Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Empowering Women to be Leaders (Rosy & Isabel - Nursing & Education students)


When Sr. Damon founded the Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa in 1993, she said that the key to lifting people out of poverty was to give them options for their future.

Rosy and Isabel Apaza Catari, two sisters who study Education and Nursing at the College, agree.

“At the UAC-CP, it’s our decision—what our future is going to be like,” says Isabel.

Sisters Isabel (left) and Rosy Apaza Catari.
For Rosy, a 4th year Education student, and Isabel, a 1st year Nursing student, the ability to choose their life’s path is a blessing. Since their father passed away several years ago, their mother has sacrificed a great deal to send the two young women to school and give them these options.

“Our mother always tells us, ‘Don’t be like me.’’’ Rosy says. “She works hard, in sun and rain, so that we can support ourselves with our minds rather than working in the fields.”

In addition to providing an affordable choice for higher education, studying at the UAC-CP allows the sisters to be close to their family. They come from Coripata, a neighboring town in the Nor Yungas region, and often return home on the weekends to work with their mother.

“Her desire for us to get ahead is what motivates me to learn,” says Rosy. Isabel adds, “She often calls us to make sure we’re studying!”

As the first and second in their immediate family to attend college, Rosy and Isabel understand the importance of studying, graduating, and becoming professionals. While they have different interests—and live on different campuses (the College is made up of two campuses--one upper and one lower)—they share a common goal: to use their education to help people. 

Rosy believes her schooling experience has been a privilege and wants to inspire young people in the region to know that they too have options for their futures.  “Education is my passion,” says Rosy. “I want to make children laugh and learn to be creative. I want to teach them that they can do anything.”

Isabel’s desire to study medicine started at a young age. When family members got sick or hurt working in the fields, she didn’t like the feeling that there was nothing she could do to improve their situation. “I wanted to be able to help my family and the people around me get better,” she says. “In the Nursing major, we learn how to help people who need it most.”

Both women appreciate the theoretical and practical balance of their majors; it's a feature that attracts many students to the College. For Rosy, that means taking what she learns in her classes to other classrooms in the area, working with children to ensure equal access to quality education in the Yungas. Isabel loves being able to learn from doctors in hospitals across the region in month-long practicums each semester.

Outside of class, the sisters are active in campus life. “There are so many opportunities we can take advantage of here,” says Isabel. “We go to Mass, we sing karaoke at English Club, we participate in Mujeres Valientes...there is always something happening on campus.”

Mujeres Valientes, a women’s empowerment group that meets regularly to discuss themes like self-esteem, friendship, navigating stress, and leadership skills, has played a major role in Rosy and Isabel’s educational experiences. In addition to eating snacks and dancing Zumba, the gatherings inspire the women to continue fostering the qualities they’ve seen in their strong, independent mother.

“Mujeres Valientes gives us a place where we can be leaders and speak our minds,” says Rosy. “We understand each other as women.”

Isabel agrees. “I’ve learned to have more confidence in myself,” she says. “And we lift each other up as women, helping each other to be more confident as well.”

The College’s emphasis on the holistic formation of each student—academically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally—encourages students to empower themselves, to take their education back to their communities and improve their lives. Rosy says, “The most important thing I’ve learned at the UAC-CP is that I can do it. I am capable of achieving my goals, and I can do anything.”

“I know I am being formed as an individual here,” says Isabel. “I get to learn from people who are already professionals.”

At the same time, studying and living together with students from across Bolivia reinforces their passion to work towards the common good and the well being of all. “The UAC-CP teaches us to dedicate our life to others, to do our work with enthusiasm and not complain,” says Isabel. Rosy adds, “We want to go where people need help the most.”

After graduating, both women would like to enroll in a master’s program—for Rosy, in higher education, and for Isabel, in clinical psychology. Above all, however, they want to work to lift their mother and the rest of their family out of poverty.

“I want to see my mother’s face when I graduate,” Rosy says. “I do it for her.”

Bringing Happiness and Comfort to God's Creatures (Reina - Vet Student)


Born in the urban center of El Alto, the city that sits on the high plain just above Bolivia's capital city of La Paz, Reina Arizaca Chinahuanca grew up cultivating and selling corn products on a plot of land just outside of the city limits. 


Her family’s specialty is the production of traditional boiled corn cakes called humintas. Though her parents dreamed that she would become the first of their family to obtain a college degree, worries about the cost of living and security threatened to impede her professional path. But then a cousin told her about the Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa--a subsidized residential college serving rural youth. “My parents knew that at the UAC-CP I would be cared for--that I would have food to eat and a new family to call my own.”

Now a seventh-semester student of Veterinary Sciences, Reina is thriving at the College. She is one of three students tasked with caring for the nearly 900 chickens that the UAC-CP raises.  For Reina, a career in veterinary medicine is about “working to bring happiness and comfort to animals of all shapes and sizes.” She recalls the first time that she lost one of her dogs to an unknown illness: “I was overcome with a need to know what happened to my dog, and what I could do to keep my other pets healthy in the future.” But her passion for veterinary medicine is also rooted in a desire to keep humans healthy. After graduating, she hopes to establish a ranch that focuses on the production of safe, high-quality meats.

Reina is a leader in the College’s youth ministry, as well. “God is everything for me,” she says. “He is love; He is knowledge; and He is life.” The youth ministry provides a space for students of all years and majors to come together and explore their faith. According to Reina, the ministry’s weekly meetings are “an opportunity to share and be present with our peers.” These gatherings are particularly special for Reina, having grown up in a community without a full-time pastor. “This is the first time in my life that I have had the opportunity to be part of a church. I know that God is with me each and every day, but I am especially blessed to have a space where He speaks to me directly.”

The College’s Food Cooperative Program provides another opportunity for Reina to share with her peers. While the lunch and supper program cost students approximately $30/month to participate, a grant from Cross Catholic Outreach ensures that all of the College’s 600+ students are able to eat breakfast every day, free of charge. “The reality is that some of us have the resources to afford the food cooperative and others do not,” Reina says. “But, at breakfast, we have the opportunity to come together as a family and share a meal.” Reina sends a message of thanks to all of the donors who make these shared meals possible. “If not for you, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn to learn, to share, and to eat as a community each day. God bless.”

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Sharing the Wonders of Bolivia's Diversity (Diego - Ecotourism Student)

For Diego Lopez Zeballos, a sixth semester Ecotourism student at the UAC-CP, the importance of rural tourism as a field is twofold: to protect the environment and to share his country's cultures.

Diego first became interested in tourism as a profession while working as a tour guide in Madidi National Park. A jungle sanctuary located in northwestern Bolivia, the park is one of the largest protected areas in the country and is situated in the most ecologically diverse region of the planet. He loved sharing the lush, green paradise with people he met from all over the world.


After working there for several months, Diego decided to study at the UAC-CP for the opportunity to advance his career as a tour guide and gain more theoretical and practical knowledge of the field. "I will be able to put everything I learn here in practice when I return to work," he says.

In the UAC-CP's Ecotourism Department, Diego enjoys learning about preserving natural areas and endangered species, market trends and client management, Bolivian history, and the different types of tourism that exist in rural areas. He also appreciates taking English classes from volunteer teachers who are native speakers. "Studying here makes me want to know more about cultures within Bolivia and around the world," he says.

Because of his interests in ecosystems and cultures, Diego is particularly drawn to turismo vivencial, or experiential tourism, which Diego describes as when tourists travel to a place and experience life as those in the community live in order to really understand it. Experiential tourism encompasses both ecotourism, which involves nature and conservation efforts, and cultural tourism, which concerns the history and lifestyles of different populations. In addition to providing a meaningful career for Diego, experiential tourism also plays a significant role in preserving the cultural and natural assets of the Bolivian countryside and ensuring a sustainable source of income for generations to come.

"There's a big focus on really understanding a culture and respecting it," he says, citing the archeological site Tiwanaku, a UNESCO World Heritage site near Lake Titicaca, as an example of a tourist attraction that promotes Bolivia's environment and cultural heritage. "This kind of tourism shows the rich, diverse cultures that exist in each region of our country."

When Diego graduates in 2019, he will become the first in his family to obtain a college degree. One day, he hopes to open his own experiential tourism business with the knowledge and life skills he has gained as a UAC-CP student.

Submitted by Sarah Neuberger.