Cochabamba

Now if you read the title of this post and though that this would be a post about a really cool new dance technique that I have acquired, sadly you are mistaken. However, if I do learn a new/unreal move, you will all be the first to know through some hilarious pictures.

Cochabamba is a city in Bolivia where I will be spending my reading week. I am going with 12 young adults from a local church called The Embassy. We are working at an orphanage for girls who are between the ages 3-15 and also in a home for 0-5 year old boys and girls. The organization is called Ninos Con Valor (or Kids with Value in our native tongue). We are running different activities with the kids during the time we spend there. We are also building a laundry house for the facility. This is something that has been a serious need at NCV for the past few years and our team is really excited to help fulfill this need.

Now I know a lot of you are checking over the records in your brains trying to figure out where exactly Bolivia is (and don't tell me some of you are not, people have confused Bolivia for Bulgaria, Bosnia, Borneo etc). Well Bolivia is in South America, and in fact, neighbours Brazil. Just take a quick look for yourself, the "A" is Cochabamba (a beautiful city surrounded by huge mountains). As you can also tell, it is landlocked: no access to the coast. There are some pretty crazy things going on there politically and socially. Water privatization is a huge issue there and corporations pretty much own water that falls down as rain. I am really excited to learn more about the situation in Bolivia as I go and experience it first hand.

Our team leaves on the 17th and your prayers for safety would be much appreciated! Also, if you are thinking, "Wow this is really cool Jer!" and want to help us out, come out to Boston Pizza (by Connestoga mall) this Monday the 7th between 5 and 9pm. If you have a special coupon that I will give you upon request, 10% of your bill will go to support our teams project in Bolivia. NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A WIN WIN SITUATION! FULL STOMACH AND A HELPING HAND! I will also be writing a blog post for each day that I am there (if I have the ability to with the internet down there) so be sure to keep in touch when the time comes.

Thanks for reading!

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~Leo Rosten