While I did participate in the election of two Board
Positions, the biggest piece of news to be brought back to
you is that Arkansas won the bid to host the 2005
International Convention in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thecia
Taylor and George Vena have graciously agreed to
guide us through this wonderful experience. Our first step
in this adventure will be to plan to attend the Partners of
the Americas Convention in 2004 in Antigua, Guatemala.
Not only will you be enriched, but it is TRADITION for the
upcoming host group to attend and encourage attendance
to the next year’s convention. Thecia and George will be
delighted to hear of your plans to attend.

We have a vibrant year ahead of us:

Rechartering
Hosting a visit in the winter from Martha Cecilia
Villada of the Citizens Working for Justice Program
Exploring art, music, environmental, agricultural, and membership projects
Annual Planning

Sue Heily

With what tradition or traditions did you greet the New
Year? I used to make resolutions for the incoming year.
For me, that tradition met with minimal success. My
resolutions seldom survived through February which
in turn ruined my self esteem. Nowadays, what works for
me is to take a few minutes to think about what new
directions I'd like my life to take. Then, I adjust my time
schedule to accommodate the first few steps of the new
direction. For example, after hearing of my election as
Arkansas-East Bolivia President, I cut back on some of
my duties at my church and quit my second job on
Saturdays to allow myself room for my new service to
Partners. I thank you for your confidence in me.

I would ask each of you Partners to consider your time
commitment to Partners for 2004. Is there an area of
interest you have? I will be asking committee chairs to
recruit from our members list and create their committees
by the April Board meeting. Below is a list of committee
chairs. If you have a special interest and a "cup" of
minutes to offer, please contact them. Also know, they
may be contacting you by April.

Remember the difference between a "cup" that is half full
versus half empty is our attitude. I ask YOU ALL to look at
what you do well and might offer---not what you don't
have or do poorly. In that way, you will be helping
Partners to grow.

Susan Heily
Sue_Heily@hotmail.com
* Ed. Note: Environment was split from Agriculture at the January Board Meeting. 

“Although we’re living in the Rocky Mts. We still enjoy
staying connected with our Arkansas Bolivia Partners.
I’m still working for the Forest Service - now in the Rocky
Mt. Regional Office. I was glad to see Hermes taking the
lead in Santa Cruz! But, was sad to learn of the death of
Laurin Wheeler - he worked with me on several Forest
Service projects as well as Partners.
“Best regards to all.”

Fayetteville Artist's Work Speaks to World
It's the culmination of a lifetime of work for Fayetteville
sculptor Hank Kaminsky...and a massive piece of public
art that speaks to the entire world. Ten feet in diameter,
the World Peace Prayer Fountain is a bronze sphere
layered with more than 100 languages touting the same
message, "May Peace Prevail on Earth."

The work of public art was unveiled New Year's Eve
2002 on Fayetteville's downtown square. Water streams
from its top and flows to a pool below, and elements of
nature have already begun to color the bronze sculpture
a brilliant, green patina. Throughout the piece, languages
meet and intertwine. The Hebrew and Arabic languages
converge at the word "peace," as do the Chinese and
Tibetan scripts.

While the sphere symbolizes Earth, there are underlying
abstract elements. "I'm an abstract thinker. It's what
makes me feel alive," he explained. Places that have
shaped who Kaminsky is have also shaped the sculpture.
Horizontal elements of the Ozark strata are represented
in the work.

When asked why people should travel to Arkansas to
view the immense sculpture, Kaminsky said the most
spiritual of reasons is that this piece is a beacon -- a
physical radiation of peace from the middle of the
continent outward. "In one way or another, it touches
everybody. Or, it can."

The sculpture also spins in the direction the Earth rotates
when visitors lay their hands upon it. "You can put your
intentions into the prayer," he said.

The artist first imagined the piece in 1999 while viewing
architectural drawings for Fayetteville's Town Center
(convention center), which was completed in 2001. At the
time, though, he did not visualize a finished work of art.
"I envisioned a piece of sculpture. I saw shape and a
relation to the building. That's all," Kaminsky explained.
After discussing the piece with the architect and
community leaders for many months, the project was
approved at a cost of more than $275,000, which was
financed by Ed Bradberry of Fayetteville and New York.
The Bradberry family is known for its philanthropic support
of Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas.

It took 16 months to build the sculpture, with 20 people
working during the peak of the project. The sculpture took
form by first welding together a steel sphere and covering
it with two inches of potter's clay.

Kaminsky's art is not about what media he works in, but
rather about method. He creates plastic sculpture.
Kaminsky explained that the word "plastic" was invented
before the product of plastic that we know today. In the art
world, plastic means to add and build from within. The clay
on the sphere was added piece by piece until all the
languages were shaped, as can be seen by close
inspection The pattern of the languages was not mapped
out beforehand, but added when and where Kaminsky --
and the other artists that helped -- felt it right.

The sphere was then divided into 42 sections and a
rubber mold was made of each. Sand molds were taken of
the molded patterns and cast into bronze. The 42 bronze
pieces, each weighing some 200 pounds, were then
welded together to form the hollow sphere which sits and
spins on a large metal pole anchored in the ground.
Although the sphere is only three-eighths of an inch thick,
the entire sculpture weighs about 8,000 pounds.

Kaminsky said a majority of artists work with a finished
product in mind. "I sculpt because I want to discover form,"
he explained. "My method yields a product, but I'm often
surprised at what comes out." But, there is a deeper
reason why the 64-year-old artist sculpts. "I'm trying to
discover the shape of the universe."

While the prayer fountain is a culmination of his life's
work, Kaminsky will continue to explore the shape of the
universe through art. "What else is there?" he asked.
"Everything is part of the universe."

Kaminsky has also created busts and numerous other
public commissioned pieces, most in Fayetteville and
Little Rock. The artist is currently working on a bust for
the Lady Razorbacks and two large projects, one for the
town of Clinton and a fountain for the Washington
Regional Medical Center.

sculptor@kaminsky.com

On a sad note, we’re sorry to report the death of a longtime
Partner friend and member - Roald - on January 9,
2004. He was 90 years old, and had an uncommon zest
for life and possessed an intellectual curiosity about a
variety of interests. His latest love in the plant world, one
of many, was the growth and cultivation of pigeon peas.

Only a few weeks ago he gathered together several of his
Fayetteville friends at his apartment to help shell some of
this year’s crop - done over convivial conversation and a
few sips of scotch. 

Roald worked in many parts of the world including 
Mongolia, Africa, Central and South America. 
He was Director of Agriculture for the Southern
Zone of the Organization of American States, and later
headed a division of the Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations, and was stationed
both in Rome and the Dominican Republic. 

He retired from his international duties in 1979 and moved 
to Fayetteville, where he was soon appointed adjunct
Professor of Agronomy. For the Arkansas-East Bolivia
Partners, he traveled to Santa Cruz, working with
problems in range management. He remained a valued
agricultural consultant and friend to Partners up until his
death. He was one of our first Honorary Members. He
will be greatly missed.

Another death to report is that of John, December 15,
2003. He was retired from the University of Arkansas as
dean of libraries. Although no longer active in Partners,
John was one of a group of UofA professors recruited by
Myron Brody to represent our partnership to East
Bolivia, at that time consisting only of Santa Cruz. John
engaged in an exchange there working with community
libraries in Santa Cruz, interacting, primarily, with
Marcelo Auroz, an experience that he later claimed
“changed his life.” 

John was a native of Michigan, educated there, worked 
in libraries at Harvard and Yale before coming to 
Arkansas to direct the library system at the UofA. 
He loved books, music, good food and good
conversation.

A recent development has been the awarding of the
2005 International Partners Convention to the Arkansas-East Bolivia Partners. 
It will be held in Little Rock with the Peabody Hotel as convention headquarters. 

Bringing the convention to Arkansas was the result of leadership efforts by Past President Thecia Taylor, and an attractive bid put together by the Little Rock Convention Bureau.

George Vena, with assists from Thecia and Don Thurman (who headed up the 1986 convention held in Little Rock), has agreed to be the overall Chair for this effort. george.vena@usdoj.gov

There will be lots of work ahead to bring about a successful convention, but with a strong push and cooperation from our membership it will be a fruitful and satisfying experience. Its our chance to promote Arkansas and the Arkansas-East Bolivia partnership to the western hemisphere!

We’re pleased to include here an account of one our newest members, Natasha. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia - but, we’ll let her tell her own story:

“Hello, my name is Natasha Moore, and I am perhaps
one of the newest members to the Arkansas/Eastern
Bolivia Partners. I was asked to write a small article about
what motivated me to join your group and what will
forever live in my memories and hopefully my future -
Bolivia. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, in Tarija, Bolivia
from 2000 until late 2003. 

“I hope that most of you have had the opportunity to
travel to Bolivia, it is a wonderful country, extremely
diverse in all senses. The eastern part of Bolivia is very
different from the southern most part where I lived. Tarija, the largest city in the area, is six hours (by old, broken down bus on a horrible, side-of-the-mountain, dirt, and riverbed road) to the Argentine border. The city and area (though I am biased!) is some of the absolute best of Bolivia! (A travel tip: both Sucre and Tarija are considered Bolivia’s most beautiful cities - Sucre for the beautiful white buildings, and Tarija, for the many, many parks and plazas of flowers).

"I could write a book how much I love Tarija, land of sun, wine, and flowers. But I will only try to describe a little of my experience, I lived in a rural village about an hour from Tarija. Here everything was dirt, we had one little store that sold flour, eggs, and sugar, candles and batteries, but for the most part the people produced everything they needed for day to day living.

Everyone was poor, the only money coming in was from family members who were living and working in Argentina - this was everyone from age fifteen to fifty - they worked in Argentina and sent money home for their children and grandparents who remained in Bolivia. So for the most part I worked with the very young or very old, except for a month or two of winter (there) when the population of the community swelled with the returning family visiting from the South.

“I tried to teach them many different things, we talked
about nutrition, sanitation, and different farming
techniques. I taught courses on organic farming,
composting and worm composting, crop rotation,
companion planting, natural pesticides, canning, food
preservation, erosion control, and firewood-saving
techniques. In the school I taught English, and
Environmental Science, to different women’s groups I
taught self-esteem and gender issues, and I worked with
other volunteers to bring youth together to help guide them in self-awareness, self-esteem, leadership, and
educational issues. 

"I built several 'Cocinas Lorenas,' or worm composting facilities and a Grey Water system. I also brought in and planted several experimental erosion
control/forage grasses and worked on a reforestation
project. This is what I did. One hopes you will make a
difference, however it is what they will do with the
knowledge that will make the difference. What I
personally found most rewarding, was my commitment
with the women and my work in gender and self-esteem
issues.

“Perhaps the work described above will not be utilized
by everyone; however; I can most definitely say that I
made a lasting impact on my community and the area by
just living there and being part of the community. I would
go on and on about organic farming but I would only hold
their attention when they where asking me (sometimes
for the thousandth time!) about my parents; ‘What were
their names, how many brothers did I have, what was my
house like, how much money did I make in the U.S., did
the U.S. have mountains like Bolivia, why did all the TV
shows and movies have things blowing up all the time,
did everyone have a gun?’ What I did was to bring home
the idea that there was something out there different
besides the life they knew in Bolivia. 

"However, the largest part of giving was on their 
part - they brought me into their lives, teaching me everything from how to talk, to what I had to 
do to survive. They shared the best portions of their 
food (even if that was the chicken’s feet!),
family life, fiestas, and their friendship.  They taught me 
that there is so much more than just the U.S. and so much more to life. I could go on and on.

“I had so many great experiences, (yes, some great only
after I made it out of them alive!). I loved my time there
and especially loved having the rare opportunity to show
someone from home (U.S - Fayetteville) all of the things I
found special about Tarija and Bolivia. 

"One of those times is when Laurin and Libby Wheeler 
were in Bolivia and gave me the rare pleasure of 
having visitors from home. Both had been my 
professors and advisors during my time as a student 
at the University and yes, they did much to encourage my Peace Corps experience and talked many times of Partners. 

"I will look forward to meeting more of you soon, 
I have hopes of more free time in the near future. 
Right now I am working a lot to gather resources (a nice name for money!), to bring my husband here from 
Bolivia, I hope to have him here about June 
and am happy to find such good-hearted, wonderful
people to help show him our culture and the U.S. 

"If you should like to talk with me, want a bit more on the culture of Southern Bolivia, or want see any of my voluminous photo albums (just kidding!), 
feel free to contact me, at amazondancer@hotmail.com. 

"Que te ya vaya con dios!"
Natasha

Ed. note (not included in pdf edition): Besides Peace Corps, Natasha's international experience includes participation as a UA student in the first Environmental Science Study Tour to Israel  during spring break, 1998. 
An impressive photo in the International Agri Programs Annual Report for 1997-98 shows Natasha riding a camel.  Your editorial board decided to spike the camel photo so as not to confuse readers of Direcciones.

Partners of the Americas Strengthens Democracy
At The Special 
Summit Of The Americas

Washington, D.C.—Partners of the Americas (Partners)
has teamed with a consortium of non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) from across the Americas to
organize a Civil Society Forum at the Presidential Summit
of the Americas on January 10-11 in Monterrey, Mexico.
The forum is one of many efforts Partners carries out to
give citizens in the Western Hemisphere a stronger voice
in their communities.

Partners and select NGOs will present concrete
recommendations for how governments can more
effectively involve NGOs in the Summit of the Americas
Process and address development needs confronting
democracies throughout the region.

“Partners of the Americas offers a unique grassroots
perspective that is invaluable to the Summit Process,” said
Cynthia Smith, Director of the Civil Society Program of
Partners of the Americas. “Because we work in the
communities that Summit mandates impact, we have a
first-hand understanding of their needs and
challenges.” (contact her at csmith@partners.net)
Following presentation of these recommendations to
government officials at the Presidential Summit, Partners
will work with 22 NGOs from 20 countries to promote
fulfillment of Summit Action Plan mandates and engage in
public education on the Summit Process and how NGOs
can be involved.

The recommendations are the product of NGO analysis
of select mandates agreed to by governments in the 2001
Quebec City Summit of the Americas Action Plan, which
serves as a strategic framework for strengthening
democratic governance in the Western Hemisphere. In
November, Partners, together with the Organization of
American States, the Government of Mexico and other
NGOs, met in Mexico City to draft recommendations. The
recommendations were then submitted to the Summit
Implementation Review Group for final review on
December 8 and were prepared for further discussion and
presentation at the upcoming Presidential Summit.

Established in 1964, Partners of the Americas is an
international organization with a people-to-people network
of committed volunteers in Latin America, the Caribbean
and the United States. In pairing U.S. states with the
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Partners
works to build opportunity and address common concerns
of social, economic, and cultural development. Over the
years, Partners has turned thousands of ideas into action,
producing linkages among professionals, institutions and
communities to improve quality of life throughout the
Americas.

This report is most interesting but a bit too long to reproduce in its entirety here. At best we can only excerpt parts of it. 

President Carter was in Bolivia from December 
16-21, visiting, primarily, the La Paz and Altiplano area.
He and others were invited by the new President of
Bolivia, Carlos Mesa. He was invited by President Mesa
to assist in “drafting and implementing a freedom of
information law, which we have learned in other countries
will greatly reduce corruption and enhance confidence of
disaffected people in their government.”

Apparently President Carter plans to use his Carter
Center in providing this assistance. While there they met
with leaders of MNR (Goni’s party), as well as with MIR,
MAS, NFR, and UCS. And, as he puts it: “Felipe
Quispe, radical head of the MIP, left our meeting place
and refused to return, claiming that we were two minutes
late.”

It seems that natural gas is still an issue, trying to figure
out how to get adequate taxes on exports and how to
change the laws regarding natural gas extraction. It
would seem however, that they spent considerable time
on the coca problem, “which has shaped the political
landscape and was a major factor in the downfall of Goni
and his government.” They talked about shifting to other
crops, such as pineapples, bananas or citrus fruits. (Your Editor was involved in such discussions 28 years ago
when he lived in Bolivia for a year - such discussions
were fruitless then and are probably just as fruitless now.)

The “Cocaleros” apparently convinced Carter and his
party that the present production levels were inadequate
for normal and legal domestic production. They
proposed a brief freeze on the present level of production
for the next six months.

“We left La Paz Sunday morning, pleased with an
enjoyable and productive visit but still deeply concerned
about the future of Bolivia. It is a wonderful country,
dedicated to democracy, having recently granted
indigenous people a stronger voice in the government,
suffering economically from lack of access to the sea,
greatly influenced by Washington policies, heavily
dependent on foreign assistance, eager to resolve its
problems and capitalize on natural gas and productive
land, and searching for ways to resolve political
differences without further violence. 

The greatest threat to the country is the possible uprising of the people and another overthrow of their president if foreign assistance is inadequate, poverty is not addressed, and trust in government is not restored.”

Luis visited Arkansas from November 8, 2003 to
November 21 as part of the Justice Project. He divided
his time between Little Rock, where he was hosted by
Wayne Swegle, and Fayetteville, where he was hosted
by Bob Frans. In Little Rock he was able to do several
things, including being hosted by Thecia Taylor at a
Partners reception, and visiting the Clinton Library under
construction and the Arkansas Art Gallery. Also, he was
able to visit Winrock International with Wayne, as well as
AETN, the statewide educational television network
station in Conway. At the invitation of George Vena, he
was able to visit and observe a Federal Court. They were
also able to make a video concerning justice themes
during this visit.

Bettie Lu Lancaster arranged for his activities in
Fayetteville. These included meeting with the members
of her Judicial Committee (Judith Kilpatrick, Molly
Sizer-Stephenson, Don Voth, Steven Neuse, Amilcar
Medina, Ingrid Arinez and Will Miller). Luis was
interviewed on Community Action Television by Steven,
with Bob Frans and Bettie Lu participating. He also was
able to consult with experts in television, including CAT
staff, University professors and documentary producers.
Some of these were Larry Foley, Dale Carpenter, Dan
Borgengaser (the latter of Ozark Film and Video) and
James Spencer, of Tyson Corporate Communications.
From there he was able to take home training videos and
videos from American courts for training juries.

At the Multicultural Center he met with Al Lopez and
Diana Shiell. He also attended a seminar conducted by
Senator David Pryor, which also includes several
prominent jurists and deans or directors of law schools..
He also was invited to speak to the UofA Latin American
Politics Class of Jeff Ryan. Steve and Jeanine Neuse
hosted a Partners reception at the end of his visit.

Hermes was a visitor to Arkansas from November 23 to
November 30. His visit followed his trip to Lexington,
Kentucky for the Partners International Convention.

Hermes is the new President of Partners in Santa Cruz,
Bolivia. He was hosted in Little Rock by Thecia Taylor
and in Northwest Arkansas by Bob and Nadine Spears.
Much of his activity in both locales was his expressed
desire to meet with as many of our committee chairs as
possible, which he did, becoming familiar with our
programs of interest and seeing how those interests could
mesh with those of like committees in East Bolivia. He
also had extensive talks with Mark Robertson, who
collaborates with Hermes on conservation projects.

During these discussions, Hermes was able to interact
with other institutions such as LEADAR, The Nature
Conservancy, Audubon Society, and to visit the Little Rock
Zoo and the Art Museum. In both the Central and
Northwest Arkansas locations, Hermes made a Power
Point presentation of his activities in conservation in
Bolivia, emphasizing how these might coordinate with the
goals and activities of Partners.

While in Northwest Arkansas, Hermes was able to
observe and enjoy the Thanksgiving celebration through
the warm hospitality of Bob and Nadine. He also took note
of the large number of Bolivian students attending the
University of Arkansas and sought ways of strengthening
ties with these students, perhaps by closer contact with
their parents in Bolivia. Hermes pledged that, upon his
return to Bolivia, he would engage in considerable
reorganization of Partner activities, not only in Santa Cruz,
but also in Trinidad and Cobija.

It was a fruitful visit, coming soon after Hermes’
becoming President, and allowing extensive discussions
with our members in Arkansas. It was his hope that both
sides of the partnership would become more active in
recruiting and retaining new members to Partners of the
Americas.

October 25, 2003
The meeting was held at Arkansas Tech this date.
Retiring members from the Board were noted, as well as
new members for 2004 who were present. These
included Wayne Swegle, new Treasurer, Louise
Montgomery, new Secretary, and Fran Free, new Chair
for Women and Families. Other members introduced
themselves and gave a little history of their involvement
with Partners.

President Thecia Taylor announced that we had lost
funding for Farmer to Farmer, but that possible funding
might be worked out with Winrock, the new South
America contractor for the FTF program. The Executive
Director noted that dues for 2004 were due, and that he
would carry on in this position and as Editor of
Direcciones until replacements could be found.
Several committee reports were given. Both Jo Ann
Kaminsky, co-chair for Culture, and Fran Free reported
on their trips to Bolivia and offered ideas for new work in their respective areas.

It was voted to add a new category to membership
called Honorary Members - those by virtue of long-time
interest in Partners. It was also voted to submit a bid for
the International Meeting to be held in Arkansas in 2005,
and further voted to propose that the meeting be held in
Little Rock.

Susan Heily gave greetings as the new incoming
President of Partners and announced the dates of the
2004 Board Meeting: January 17, April 17, July 17, and
October 16. Thecia Taylor bade us farewell as the
outgoing President.

Carol Corning reported on progress being made in
transferring the Treasurer’s job to Wayne Swegle. She
also reported on possible changes to the banner as well
as production of tee-shirts. It was noted that we needed
a better seal for the Pando for both projects.

Bob Frans reported on changes in the By-Laws,
reflecting the addition of the Honorary Membership
category. It was voted also to establish a new
Environment Committee, removing that designation from
the Agriculture Committee.     It was also voted to
designate the President or Vice President be given
authority to sign checks in the absence of the Treasurer,
and that approval for expenditures greater than $500
must be obtained from either the President or Vice
President. Expenditures greater than $1000 would
require approval of the Board.

It was noted that Margaret Clark had resigned as the
Regional Vice President for Northwest Arkansas, and that president Heily was in the process of searching for a replacement. In further new business, it was noted that our existing tax-free status as a 501(3)(c) entity needed backing by an official certificate of designation. George Vena was given the authority to research this matter for the Board.

Kristine Hall, 11902 Doc Hall, Prairie Grove
AR 72753, 479-846-3672, 
hallroad@yahoo.com

Fran Free, 33 W. Prospect C-1, 
Fayetteville,AR 72701, 479-443-6732, 
franbfree@usa.net

Tim & Susan Lovett. 387 Blue Springs Rd.,
Fayetteville, AR 72703, 479-571-1633,
jtimlovett@aol.com

Natasha Moore, 10834 Brady Rd., 
Prairie Grove, AR 72753 , 479-267-6140 ,
amazondancer@hotmail.com

Peg Nichols, 604 S. Grant Ave., 
Olathe, KS 66061-4317, 913-782-0189, 
rmnichols@att.net

Molly Sizer-Stephenson, 14621 Goshen-Tuttle Rd., 
Elkins, AR 72727, 479-521-9868,
mollystephenson@earthlink.net

Welcome one and all - we’re glad you are members!

Yes, I know, several of you have paid for 2004 –
Bless you! But several of you have not - look around, 
you were sent an invoice for dues two issues back - 
do you still have it? If so, why not dig it our and send it along with your check, either to the Executive Director or to the Editor of Direcciones (doesn’t matter which one, they’re both the same person). Their (his) address is found within the masthead of this newsletter. 

So, that’s about as easy as we can make it for you - if you don’t know whether you’ve paid or not, give one of those guys a call, or e-mail one of them (they both have the same address, too!) And one of them will respond post-haste. Next issue we’ll try to publish a list of paid members - 
you do want to be on it, don’t you?

http://lapaz.usembassy.gov/english/commercial/ccg2004.pdf. 
 

It’s 65 pages long, and a great source of information about Bolivia, prepared by the commercial attache in our La Paz embassy. Enjoy!