ONGOING PROJECTS IN BOLIVIA

Ixiamas

The landless poor in the region have used the Beni River for transportation, and have settled along its banks. Twelve hours from Sapecho by canoe down the Beni, a road crosses with a ferry. This road leads to Ixiamas.

Homesteaders along this road are struggling for survival. Without knowledge of the fragile soils, without resources, the desperate homesteaders are destroying one of the most pristine forests of the Americas. Lacking health care, dry housing, schools, churches, supplies, or knowledge of tropical agriculture, they are eager for any advice or help. Without it, they die.

Christians in Sapecho remember living through similar difficulties 25 years ago. Now they know a better way of life, and they want to share it with the struggling homesteaders of Ixiamas. They have asked for SIFAT's help.

SIFAT, CENATEC, and the Christians of Sapecho are now partners in taking the integrated Gospel to the homesteaders of Ixiamas. The plan: evangelism, a boarding house for students who live too far away, a training center for sustainable agriculture, and primary health care. Like Sapecho, it will serve as a hand up, rather than a handout, based on the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His teachings.

 

Quesimpuco

Some 13,000 feet up in the Andes, 300 miles and two days' journey by jeep from La Paz, lies the village of Quesimpuco. Over 10,000 people live beyond Quesimpuco, accessible only by narrow foot trails carved into steep mountainsides. The thin mountain air is cold, and the winds strong.

Quesimpuco is in the province of Chayanta in Northern Potosi. One of the poorest and most remote areas in the Americas, the average annual income is $90. Many people still sacrifice sheep and llamas to their stone gods, even when their children are dying of malnutrition. Because their religion is based on fear and revenge, villages often retaliate against one another by burning crops and destroying homes. Children, the weak, and the elderly die when this happens.

But the Word of God is spreading. In September 2000, the community came together to build a larger church in Quesimpuco. Their members are determined not to stop until they reach the last village with the integrated Gospel. These Quechuan people are their own missionaries. Partnering with SIFAT, they do everything they can, with SIFAT providing what they cannot.

The following is a list of projects undertaken by SIFAT and the people of Quesimpuco:

• A network of congregations in different villages has been established.
• Forty-seven CB radios, powered by solar panels, help to link the communities.
• Clean water systems are now in operation in about a 100 villages.
• The first health center, with a hospital, doctor, nurse, and local health promoters, is operating in Quesimpuco complete with solar and wind-powered electricity.
• Health promoters teach disease prevention in outlying communities.
• A Christian high school, fully accredited by the government of Bolivia, serves 147 students and has seen its first class of graduating seniors. It is the only high school in the area.
• A seminary to train Christian leaders from the area was begun in 2000.
• A boarding house makes it possible for youth from 25 villages beyond Quesimpuco to live and study in the high school and seminary.

Numerous smaller projects are under way, such as helping the villagers to find markets for their weavings, and starting a nursery for a reforestation project to reclaim eroded mountainsides.

 

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