Yes, I AM working here...

I realize that I haven’t written much about my work so far in Bolivia. I think one of the reasons for it, is that these first weeks (actually, it’s already been 6 weeks! Crazy!) has been a lot about trying to understand the organization I’m working with and the people they are trying to help, assessing their needs, and where I can help make the most impact based on what they’re asking from me. It’s hard to write about anything truly conclusive that I feel I’m accomplishing at this stage.

The regional office I’m working in, in the city of Potosí, has a few very specific focuses. They lend money to self-governed groups of people in communities, remote villages, etc. around Potosí. These groups, called “Cajas Communales”… communal banks, serve many purposes. The primary purpose is to provide a means for people without collateral, a source of income, etc. to borrow money to self-initiate their way out of poverty (further examples of this can be found here).

Additionally, the interest rates that are charged are used to sustain the NGO that I’m working with, but also to give back to the community. Each “caja” keeps a portion of the interest, which is then used within the community however they best feel fit. In this sense, it truly is the community helping itself out of poverty, as they get to decide where this money goes: to a community school, health center, activity center, etc.

My overall “project” down here is still roughly the same. I’m going to be modifying a database that the local office is currently using to include social indicators as a compliment the to financial data. The current system tracks the financial successes and challenges. However, the organization isn’t learning best where to focus their efforts based on social improvements (example: does everyone in a family now have a bed to sleep on?, have levels of nutrition gone up?, have the number of kids that are able to go to school increased?, etc.).

I am working with another volunteer from Canada who is developing the social side of the project, i.e. determining what are the best social indicators to be tracked. I am working with her to develop a system to record, store, track, and then use the information effectively in the future.

As expected, there are a lot of challenges along the way. The first big hurdle is access to the current database!!! Unfortunately, it’s in a program that I’m not familiar with. This has resulted in learning “technical” Spanish as well as the “day-to-day” language itself, while I try to learn the program. Additionally, there are a few more roadblocks including access issues, etc., but I’m gradually learning ways to overcome them.

An additional challenge is the amount of work to be done! Despite the fact that I’m at the office every day from 8:30am – 7pm, there are too many “new” projects popping up every week for me to stay on top of. Additional projects that I’m currently working on are:
- Connecting the current computers in the office into a network that can all access one dial-up internet connection (although some of the equipment is new, the computer operating systems range from WinXP to Win98… all in Spanish!… and so develops my “technical” Spanish skills).
- Designing and delivering (in Spanish, ) a workshop to the staff in the organization on what the internet is, how to use it, and how it can be beneficial in their jobs.
- Completing a website for the organization that was started by another volunteer from Canada a few years back.

Now, keeping in mind that although I’m used to working with computers with my job back home, I am by NO means at “techy”. But, I have enough base knowledge of computers to know what information I need to research to learn how to get the above accomplished (or at least I’m trying!).

Either way, I definitely have my hands full. And despite all the work that is looming ahead, I’m finding myself really looking forward to the upcoming Christmas break I will be taking since Nic (friend from home) is coming to visit (yay!), while all the workers in the office here will only pause to celebrate Christmas day, before getting right back to work. It is hard not to feel guilty with having the option to take some time off.