Announcing the Educacion y Futuro A Bed for Each Child Project in Tarija, Bolivia

Good afternoon, my friends.  

As I move around, I come across some terrific opportunities to enlist friends in an effort to do some good in the world.  Many of you recall the Bed for Each Child project(s) at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo.  (A Bed for Each Child--Congo)  That three year project raised $62,000 over a three year period and transformed a desperately overcrowded and run down housing unit for abandoned kids into a clean, bright, and less overcrowded home for dozens of Congolese children.  This extended project brought together close to a hundred and fifty people from around the world, came in on budget, and made a palpable difference.  And in the wake of the success of that project, I have--since moving to Bolivia in 2017--been looking for a similar such endeavor to promote here. And I confident that I've found one.

In March, our family flew to Tarjia, a smallish city in the southern region of Bolivia. The main attractions were the mountain air and the string of high altitude vineyards in the region. You'll find Tarija on the map below, just north of the border of Argentina.  (For reference sake, we are currently living in the east-central city of Santa Cruz.)

As our trip approached, I clicked around searching for Tarija-based diversions, I stumbled upon a place called The Valle de los Condores, which advertised itself as an eco-friendly tourist destination that was committed to sustainable development in the area (about an hour's drive outside of Tarija) and safeguarding the habitat of the rare Andean condor.  A couple of phone calls (not easy for me in Spanish, but I'm managing) with Vincente from the tour business and we committed to spending a couple of nights at his lodge.  A glowing review of the Valle de los Condores belongs elsewhere, but I mention it hear because as important as good intentions in social projects such as the one that we are embarking upon is faith in the people on the ground to operate competently, thoughtfully, and transparently.  And Vincente and his partner Virinia proved themselves profoundly capable (and delightfully genuine) people.

As we formed our rapid-fire friendship over the course of three short days, Vincente spoke of his "real work" in Tarija.  My Spanish is functional, but I eventually understood that he had been in Tarija for a couple of decades and had founded a social service organization in Tarija which he called Educacion y Futuro (EDYFU).  (I don't reckon that even the most mono-lingual of you out there really needs a translation; but, yes, it means "Education and Future".)  And on our final day in Tarija, we asked him to take us to the "alberge", which translates best as "shelter".  Among their many youth service projects, EDYFU provides temporary housing for girls who been forced to leave their homes.  EDYFU has two buildings dedicated to short- to medium-term housing (ranging from a few weeks to a few months) for girls who would otherwise be homeless.  One building, renovated three years ago, has sixteen beds. However, due to the Covid-19 induced stress on families, there are currently 22 girls housed in that structure. The other building, however, is not currently operational. And that's where we come in. At this point, both buildings would be at capacity, but EDYFU needs to turn girls away for lack of room.

 

What's this going to cost? Well, based on Vincente's experience as a grant writer and the similar renovations made on the first building a couple of years ago, he's confident that he can do what needs to be done for about $11,000. So for $11,000, dozens of abandoned and otherwise mistreated girls in Tarija, Bolivia will have a safe and supportive place to stay for years into the future. His proposed budget looks like this:

 

It's never easy to put into words, but there was a warmth and purpose to the place that made an immediate impression.  Each of the girls staying at the alberge had been, by definition, through some hard times, but they seemed welcoming, curious, and secure.  My daughter Sephie is only slowly overcoming her timidity when it comes to interaction with Spanish-only speaking children, but they immediately took her under their collective wings and while Vincente and I toured the premises and I learned more of his EDYFU's background and their most pressing needs, Sephie happily ran about the grounds watched over by her new friends.

We are in the process of applying to be a Lantern Project, which will help us to fundraise and also ofter a 503-c tax deduction to all US donors.  More info to come. But if you'd like to get a closer look, Vincente takes you through the buildings: