Dear Friends of the Amistad Mission,
I hope that this blog space will provide an opportunity for you to follow the recent happenings of the Mission and feel more connected to the children, adolescents, and young adults that you help support. For those new to the Amistad Mission in Cochabamba, Bolivia, it is comprised of three programs: Villa Amistad, Aramasí, and La Morada.
Villa Amistad provides housing, educational, spiritual, psychological, and medical support to 72 children between the ages of 2 and 15. These abandoned, orphaned, and at-risk children live in one of eight houses (8-11 children per house) under the care of a mamá or tío (uncle). Tías (aunts) provide additional support to the mamás and also live in the Villa. Youth houses near the Villa serve as transitional homes for the adolescent boys and girls as they prepare to enter college or vocational training. Amistad continues to support these young adults through college, and currently thirteen university students are pursuing their degrees in areas such as Medicine, Law, Civil Engineering, Social Psychology, Telecommunications, and Tourism. From the time children enter the Villa, the Amistad Mission strives to provide the resources necessary for them to grow into responsible adults who will serve their community and raise families in a peaceful and loving environment.
Aramasí is a small village two hours outside of Cochabamba that is home to Quechua people, descendants of the Incas. For hundreds of years, this community has worked the rocky, arid soil and survived on a diet of potatoes, onions, and grains. A Trappist monk, Father William Wilson, came to Aramasí 25 years ago and was overwhelmed by the number of villagers suffering from a lack of medical attention, clean water, food security, and formal education. Severe malnutrition and a high infant mortality rate plagued the community. It was in Aramasí that the Amistad Mission began to take form, through the construction of a clinic that eliminated infant mortality and provided preventative care to the villagers. Since that time, Amistad has revitalized Aramasí by providing a daycare center, Montessori school, elementary school classrooms, clean drinking water, family garden plots that produce a wide variety of crops, a weaving coop, and most recently a dam that will bring year-round water access to this drought-stricken land. The clinic, now a level one hospital, not only serves the people of Aramasí, but also twelve surrounding villages and more than 1,500 individuals who have no other means by which to receive medical treatment.
La Morada (meaning home or dwelling) is the spiritual retreat center for visitors who come to the Amistad Mission in Cochabamba. Located on the foothills of the Tunari Mountains overlooking the city, it is a peaceful environment that offers a place for groups to reflect on their daily experiences in the Villa and Aramasí. Delicious meals, transportation, and Spanish/Quechua interpreting are provided for La Morada visitors, who can relax in the eleven bedrooms, chapel, library, and large open patio on the grounds.
While these are mere glimpses into the three programs of the Amistad Mission, I hope that they will orient you to Amistad’s work in Bolivia. I first visited the Amistad Mission seven years ago and, like many who have experienced the warmth and compassion here, felt called to serve the great needs of the children in its care. The entries that follow encourage readers to learn more about Amistad, pray for the children, caretakers, and staff, and consider making the journey to Bolivia. As a close friend of the Mission often tells people, “It is an experience that will change your life.”
