and that less injustice and poverty exist in the world.