Lucia Cuno

Lucía Cuno grew up in the tiny community of Mangopata, where undulating hills melt into tropical forest. The community, recently settled, didn't have good roads or a health post, or even a high school. When Lucía finished 6th grade, her father said, "We can't afford to send Lucía to high school -- it is too far away, and she will just end up a housewife anyway." But Lucía had her mind set, and with the support of her mother, she moved to Guanay, and paid her way through school making rellenos, fried plantain dumplings filled with meat and vegetables.

When she finished high school, she wanted to continue her studies, but she had no money. Father Remigio, the parish priest in Guanay, talked to Sister Damon and arranged a scholarship for her at the College through the Christian Foundation for Children and the Aging, a U.S.-based foundation that helps the most vulnerable in society.

Lucía started in the pre-university program in 2002, and in 2003 entered into the College's Primary Education program. For her graduation project, she decided to return to Guanay and work with 3rd graders and reading ability. She discovered that most students were not reading at grade level, and helped design a program for the school to support reading outside of classroom, one of the most effective ways of improving reading skills.


Photo: Lucía signs bound copies of her work after her defense.

She defended this project last week, and became the seventh graduate of the Education program. And she has not stopped there: while preparing her research project, she has earned a diplomado (post graduate) degree in Higher Education, and is enrolled in the College's diplomado course in Educational Research. She currently supports us in the College's main office.

When asked what she liked most about her time at the College, she replied, "Living and working together with my classmates was a huge learning opportunity for me. I really grew as a person, learning to share of myself and grow in the mutual support that we nourished."

Lucía plans to earn a Master's degree in Special Education to work with the young people of Bolivia who are often marginalized. We are proud to call her one of our own.


Photo: Lucia stands with her parents, her newly defended graduation document in hand.

Geronimo Huanca

Becky, former volunteer and great friend, agreed to share her thoughts about her visit on the blog.

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It has been seven years since I lived in Carmen Pampa and worked at the UAC-CP and three years since I visited. I attended the Ayni Festival that the Carmen Pampa Fund and St. Catherine University hosted last week in St. Paul, MN. After seeing the video I was prepared for big changes when my husband and I arrived last Sunday.

Arriving at the UAC, the changes were soon apparent: there are new buildings on campus, and the biggest change is the 765 new students studying today. The only familiar faces are the graduates that now work and teach there. A few students that had just started seven years ago are now finishing their thesis (one has her pre-defense today!).

Despite these changes, there is something that hasn’t changed. The energy. The energy of students excited and anxious to begin a new life, to change their future, to change the future of others. You can feel the energy they have to make these changes, changes beyond the superficial changes of new buildings. Changes that are more subtle and much more important. To see those changes, one has to travel outside the school.

Yesterday, we went to a nearby village, Santa Gertrudis, near the town of Coripata on the other side of the mountain. Santa Gertrudis is the hometown of Geronimo Huanca, an agriculture student now preparing to do his senior project. When I met Geronimo eight years ago, he was an extremely timid (I think he actually shook when he talked to me the first time) but conscientious young man. Geronimo grew up in Santa Gertrudis, raised by an older couple, who he calls his parents. He never knew his biological father and his mother passed away when he was very young. His parents, an older couple never able to have children of their own, adopted him and raised him.


Photo: Becky, her husband Chad and Geronimo visit in his house in the community of St. Gertrudis.

Geronimo is incredibly dedicated to his parents and they to him. Throughout his time at the UAC, because of their age, Geronimo traveled back and forth from school on the weekends to help them take care of their land and crops. His father grew sick a couple of years ago and Geronimo had to take time off school to take care of him and the land. His father passed away last year but his dream was to see Geronimo graduate. His mother, wife, and son (six years old) have all supported Geronimo in his push to continue to study.



Photo: Geronimo and his mother in their small garden plot.

Now, Geronimo is working on his final senior project, his last requirement for graduation. The Sud Yungas, where Geronimo lives, has had much more of its land cleared and planted with crops, especially coca, which can leave the soil depleted. The communities on this side of the mountain are starting to realize that the lack of trees and the hard use of the soil are beginning to turn the country-side into a desert. Water is scarce and food crops have a hard time growing. Food crops that used to be plentiful in the area now have to be brought in from elsewhere.

Geronimo’s senior project will work with the municipal government in establishing small tree nurseries in each community on the mountainside. These nurseries will help communities re-establish the cover to maintain moisture and nutrition the soil needs in order to be productive. This change may take a long time to see. However, the change in Geronimo is already clear. He is well-known and respected in his community. He is confident in sharing his knowledge with not only his community but also with the decision-makers in the government. He is also confident in living a life that is different, planting diverse crops instead of just one, maintaining the forest on some of his family’s land and using his knowledge to better not only his life but that of his community. That is the type of change that is seen by not only me. His community sees this change and commitment as well and one can hope that the inspiration of one life changed will be enough to change others as well.


Photo: The community of St. Gertrudis from across the valley.