Learning the Life of the Spirit
Here, we invite you to join us in visiting among Bolivian Friends, perhaps help make arrangements for a Bolivian Friend to visit here, and share a word (or two) about our new address.
_________________________________________________________________________
You're Invited! 2013 Quaker Service & Study Tour by Barbara Stanford, BQEF Board Member
Visiting Bolivian Quakers in their homes and churches - on the slopes of the Andes, on the high plains around Lake Titicaca, and in the cities of El Alto and La Paz - was one of the highlights of my life. The Quaker Service and Study Tour gave me rich, horizon-expanding opportunities to know and understand Friends in Bolivia and their struggles and dreams.
I visited with BQEF scholarship students and heard about the challenge of moving from remote Aymara-speaking villages to university where materials are in Spanish and English, and about their dreams for improving the lives of their families and communities. We heard their music and song and ate their wonderful food, prepared and shared with warmth and generosity.
I worshiped in a Quaker church whose worship form was very different from mine, but where the Spirit was just as available, and where the congregation was warm and welcoming.
I visited with BQEF scholarship students and heard about the challenge of moving from remote Aymara-speaking villages to university where materials are in Spanish and English, and about their dreams for improving the lives of their families and communities. We heard their music and song and ate their wonderful food, prepared and shared with warmth and generosity.I worshiped in a Quaker church whose worship form was very different from mine, but where the Spirit was just as available, and where the congregation was warm and welcoming.
I met farmers raising llamas and hardy crops in some of Earth’s most difficult environments - farmers who were facing ever-greater challenges from the very visible effects of climate change.
For our service project, we worked with parents and staff to complete a drainage project in the courtyard of the Quaker-run Student Residence in the beautiful Sorata valley. We ate, studied, and played with the delightful young people who live there during the school week. And we visited one of the remote mountainside homes from which students had to walk hours to go to school before the Residence was available.
This is an exciting time to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world - Bolivia is experiencing dramatic social and political change as the indigenous majority emerges from centuries of oppression. The 2013 Quaker Service and Study Tour of Bolivia is now forming. This year, join us in working with individual BQEF scholarship students to help improve their English skills, so necessary for their studies.
For our service project, we worked with parents and staff to complete a drainage project in the courtyard of the Quaker-run Student Residence in the beautiful Sorata valley. We ate, studied, and played with the delightful young people who live there during the school week. And we visited one of the remote mountainside homes from which students had to walk hours to go to school before the Residence was available.This is an exciting time to visit one of the most beautiful countries in the world - Bolivia is experiencing dramatic social and political change as the indigenous majority emerges from centuries of oppression. The 2013 Quaker Service and Study Tour of Bolivia is now forming. This year, join us in working with individual BQEF scholarship students to help improve their English skills, so necessary for their studies.
Trip extensions are also available. Choose from Cusco - Machu Picchu, a visit to the vanishing Amazon jungle, to "The Mirror of the Heavens" (Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest lithium-rich salt flat), and/or additional volunteering post-trip in Bolivia.
For more information about the trip, see www.TreasuresoftheAndes.com or contact Barbara Flynn at info@treasuresoftheandes.com, 707-823-6034 (California).
For more information about our scholarship students and the Student Residence in the beautiful Sorata valley, visit www.bqef.org._________________________________________________________________________
We've Moved!
We thank "Founder and Spark Plug" - now President Emeritus - Newton Garver for over a decade of servant leadership, and gladly help lighten his load by moving our U.S. office from his home. Newton will continue serving in an advisory and development capacity.
Our new address, effective now:
Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, Inc.
65 Spring Street
Fredonia, NY 14063
Meanwhile, some things haven't changed. Our email and website are still:
office@bqef.org
www.bqef.org
Please send your ideas, questions, volunteer inquiries, and donations to our new address shown above (and at the bottom of this email)._________________________________________________________________________
Our new address, effective now:
Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, Inc.
65 Spring Street
Fredonia, NY 14063
Meanwhile, some things haven't changed. Our email and website are still:
office@bqef.org
www.bqef.org
Please send your ideas, questions, volunteer inquiries, and donations to our new address shown above (and at the bottom of this email)._________________________________________________________________________
Hands-on: Help arrange for a Bolivian Friend to meet US Quakers.
Would you like to help arrange visits of English-speaking Bolivian Quakers to U.S. Yearly Meetings and Friendly gatherings this summer? Workshop and interest group deadlines are fast approaching. Please email us today at office@bqef.org if you'd like to help arrange a visit, in your area or elsewhere. ________________________________________________________________________Together
...we can continue to nurture and celebrate the spirit of young
Bolivian Friends in their dreams of education and fellowship, with your support."An investment in Bolivian Quaker young people brings a whole lot of value for a small amount of money" as one of our supporters said.
Please click here to donate online via Network for Good
or send checks to:
Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, Inc.
65 Spring Street
Fredonia, NY 14063-2128
Please contact us if you would like to donate stock, at office@bqef.org
May Light and Love bless your lives and endeavors.
Jens, Barbara, Vickey, Bernabé, Juan, Alicia, and all of us here at BQEF and BQE-Bo.
No comments:
Post a Comment