This is Cochabamba Baby!

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After a busy week at the shelter I took a 25 min flight to Cochabamba which is the food capital of the Bolivia. It was a great weekend.

Betty made sure I knew all the types of food I had to try and the restaurants I had to visit while away for the weekend. I got an adorable little AirBnb in the heart of the city and spent the weekend eating, visiting the markets and the sites. The altitude is lower at 2500 meters so the temperature was perfect.

On Sunday the protest was lifted in Santa Cruz. The protestors did not quite achieve what they wanted, but did get some concessions. It was decided that the next presidential election will occur in 2025. The census was supposed to happen in 2021, but did not because of COVID. It was set to happen November of 2022, but just didn't. The government does not want the census before the election because it would change voting districts which could sway the election. There is also a term here called ghost cities. At the conclusion of counting votes the government will say that some obscure town had 10,000 votes for the winning president, while in fact only a few hundred people will live in that town. It has been agreed that the census will take place in 2024 and the results will come out before the election. It is still unclear if there will be enough time to change district lines or expose ghost cities.

The start of the week at the center has been full of planning meetings. I feel that we have made some significant progress on defining how the organization is going to pivot to skills training and financial literacy. This is a different experience from Uganda where their skill training program was well established and I just brought the financial side. But I have found it to be a good use of my experiences with RWO. EWS and I have also had an opportunity for more in depth conversations about how some of the women could be assisted quickly with small micro loans as well as long term like I am doing in Uganda. They agree that for the long term having the women save 50% and the micro loan to match it is a smart plan.

On Thursday I will meet with the women again and start the financial literacy courses. Since the size of the group doesn't matter, I am hopeful they will bring friends. Several of the volunteers, employees, and interns for the Shelter also plan to attend.

After the group meeting I will have one on one meetings with a few of the women that I identified as having the potential to benefit from a small loan now. But first I need to learn more about them individually to see if it is a good fit for both parties.

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Photos

Cristo de la Concordia
Higher than Christ the redeemer but less well known

Comments

[Renee Koenig]

WOWZA.
I just caught myself up on all of your entries!!! Holy moses, Sarah! I LOVE how you are LIVING. Keep at it!