karen pari video

I often tell people that rural Bolivia seems like one of the most unlikely places for a gringa like myself to find my personal heroes.  And yet, here I am, surrounded by people who have tackled overwhelming challenges; people who have succeeded in their ability to improve their lives through education. They are the people who inspire and humble me; they are the people who personally animate me to be part of the work of the College.

As a woman, I am particularly inspired by UAC-CP female graduates who, in a particularly machista society, have garnered their spot as directors and managers and business owners. And they do this while maintaining their roles as mothers, sisters, daughters, and aunts. 

UAC-CP graduate Karen Pari is one of four siblings to study at the College.  Thanks to William Wroblewski's video, hear from Karen in her own words.  Click here to watch the video.

They are women like UAC-CP Veterinary Science graduate Karen Pari. Karen is one of four siblings to attend the UAC-CP. Her sisters Wilma and Betty and her brother Rubén are all thesis students at the College. (I previously blogged about her brother Ruben's incredible work to start a school in a remote mountain community:  http://uchumachi.blogspot.com/2009/10/creating-changepoco-poco.html)  

Though not the oldest, Karen is the first of the family to graduate from College and, as a small business owner, she is able to help support her siblings. Unlike many other UAC-CP students, this unique team of siblings live at their humble home in the nearby community of San Pedro.  Because their parents aren't physically present and unable to financially support them, Karen, Wilma, Betty, and Rubén have worked together to support themselves and encourage each other in their college studies.

As Bill's video shows, Karen's dedication to live out the mission of the College--to live and work and serve in the rural area--is both admirable and inspiring.  

Special kudos to long-time, returning volunteer Mary Murphy. Mary, a professor at Smith College, has served as a very special friend to the Pari family.

all-college reunion

Yesterday was the second of two UAC-CP alumni reunions hosted by the College this month--a new tradition that we plan to continue as a way to maintain contact with graduates and involve them in the work of the College. Because their success, I always remind them, is our success.

A group of UAC-CP alumni and their families gather for a photo yesterday afternoon.

As alumni (and their partners and children) took part in the traditional apthapi (an indigenous word that is the equivalent of "potluck"), UAC-CP Vice Director Hugh Smeltekop showed a video about the College. Following that, he showed a recently filmed short clip of UAC-CP founder Sr. Damon Nolan whose greeting included a request for graduates to remain committed to the mission of the College.

UAC-CP Director Fr. Freddy del Villar also spoke to the group. He told them that as the College approaches its 20th anniversary, it needs to recognize and utilize one of its most valuable resources: its graduates. "It's important that we have you all come back so you can tell your story to our current students. You have been where they are," he continued. He said UAC-CP graduates serve as an example of all the possibilities for young people currently studying in Carmen Pampa.

Fr. Freddy talked about several ways UAC-CP alumni can stay involved. He said graduates can give talks or workshops at the College, they can share news of work or scholarship opportunities that they know about, they can offer internships at their current places of employment, and they can make a financial contribution to the College.

At the reunion, alumni learned about the new scholarship fund, named in honor of Sr. Damon Nolan, that provides a way for former UAC-CP students to give back to the College.  While the special fund won't help to subsidize the cost of education, housing, and food, it will directly help students who are unable to pay for minimal costs of tuition and food.

Gladys Rivera, a former UAC-CP Agronomy student who now manages the three food cooperatives at the College, told the group that this type of financial assistance is really essential. She gave her personal testimony to the needs that she encounters on a daily basis as part of her work in Carmen Pampa. "We still have students who don't eat because they don't have the money," she told everyone gathered. By giving back to the UAC-CP, Gladys explained, alumni can help young people surpass the same hurdles and achieve the same dreams that graduates have realized.

Agronomy graduate Sonia Moy and Veterinary Science graduate Darwin Luna work together for CARITAS Coroico, which coordinates social service extension projects.

After the formal presentation, graduates stood up one by one and provided a brief update about their current work and life.  They talked about their work in micro finance banks, hospitals, and NGOs. A couple talked about how they've started their own businesses. Many mentioned the mission of the College and how it relates to the work they do now.

Going around the room, graduates peppered their life updates with memories of the College (David Torrez, one of the first to study at the UAC-CP, remembered that there was initially no electricity!). They also gave thanks to Sr. Damon; for her vision to respond to the needs of Bolivia's rural area and her ability to always believe in young people.  And they talked about their willingness to make a personal and financial investment in the College. "It seems only right," a graduate told me later, "that I help contribute to a place that changed my life in a really profound way."

thankful for raúl's lesson

Today, on Thanksgiving, those of us in the U.S. are reminded of everything for which we have to be thankful. Many times, we even speak of this day in terms of our "bounty" and "abundance." As a Minnesota/South Dakota-native living and working in rural Bolivia for nearly five years, I often find myself inspired by the young people here at the College who are able to recognize and give grace and gratitude for what they have...particularly in terms of opportunities that come without abundance.

I think of UAC-CP student Raúl Carita – a young man genuinely grateful for the opportunity he's been given to study at the College, despite the challenges and difficulties that accompany it.

Raúl Carita.

A first-year student in the UAC-CP's Nursing Department, I first met Raúl a couple of months ago when our Food Cooperative manager handed me a list of names of students who she heard weren't eating regularly and asked me to check in with them individually.  Raúl's name was at the top of the list.

A day later, sitting on the bench outside the Volunteer House, I encouraged Raúl to tell me why he wasn't participating in the Food Cooperative Program. And so he explained: he is the youngest son of poor citrus farmers who live here in the Bolivia's mountainous Yungas. "My parents are old and they work really hard for little money," Raúl told me. "I can't bare to ask them for extra financial help."

Which was why Raúl was barely eating. He was skipping meals – drinking only juice, eating only crackers – because he couldn't afford the monthly $22 subsidized cost for lunch and dinner in the College's Food Cooperative Program. (Thanks to Cross International, the College offers a free breakfast program for all students and donations to Carmen Pampa Fund help provide a subsidy for lunches and dinners). Any money Raúl was able to save he used to pay for school supplies and his nursing uniform.

"So, why do it?" I asked him in all sincerity. "I mean, how is it that you want to study so badly that you're willing to put your studies before your stomach?" Raúl's answer was simple. He came to study in Carmen Pampa because he knows first-hand the abject poverty that exists in Bolivia. And he knows he has the ability to do something about it.

"I have seen the way people are forced to live in remote, rural communities. They have no access to public health or education and it makes me very sad. But I believe, with a college degree, I can help improve the health and livelihood of my people. I feel called to do this."

Raúl's tender disposition and dedication to helping people charmed me immediately. As did his ability to solve his food problem.  "I talked with the president of the Food Coperative," he told me later. "And we agreed that I will work in the kitchen every day and help the cook." In exchange for his work, Raúl said, he is able to eat for free. A great solution for Raúl! (But unfortunately not something that will work for all students who need financial help to pay for Food Cooperative dues.)

"You know," Raúl said into the microphone my iPod voice recorder, "I really feel called to be a nurse, to help the sick and suffering in my country. Yes, it is a difficult time for me as I work to achieve this goal. But I at the same time I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here [in Carmen Pampa]; to have this chance to improve myself and serve other people."

Today, as I consider my blessings, I think of Raúl. And I find myself truly appreciating that, in the midst of so much need (adequate food, accessible health care, quality education, etc.) and in the absence of abundance and privilege, here in Bolivia there are young people like Raúl who not only recognize grace, but turn it into opportunity and change.