nursing department anniversary

Today the College's Nursing Department celebrated its anniversary with a special mass followed by the capping, pinning, and candle lighting ceremony.

Nearly all of the 153 Nursing students registered in the program this semester were dressed in their crisp, white nursing uniforms. With friends, family, and community members seated toward the back, UAC-CP Nursing students sat attentively in the front of the church as they listened to UAC-CP leadership speak about the importance of their vocation and the need for their services in Bolivia's rural area. "You have been called to be instruments of peace and love," UAC-CP Director Fr. Freddy told them.

The following are pictures from today's ceremony...

UAC-CP Nursing student Flora Mamani.

William Apaza receives his candle and lantern in honor of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.

Twenty-three Nursing students were presented with their caps and candles. They're pictured here with UAC-CP Director Fr. Freddy del Villar, UAC-CP President Msgr. Juan Vargas, Director of the Nursing Department Lidia Cuevas, and recently retired UAC-CP staff member (and beloved father figure) Donato Monrroy who was presented with a plaque in honor of his long-time dedication to the Nursing Department.

UAC-CP Vice Director, Dr. Hugh Smeltekop, and UAC-CP Nursing students.

alcira pacajes

When I recently browsed the World Bank's statistics page for Bolivia, I found that high school attendance rates for 17-year-old girls in the rural area hover around 20 percent. When I shared this sad figure with UAC-CP Nursing student Alcira Pacajes and contrasted it with the fact that 52 percent of UAC-CP graduates are women, she smiled. "You mean women are the majority?" she confirmed.

As part of her public health clinical experience, Alcira takes a patient's blood pressure at the hospital in Palos Blancos (a rural town in Bolivia's lowlands).

Though she unfortunately doesn't represent the average 24-year-old woman from Bolivia's rural area, Alcira is a typical UAC-CP student. Like her female classmates, Alcira is a young woman who--despite challenges that most people couldn't imagine--has come to Carmen Pampa with the hopes of realizing her dream to become a professional.

"I am from the colonia [small village] of Cristo Rey--in the mountains, outside of the town of Caranavi," she told me. She's the daughter of citrus farmers who earn just enough money to meet their most basic needs. "My parents send money when they have it," she said, "but usually they can't afford to help me, even though they want to." Financially, Alcira struggles.*

Alcira weighs a baby as part of her work with the College's public health program, which serves 13 communities in the Municipality of Coroico.

Her parents, Alcira explained, are indigenous Aymarans who only had the opportunity to study until the second grade. "Even though they aren't educated, they value education," she said. "They always wanted their children to be professionals. They always wanted my siblings and me to be better than them...to have better lives and more opportunities." Which is why her father, upon hearing about the UAC-CP, encouraged Alcira to apply.

"At the beginning I didn't know what major I wanted to study," she said. As a student in the College's Pre-University Program she participated in different vocational training sessions that introduced her to each major area of study. She was attracted to the UAC-CP's Nursing Department. "I liked the idea of helping people in a very direct way. As nurses, we are an important part of people's lives; we help them with their physical part...and the human part."

In her fifth and final year of studies at the College, Alcira will spend three months of the current semester doing clinical work at several hospitals in La Paz. Though she still has nearly two years of school left before graduating (after this year, she still has a year of residency), she's already thinking about post-graduate studies. "I want to continue studying; I want to gain more knowledge and skills," she said. She would like to eventually work for an non-profit organization.

"Are you proud of yourself?" I asked. "Yes," Alcira admitted modestly, "but I will be even more proud when I have my diploma in hand...when I can show that to my parents and tell them, "Thanks to you, this is what I have earned for our family!"

*She was studying with the help of a scholarship from Carmen Pampa Fund's Scholarship Partners Program. But the very limited number of scholarships makes them highly competitive and when she failed a class last year, Alcira lost her financial assistance.

porfirio kapa

I never cease to be inspired and amazed by people I've met here at the College. People like Porifirio Kapa who, despite all odds, embody the spirit and mission of the UAC-CP.

Porfirio is the son of an alcoholic father and the brother to six siblings who grew up in a remote village in the South Yungas. When he was in the third grade, he was forced to drop out of school after his mother died so that he could support his younger siblings while their father went away to work in the mines. Though his life seemed to be destined to be the same as his father's, he never allowed himself to give up on his dream to go back to school.

UAC-CP Agronomy graduate Porfirio Kapa. "People need to understand that the mission of the UAC-CP is to serve. It is to return to our communities to replicate all that you've learned so that we can help lift Bolivia up," he said.

"I witnessed my father's life and the life of my neighbors...working so hard just to be able to eat, but never achieving anything that would offer them a future. And that made me think of my own future--of what kind of life I wanted to provide for my children and what kind of example I knew I could be for my Bolivian brothers and sisters."

After finishing his obligatory year of military service as a teenager, Porfirio finally made a very serious commitment to go back to school. Though there was no road, he walked 12-hours, round-trip every weekend to attend alternative education classes in the nearest town of Irupana (he often spent Saturday night sleeping in the street because he couldn't afford a place to stay). After five years, with the equivalent of a high school diploma, he enrolled in classes at the UAC-CP. He finished his coursework in the College's Agronomy department in 2005--an accomplishment he credits in large part to scholarship assistance from USAID.

Since leaving the College, the 33-year-old has worked as the assistant manager of CORACA Irupana--an organization that provides technical assistance for an association of more than 800 organic farmers in the Municipality of Irupana, South Yungas. "The mission of CORACA is to help ensure profitable, all-organic farming for local producers."

Following a meeting with local farmers in Porfirio's home village (where he and I talked to locals about the UAC-CP and the importance of education), Porfirio gives a training session on organic pest control methods.

Porfirio manages several areas of agricultural production, trains producers, develops and manages projects, and makes contact with outside markets. In collaboration with government agencies and private organizations, Porfirio has written training manuals about conservation and organic practices. Bolivia's Vice Ministry of Social Control has paid him to give presentations to more than 4,000 producers. In addition, Porfirio works as a farmer himself--using his land to model successful agricultural practices.

"I wasn't put on this earth to be a rich man. As an agronomist, my vocation is to help producers and that's why I do what I do. That's my goal...to help others. And maybe I won't be able to make a giant change, but by speaking to people, interacting with people, showing people--I can help change ideas. And that's why I'm proud of my work with CORACA."

The house Porfirio grew up in is still occupied by his father and sits on land that the family still farms.

Located seven hours by bus from Bolivia's capital city of La Paz, there are very few trained professionals dedicated to living and working full-time in Irupana. Porfirio is the only college graduate from his home village. While he's been offered higher paying jobs in La Paz, Porfirio is committed to serving the rural poor. "Some people think if you're a college graduate that you shouldn't be in the countryside...but for me, it's different. The first thing I tell people is that I'm not interested in money. What I want is to improve the way of life for my people."

Porfirio, his wife Maribel (UAC-CP '09), and their youngest son Jonathon pictured outside CORACA's processing plant in Irupana.

Porfirio recognizes that his success has been dependent upon the help of others. He is most grateful to have his wife Maribel at his side (Maribel is a recent graduate of the UAC-CP's Veterinary Science program and provides veterinary consultations to farmers in Irupana.) Together, they have three children: Nathaniel, Daniella, and Jonathon. His kids, Porfirio said, give him energy. "I studied for them, for their future...and now my kids are proud of me--that I'm a college graduate." The value he and Maribel place on education is obvious--their two older children both carry the Bolivian banner in local parades (an honor which signifies that they are the best students in their grade).

"I always believed I was going to be something in my life. I didn't want to be the same, I wanted something better. And in that sense, with the help of education, I feel like I have achieved that dream."