St. Brigid Roman Catholic Church
Journal Entry -
June 29, 2007
Hola friends and community of St. Brigid's!
Where, oh where, has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was in San Diego talking about Bolivia at the Sunday masses and preparing to embark on the biggest adventure of my life. And, now I'm here in the heart of South America more than five months later and finally getting a free moment to reflect and write this letter.
First, I have to say that I think of you all nearly every day because I could not be doing the work I'm doing without your love, prayers, and financial support. Thanks a million times over!! I feel incredibly blessed to have been sent into mission by such a generous, compassionate group of people.
I would like to take this opportunity to explain exactly what I am doing down here. Where do I start??? There is so much need and I am the only volunteer in the pueblo where I live. So, needless to say, I am always being invited to take on another project. First of all, I live in an Internado which is a boarding house for eighth graders through seniors in high school. The Internado is located in Buen Retiro , Bolivia (2 kilometers from the bigger pueblo of Capinota). There are 84 students, 5 religious sisters (Congregation of the Hijas de Jesus), 1 resident assistant and I. The students come from all over the department of Cochabamba and they stay at the Internado for a variety of reasons. Many come from areas that are so remote there is no education past sixth grade. Others are at the Internado because they have a bad family life or their parents have immigrated to Spain or another country. At the Internado, I accompany the students and serve as a parent, mentor, friend, and sister. I help with all the daily happenings-from peeling potatoes and washing dishes to assisting with homework and organizing sports and outings.
On Monday, Tuesday and Friday, I work in a Catholic Fe y Alegria high school where I teach freshmen religion, a freshmen reflection and values class, and two Creative Expression classes, which is a mix of drama and performance arts. I serve on the pastoral team at the school where I help plan retreats, Masses, and other events that serve the spiritual needs of the students and teachers. On Wednesdays, I head to Ucuchi, an even more impoverished, tiny community about 10 kilometers outside of Capinota. Here I teach first through sixth grade religion in their local Fe y Alegria elementary school. As if I didn't have enough to do in the campo, on Thursdays and Saturdays, I volunteer at the Maryknoll Missionary Center in Cochabamba . I am part of a team that designs and leads leadership courses for Catholic youth.
So, to say the least, my days are packed!! Needless to say, every night I crash into my bed completely exhausted. But, I thank God for the opportunity to serve an amazing, beautiful group of people and be welcomed into the community in such a sincere and warm way. Although very busy, I also cannot help but breathe in the fresh mountain air and revel at the star filled campo sky at night. I am truly blessed to be here. I am energized by Bolivian music and dance, the pride the people have in their indigenous heritage, and impressed by how hard people work for so, so little.
Last, I want to share how I have used the mission money that the St. Brigid's community raised. Because of your generosity, I have been able to:
• Buy classroom supplies, books (religion, drama, science), chalk and all other necessities to provide a creative, interactive educational experience for my over 125 high school students and 150 elementary students. The schools here do not provide anything so I have had to seek out my own textbooks, make copies for the students, and buy all markers, scissors, chalk, erasers, etc.
• Enable six teachers to attend a 10 week leadership course that many have told me has raised their self confidence and self esteem and challenged them to do things they never dreamt possible.
• Invite a woman from the Princeton leadership institute to give a workshop for the Fe y Alegria teachers on classroom strategies . All loved the creative ideas! Although I see US AID and other international organizations at work here in Bolivia, I see little resources go to the teachers who dedicate so much to their students with little thanks and very little pay (starting teachers make $90/month).
• Buy 20 books in the native language Quechua for the children of a women's community group/cooperative to inspire fluency and pride in the native culture.
• Provide prizes and incentives for women taking Spanish literacy classes in Buen Retiro. One woman who everyone affectionately calls the "Abuela" (the grandmother) is 70 years ago and never in her life has picked up a pencil. We started with numbers and vowels and she is on her way! What an inspiration!
• Costumes and music for 24 Capinota teachers that participated in a community folk dance contest. The group wanted to do something "different" and unique and so asked if I would teach a dance from the United States . They did a country western number and not only won the hearts of the crowd, they won the dance contest! The generous prize money went to the Fe y Alegria high school and the dance contest itself built community, inspired appreciation for the arts, and provided healthy entertainment for all.
These are just a few ways your money has directly touched the lives of Bolivians. Most importantly, you are present here through the smiles of the children as they read their beautiful new books, through their mothers as they discover a whole new world through writing and reading, through the incredibly profound intercultural exchange I experienced while both learning Bolivian folkloric dance and teaching typical dances from the US, and most importantly, through the constant requests I get from the Bolivian people to send along thanks "to your friends in San Diego" and to tell them that "we will never forget them because they have not forgotten us."
I will be posting photos very soon on the St. Brigid's website. That way, you can see for yourself all that you have enabled me to do. Also, I will be sure to send more updates this year.
I wish you a relaxing, family filled summer.
With love and profound gratitude,
Carrie Fuller
Fe y Alegria is a church-state education project in Central and South America that the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) begun to serve the poorest communities.
The campo is the rural, agricultural area of Bolivia where the majority of people live and where most people are struggling to survive on less than $2/day.
