In Bolivia, as in many third world countries, children without parents, orphans, or abandoned children end up living on the street. These children beg for food or become thieves to survive. The girls are usually sent to one of the numerous orphanages in the area, but orphanages for boys are scarce.
One night in a dream, a plan came to me to help alleviate this problem for boys at least, by building a foster home. This would be a different kind of home from an orphanage as it would have a family as “parents.” The children would learn parenting skills that cannot be taught in an orphanage, usually run by nuns. Also, they could learn farming skills that would come in handy as adults. A carpentry shop could be built later to give the children a trade if they so desired and help support the home financially. Perhaps an educational fund would be set up later to offer advanced studies to those wanting to become professionals if qualified.
Fortunately, in 2012 many of these dreams have become a reality. We farm several acres of land and have many fruit trees that provide food and also give experience to young minds that preserving and caring for trees can help support a healthy life. The carpentry shop is a reality, and the boys create pens and corkscrews from scrap wood and sell them to pay for their education. Over $16,000 has been raised by this project giving the boys a feeling of accomplishment and doing something personally to help improve their situation. College education in Bolivia currently costs about $1200 a year.
During a visit in January 2001, I brought the concept of a foster home and $20,000 to purchase land to the leaders of the Rotary Club in Montero. I had always been told that doing things in Bolivia would be hard if not impossible due to the graft and corruption, the red tape, and the lazy spirit of the people. Within ten minutes of the beginning of the discussion, one of the members said, “Let’s ask the mayor. Perhaps he will give the land for free.” He called the mayor on his cell phone, and a few minutes later, he appeared. The next day the land was given, and we had $20,000 to begin the construction. We were already one year ahead of schedule. So much for the lazy spirit, which I have never seen on my trips to Bolivia, and I have never paid one centavo of graft in the 15 years of the mission.
Sometimes you know God is in control when your task is easier than it ought to be. This was one of those instances. Presently there are 21 young boys living at the foster home in one of the two buildings that have been constructed with living areas. In addition to those buildings, there is the carpentry shop, a laundry building, a garage, and a new two-room dormitory was completed in 2012 to accommodate new arrivals until their health status is ascertained and they have been determined not to be a threat to the other children.
Copyright © 2021 Highlands Bolivian Mission - All Rights Reserved.
Powered by GoDaddy Website Builder