Greetings from Sucre, Bolivia,
There are times that something comes along and you look at it, you evaluate it, and decide to take action. You have hopes for it and you wait to see results. Sometimes it doesn't go as you had hoped, but other times it blossoms into something greater that you expected. This is one of those times we received many blossoms.
As I reported this weekend we attended a two day workshop to help prepare the indigenous people of Bolivia to create Justice Houses for their indigenous communities. We were there as observers and felt that the workshop was well prepared and accomplished a lot. We were pleased to see the program, which is aimed at training leaders in social/restorative justice, as defenders of basic human rights, was doing so well. Today however, two events further pushed the bar to outstanding. First, the construction team was scheduled to paint the meeting room the community Qhara Qhara was going to use for their justice development and planning. We were with many of the young people who participated in the weekend workshop. I was so impressed with their desire to get involved and help their community. We had time during the day to talk about their community and their dreams. They are eager to work to help their community to govern themselves and participate in building a strong community. As indigenious people they have been a repressed people. When the colonail powers sweep it and took away their lands and rights the idigenious people were nothing more than slaves in their own lands. Only in the last generation has the tide turned and the indigenious people been able to gain a chance at earning a degree at the university. These were the people we were working with today.
Tonight was the second event. We held a review meeting of the construction, Water With Blessings project, and the restorative justice program. Many of the leadership we worked with during the mission are those first to have the opportunity to receive degrees. Not only did we review the mission work, but they presented three new initiatives to further advance the restorative justice work for the indigenous people. The great point about what was presented tonight was the initiatives are to start programs that will work to be self-sustaining. They only need a start.
I am so excited to work with these communities who have the dreams to create new and exciting opportunities for their people. Their sense of equality is a great example for the world to see. I look forward to following the young people we have met and see how they could change the world.
Bruce
