Teacher strike and Villa Alba mission
Yesterday, today and tomorrow there is a 72 hour teacher's strike nationwide. The teachers are striking over their wages. The average wage for a teacher in Bolivia is less than $2 per hour. Every school in Trinidad except La Palmera is closed. Thankfully everyone but one teacher is continuing work. To show support of other teachers though we are only having half days of school for Primary (Secondary already get out at 1pm because they start earlier and don't have lunch). In the afternoon the teachers are going and marching in town. It's strikes like these that cripple the education system in Bolivia. The real losers are not the teachers, but the students who will lose three days of school that will never be made up.
Another development which is quite exciting is that I am finally planning a mission trip with the Jovenes!! We had the desire to do a camp for some kids at this Quechua community outside of Santa Cruz, but in the process found out about a problem in the church there and so we were forced to change locations. We ended up choosing the small village of Villa Alba. Yes, this is the same Villa Alba I wrote about a couple months ago that was completely flooded and that we took food to. It is only now FOUR MONTHS LATER that the families are finally returning to their homes (some finding their homes badly damaged) and moving out of the provided tents.
This is a small village of probably only a couple hundred people, with no running water, no phone service and people living in very rustic conditions. We will be going there June 30 - July 4 and having a day camp for three days for the kids of this village. We will be doing the theme "Jesus is my friend" since many of these kids have never read the Bible. The last day we will spend helping families make repairs to their homes so hopefully they hold together better in the future. I am VERY excited about the opportunity to help out this village that is in such need and everyone in the church is quite pleased at our effort to do this trip. Pray for the people of Villa Alba and for us as we plan this trip and the camp.
Another development which is quite exciting is that I am finally planning a mission trip with the Jovenes!! We had the desire to do a camp for some kids at this Quechua community outside of Santa Cruz, but in the process found out about a problem in the church there and so we were forced to change locations. We ended up choosing the small village of Villa Alba. Yes, this is the same Villa Alba I wrote about a couple months ago that was completely flooded and that we took food to. It is only now FOUR MONTHS LATER that the families are finally returning to their homes (some finding their homes badly damaged) and moving out of the provided tents.
This is a small village of probably only a couple hundred people, with no running water, no phone service and people living in very rustic conditions. We will be going there June 30 - July 4 and having a day camp for three days for the kids of this village. We will be doing the theme "Jesus is my friend" since many of these kids have never read the Bible. The last day we will spend helping families make repairs to their homes so hopefully they hold together better in the future. I am VERY excited about the opportunity to help out this village that is in such need and everyone in the church is quite pleased at our effort to do this trip. Pray for the people of Villa Alba and for us as we plan this trip and the camp.
posted by Jimmy Bollinger at
5:27 PM
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