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Changed Lives  |  Iglesia Ekklesía  |  Valle Hermoso Children's Home
Candelaria Weavers  |  Maria José  |  Archives

Changed Lives: Iglesia Ekklesía, Valle Hermoso Children’s Home, Candelaria Weavers and Maria José

Iglesia Ekklesía
The Iglesia Ekklesía Alto Cochabamba (Church of Upper Cochabamba) is located in the southern zone of the city of Cochabamba. About 15 adults and 30 children attend regularly. In this very poor area, most of the women work in “La Cancha” (a large, open-air marketplace), selling fruit, toys or other items from small stalls, while the men work in construction as bricklayers or do other manual labor work that is available.

There are many chicherías (bars that sell a homemade, potent corn liquor called “chicha”) in this area. On the weekends and during holiday celebrations the chicherías are very busy, with women and children bearing the brunt of the issues that result from drinking binges. The church seeks to be a source of hope and healing in this environment.

Viva Bolivia made a donation of Bibles to the Iglesia Ekklesía Alto Cochabamba, including large-print Bibles and a study Bible. The church reports that the Bibles are eagerly used every Sunday.

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Valle Hermoso Children’s Home
The Valle Hermoso (Beautiful Valley) Children’s Home is located on the outskirts of the city of Cochabamba. Currently, 15 children live at VH. The Home has five computers, which are well-used by the children. Recently, the administrator of VH asked Viva Bolivia if we could help them buy three computer desks. Using funds from the sales of Café Yungas, we were able to give them a gift to help buy the desks.

The new computer desks are much appreciated by the children, as they make the computers much easier and more comfortable to use, especially compared to trying to use the computers without a proper desk! The children use the computers for school work as well as for fun during free times. The personnel have also benefited from these desks, as they use the computers in the day-to-day tasks that are necessary to keep the home running. The children and personnel of VH thanked Viva Bolivia for our continuing support and asked “God’s blessing on all the people who help through the ministry of Viva Bolivia.” 

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Candelaria Weavers
The Candelaria Weavers project began in January 2005 with a woman named Dana Cadwell. Dana made a trip from the United States to Bolivia. She visited about a dozen women who were weavers in Candelaria, a rural village about two hours northeast of the city of Cochabamba. This
village is high in the Andes Mountains and the people live in very simple adobe homes. The women weave blankets and rugs for warmth in this cool climate. They raise the sheep, then spin and dye the wool and weave it on very primitive looms.

After talking with the Candelaria women, Dana established a fair trade price with them for hand-woven articles such as blankets and rugs. Some initial items were purchased and taken to the US to test-market there and to help support the ladies. 

A year later the women began to talk about getting a large floor loom so they could expand their range of products. A couple of them knew how to weave with this type of loom, but most did not. The next year, the Western North Carolina Handweavers Guild sent six rigid heddle looms and two inkle looms with Dana when she traveled to Bolivia. These were new tools and the ladies eagerly began to weave with them.

Viva Bolivia got involved when Dana and her husband, David, met with Karin and Jonathan during one of the Cadwells’ trips to Bolivia. Viva Bolivia agreed to partner with Dana and David to help buy a floor loom for the Candelaria women and gave a Café Yungas grant to help with this purchase. While Dana and David were back in the United States, Karin located a floor loom that was for sale in Cochabamba. She also found a weaving instructor, Florentino, who could speak Quechua. (Quechua is one of the indigenous languages of Bolivia and the native language of the Candelaria women.) When Dana returned to Bolivia, she purchased the loom. Then Florentino took it apart, delivered it to the village, and rebuilt it

Florentino began lessons with the women in July. He spends the day at the village and teaches the mechanics of the floor loom and the table looms. He then gives the ladies two or three weeks to practice before he returns for another lesson. In the meantime, Dana is searching Cochabamba for artisan shops that will consider taking the hand-woven articles on consignment and selling them for the women.

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Maria José
Maria José, a lawyer, lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She has worked extensively with Viva Bolivia and the CIC (Cochabamba International Church) on legal paperwork issues. Viva Bolivia partnered with Maria José by helping her purchase a new computer that, unlike her previous computer, has the speed and memory to run current software. Maria José is very thankful for the new equipment and says that this new computer not only makes her work easier, it also helps her work more efficiently and produce a higher quality product. Viva Bolivia is proud to support Maria José, a developing business leader. Through our support she is also able to help the Bolivians who come to her for legal assistance.

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Newsletter Archive
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