The next morning we traveled by bus to Mallasa, a suburb in the southern part of the city of La Paz, to the Oberland Hotel where the next two days of meetings occurred.  Representatives from the Bolivian partnerships included La Paz, Trinidad, Santa Cruz, Oruro, and Cochabamba.  The U.S. was represented by one person each from Utah and North Carolina along with the two of us from Arkansas. 

The purpose of the meeting was coordination of efforts among the three Bolivian partnerships, North and South, with an emphasis on communication and seeking ways to share travelers when their expertise would be useful to all partnerships.  It was recognized that it would take time to work out all the problems with such travel, but most believed that a good start had been made toward gaining a more cooperative effort.  It was a good meeting and our thanks to Cecilia Cordova and the La Paz partners for their efforts in organizing all that went into it.

Lorgio Vaca
We had an opportunity to visit with Lorgio Vaca, artist, ceramist, and muralist.  He had an exchange in Arkansas around 1986.  For those Arkansas Partners who have joined since then, perhaps you have seen his murals around Santa Cruz.  His wife, Ana, owns Artesiana de Campo, a place we all like to shop.  The art in this shop is done by local surrounding artists, much of which is done under direct supervision of Lorgio.  Perhaps Lorgio would return if an Arkansas Partner would set up an exchange.  How about an exhibition of his art?

The New Sports Program
We met with Marco and Heloisa Ortiz.  They are co- chairs for our budding sports program.  Heloisa is a swimming coach and Marco does track.  He has won several championships for Bolivia and on one occasion was named athlete of the year in Bolivia.  They are a delightful young couple and true assets to our group.

Abused Children
I met with Jorge Valverde who heads a program designed to help and protect sexually-abused children, as well as provide information for all students about protection of their minds and bodies.  The program is in place in 14 schools in the Santa Cruz area.  They are in need of some equipment and possibly a psychology or psychiatry exchange. 

Follow-up With Trinidad Officers in Santa Cruz
Roxanna Rivero and Willie Tanaka, both from Trinidad, met with us towards the end of our stay in Santa Cruz.  Willie indicated he would be sports chairman for Trinidad.  Miguel Rivero, husband of Maria Teresa, whom we know quite well, was the Trinidad representative at the CONPOA meeting in La Paz.  Maria Teresa came to Arkansas last year on an education exchange.

Further Meetings in Santa Cruz
Friday at lunch we were privileged to be with Max and Sonia Frydmann, good friends and still equipping students to participate in higher education opportunities in the U.S. and other places.  That evening we had dinner with some of the medical community who had experience with Partners either currently or at present, including Drs. Ruben Urey, Carlos Paniagua, Desiree Mostajo, Melvin Cuellar, and Wally Pareida.

While the main part of the building is completed there are still no rooms for X-ray, ultrasound, CAT scans, etc.  Carlos has written a small grant ($5,000) in hopes of getting Partners help with some of these additions.  He also sent a list of needed supplies.  Paul Noland has assumed the job of trying to meet some of these needs. Hermes Justiniano and Jorge Ibarnegaray also sent lists of needed supplies for two very small hospitals or clinics deep in the jungle.

Below are shown two photos of the Buena Vista  hospital - first, as it looked in September, 2001 and second, the completed product.

All in all it was a great trip.  It was very warm, windy, and humid – but typical Santa Cruz weather for their fall.

                                                  Thecia Taylor 

Farmer to Farmer is funded by USAID amd Bolivia has a priority for participation.  Funds are available for North to South travel only.
Education and Culture has several emphases, including Travel Grants available for education methodology, University linkages, arts and culture, civic education and environmental curriculum development, citizen involvement in local governance, administration of justice and awareness of human rights, minority and indigenous civil rights protection, and in partnership development. They also give assistance for Small Projects, and Teacher-in-Residence programs.
Women and Families should soon have available travel and project assistance funds to address needs for family planning information and services. 
Partnership Development funds are available once a year only - proposals are usually submitted no later than September for review by the Foundation Board at its October Annual Meeting.

These are but a few, but probably the more important, areas of work for our partnership.  Again, go to the web site for more details.

Although Paula has now graduated and moved on, we thought you would be interested in this portrait of her life and family, as a student at the University of Arkansas, her work and future plans. Here's her story:

Paula graduated from the UofA School of Architecture in May 2001. Until the end of March, 2002, she worked as an Architectural intern at Perry Butcher's well-known and prosperous firm in Rogers. 
 
As this goes to press - early April - she is en route to Bahia, in northeast Brazil. There Paula will live with her maternal grandparents until January, 2003, when she will move to Madrid, Spain and enroll in a master's program in environmental  architecture.