The First Meeting of 'New Hope'

---

On Friday morning I had a virtual meeting with one of the board members of the organization that financially supports EWS. She shared some sobering statistics with me that demonstrated why EWS is so vitally needed in El Alto.

She showed me a report from the government that was conducted 5 years ago that found 8 of 10 women in Bolivia have or are currently living in a home experiencing domestic violence. This is the highest rate for a country in the Western Hemisphere. For women living in El Alto this statistic increases to 9 in 10 women. More than 50% of women in Bolivia are victims of domestic violence themselves. It is believed this rate is significantly higher in El Alto. Bolivia also has the highest femicide rate in South America. Between 2007 and 2012, 446,000 incidents of domestic violence was reported (most cases are never reported). Of those only 96 cases were ever prosecuted.

EWS is the only center in El Alto that not only has a safe space for women to gather but also addresses the psychological trauma that comes from abuse. Without addressing the trauma and trying to change the way women view their worth, they just end up right back where they started. As we talked we decided that after the trauma has been addressed, we can then start on the hard skills such as skills training and financial literacy.

She also told me about a change in federal law that was enacted two years ago. In the past when a women reported domestic violence she would leave the home and go to a shelter like EWS. But now the police will remove the abusive man from the home. While it is great that the women are able to stay in their home with their children it presents a new problem. The women have to find a way to financially support themselves and learn how to run the household finances. With this law change the need for a shelter has lessened but the need for skills training and financial literacy has greatly increased.

In the afternoon we had a meeting with about 10 women from the area to gather their thoughts on how EWS could best support them when it comes to skills training and financial literacy. It was a very difficult meeting hearing the womens' stories. Two in particular, in my opinion, first need emergency intervention and after that the work can start to change their situation. One of these women, Marybelle, contracted polio at a very young age. As her condition progressed her family kept her in a room away from everyone else. They did not socialize her or educate her. When she became 18 years old, her parents died and then she was left to fend for herself. She now has 4 children of her own, no husband, and is fighting day by day to feed her children. While her story was so difficult to hear, there were others that were encouraging. Yana is in wheelchair. I am not sure why but she does not let it stop her. She said the wheelchair is the last thing that limits her potential. She was such a positive voice to have in the group. We had two more group members that I expect to also be role models for the other women when it comes to a positive attitude and a desire to make their lives better. Some of the women are making small goods to sell like knitted garments. But they said they are limited on how much they can sell them for because they can not afford to purchase better quality materials. Another women has a small shop that sells electrical supplies, but she has a business loan at 21% that is taking any hope she has for a profit. I plan to debrief with the staff and founder before my next meeting with the ladies so we can be on the same page about how we are going to move forward. I already see opportunities for micro loans to assist some of these women, but I certainly would not want to suggest that without the full buy in of the organization. At the end of the meeting the women asked to name the group and they decided on 'New Hope'. I encouraged the attendees to bring other women with them to the next meeting.

---