I'm writing this blog from the comfort of my parents dining room, to tell you the tiny little last bit of my journey in Bolivia and where I go from here. I had a very enjoyable, if very sad, last few weeks in Bolivia the highlight of which was having a wonderful Hawain themed surprise party thrown for me by the staff and all the girls. I also had the opportunity to take all the girls out for a nice dinner, and the privelidge of attending school celebrations for mothers day. It was very difficult to me to have to say goodbye to so many people I have grown to love, especially to the girls, but I left in the full confidence that things are very much changing for the better in El Alfarero.
This time in Bolivia has certainly been one of many ups and downs, and while sometimes the downs have felt quite a lot more dramatic than the ups but overall this has been an amazing journey for me. I have learned many amazing things through the privelidge of being able to stay in a different culture and do things I have never down before. I feel like I have grown a lot in personal authority and leadership, as well as having learned how to take more initiative: if I see the problem, I am the one who must try to solve it! The experiences I have had are almost too overwhelming to sum up, but I look foward to doing that when I see some of you individually.
I really am looking forward to seeing all of my friends and family again - if I don't get in touch within the next week or so to arrange some kind of social engagement (!) then please get in touch with me! Anyone who is interested in hearing more about the ministry and my experiences in Bolivia, either on a personal or a group level, can also feel free to get in touch, either via this blog or through facebook or email.
As most of you probably now know, I still have two years on university to complete, studying french and spanish at Glasgow. I am very excited about getting stuck into honours, but I will have to wait till September to do that! My plans for the summer to remain quite vague, with various notions about getting a job, making visits and possbley going to France for a bit are all in the pipeline. Anyone with exciting things I could potentially do or help out with... please tell me!
Thank you very much again for being faithful in reading this blog, it is so amazing to me that there are this many people who might actually be interesting to so many people! I doubt that I will be updating it again, but it has been incredible, and I am pleased to have been able to share it with you.
Saturday 30 May 2009
Sunday 17 May 2009
Overdue news.... again
Well, this is very possibley going to be the last blog that I ever get the chance to write while still in Bolivia as I am almost down to counting single figures to the amount of days before I go back home again! I must apologise for the long time without any updates at all, while there is no real excuse for this behaviour, there have been a great deal of changes going on in the ministry which has resulted in a very busy, sometimes stressed out, me!
The most significant change in the home has been the rather sudden departure of the house parents for various reasons, which, while having been an understandabley difficult time for both the girls and the staff (and myself) has brought us the chance to bring some necessary change into the way the home is run, and some new perspectives. The timetable of the home has seen an overhall, having the girls spending a bit more time in class, and having a new worked out timetable of practical activities including computing, English and drawing classes replacing the time spent doing handcrafts. Changes have also taken place physically in the home, including a new living/tv room for the girls to use, a classroom for the teachers, floodlights for the basketball court and a huge amount of things in the kitchen have been replaced. All of this has required a lot of practical work both by the staff and the girls, as we work to make the home the best possible place for the girls to live in. These changes are all exciting and good, and the girls are thriving with a little bit more freedom than they used to have, and a lot more space to learn.
I continue going out on the street once a week which is very interesting. Recently the other team took one of the boys who we see regularly into hospital after having been beaten up badly by the police. Sadly, his girlfriend was injured so badly that she died but the boy himself is doing really well. I was able to go visit him in hospital to check on how he was doing and pay for any necessary medication or tests, and he seemed to be getting a lot better. The story ends up very happily, as the staff at the hospital went above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of hime during his stay, and have offered him a job in the hosptial. He plans on moving back in with his parents, and we would really appreciate your prayers for him that he can have success in his efforts to turn his life around.
Another new experience for me over the last couple of weeks was the chance to go to the palace of justice with one of the girls for her to testify at the trial of the couple who prostituted her and other minors. In the end she was unable to testify because one of the accused did not present himself. This is possibley one of hte most ridiculous situations I have ever been involved in, as the accused is in jail, so it seems that what happened is not that he was trying to escape trial, but just that the staff from the jail didn't bother to bring him in! Again, I would really appreciate your prayers that this situation would be resolved the next time she has to go in, as its a distressing experience for her every time, and ridiculous for it to have been prolonged as much as it has. On the plus side, I was really pleased that she asked for me to go with her, as I felt like it was a sign of her trust in me, and I have always really wanted for the girls to be able to trust me.
On a note aside from the ministry, I had the fun experience of going on a wee trip with the two girls I've been working most closely with. We went to visit La Paz, Lake Titicaca and the salt flats at Uyuni. I really enjoyed going to the Island of the Sun on Lake Titicaca which was unbelievabley beautiful, even if we did have to trek up what felt like a giant mountain with our backpacks on to get to the hostel. The salt flats were an incredible sight as well, 12 squared kilometers of pure salt which feels incredibley other wordly, a little bit like being on the moon. I really appreciated the chance to get out of Santa Cruz and seeing a bit more of the country before leaving here!
On a sad, or happy note, it really is just about time for me to leave Bolivia. I come back to Scotland on May 28th which is now less than 2 weeks away. I'm finding the thought of this really difficult, especially as I can see so many of the wonderful changes that are taking place in the girls home that I would so want to be a part of. Please pray for me that I will be able to leave her with peace of mind, and that I would be able to settle back in well to Scotland when I come home, and be able to find a nice job to last me over the summer. I'll try my best to get one last blog in before I go! Love to you all.
The most significant change in the home has been the rather sudden departure of the house parents for various reasons, which, while having been an understandabley difficult time for both the girls and the staff (and myself) has brought us the chance to bring some necessary change into the way the home is run, and some new perspectives. The timetable of the home has seen an overhall, having the girls spending a bit more time in class, and having a new worked out timetable of practical activities including computing, English and drawing classes replacing the time spent doing handcrafts. Changes have also taken place physically in the home, including a new living/tv room for the girls to use, a classroom for the teachers, floodlights for the basketball court and a huge amount of things in the kitchen have been replaced. All of this has required a lot of practical work both by the staff and the girls, as we work to make the home the best possible place for the girls to live in. These changes are all exciting and good, and the girls are thriving with a little bit more freedom than they used to have, and a lot more space to learn.
I continue going out on the street once a week which is very interesting. Recently the other team took one of the boys who we see regularly into hospital after having been beaten up badly by the police. Sadly, his girlfriend was injured so badly that she died but the boy himself is doing really well. I was able to go visit him in hospital to check on how he was doing and pay for any necessary medication or tests, and he seemed to be getting a lot better. The story ends up very happily, as the staff at the hospital went above and beyond the call of duty in taking care of hime during his stay, and have offered him a job in the hosptial. He plans on moving back in with his parents, and we would really appreciate your prayers for him that he can have success in his efforts to turn his life around.
Another new experience for me over the last couple of weeks was the chance to go to the palace of justice with one of the girls for her to testify at the trial of the couple who prostituted her and other minors. In the end she was unable to testify because one of the accused did not present himself. This is possibley one of hte most ridiculous situations I have ever been involved in, as the accused is in jail, so it seems that what happened is not that he was trying to escape trial, but just that the staff from the jail didn't bother to bring him in! Again, I would really appreciate your prayers that this situation would be resolved the next time she has to go in, as its a distressing experience for her every time, and ridiculous for it to have been prolonged as much as it has. On the plus side, I was really pleased that she asked for me to go with her, as I felt like it was a sign of her trust in me, and I have always really wanted for the girls to be able to trust me.
On a note aside from the ministry, I had the fun experience of going on a wee trip with the two girls I've been working most closely with. We went to visit La Paz, Lake Titicaca and the salt flats at Uyuni. I really enjoyed going to the Island of the Sun on Lake Titicaca which was unbelievabley beautiful, even if we did have to trek up what felt like a giant mountain with our backpacks on to get to the hostel. The salt flats were an incredible sight as well, 12 squared kilometers of pure salt which feels incredibley other wordly, a little bit like being on the moon. I really appreciated the chance to get out of Santa Cruz and seeing a bit more of the country before leaving here!
On a sad, or happy note, it really is just about time for me to leave Bolivia. I come back to Scotland on May 28th which is now less than 2 weeks away. I'm finding the thought of this really difficult, especially as I can see so many of the wonderful changes that are taking place in the girls home that I would so want to be a part of. Please pray for me that I will be able to leave her with peace of mind, and that I would be able to settle back in well to Scotland when I come home, and be able to find a nice job to last me over the summer. I'll try my best to get one last blog in before I go! Love to you all.
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