I have been meeting with our Bolivian counterparts in meetings for the last two days, and for the first time in my professional life, I feel like I´m actually bringing something to the table. I can´t put my finger on what has changed, other than I´ve been working in this field for four years and I think I am starting to get the hang of it.
We have been meeting about a variety of things, but mainly to discuss this massive housing project we are starting in rural Bolivia. We (the nonprofit I work for) are one of half a dozen entities helping fund a project that will ultimately build 5300 houses during the next three years. The houses are simple — most just four rooms. A basic bathroom, with running water and a sink to minimize fecal-oral illness, a basic kitchen with a raised stove and chimney to reduce childhood burns (kids can´t fall into these fires) and respiratory illness, a basic bedroom for the parents, and a silo. Silo isn´t the right word, but I don´t know what else to call it in English. Deposito en español. It is an area within the house where the family keeps their grain and food for the next planting season. When these rooms were outside, the farm animals and mice were always in them, causing problems. Also, they could get wet and become moldy resulting in an entire infertile planting season that ultimately results in an entire season of hunger and infertility.
The community questionaires we completed before beginning the housing project found that families actually wanted a silo more than a bedroom. They would happily sleep outside if they could just ensure their children could eat and they´d have something to plant. Truly, Bolivians are amazing people.
Imagine their delight when we explained they would receive both. They were also tickled pink to receive the training and education on how to build these homes; the sustainability of such a project is dependent on the participants working for the result. We don´t do hand-outs. These families become masons, electricians, plumbers and roofers over the three-year development process. Afterward, many will find employment in these very areas. Each family must also contribute a bit of their own money toward their house –roughly $72 paid over a 6-month period. Between their sweat equity and this payment, the families must be truly dedicated to having a healthier home. Both their time and this money is a significant investment.
Even though we are at the beginning of this project, I can write these details with certainty. We have been working here for more than 20 years and have built thousands of homes using this public health model. Each family is incredibly grateful and we know we´ve truly made a difference when they are able to keep their children in school as a result. In a nutshell: healthy house = fewer illnesses = more productivity = less stress financially and emotionally = happier homes and more children who are in school, rather than in the fields to help their folks. It takes decades to see these sorts of results, but thankfully we are getting there.
Tomorrow, a day off. I am going to visit the Virgen de Chaguaya. Nope. I have no idea what that means either, but apparently everyone in Tarija is pretty excited about it.

-Kelli

P.S. You know this town is small considering I am in the newspaper today. We were out for dinner last night and a reporter came by to take our photo and ask what we were doing here. I need to go find a copy. Or two.