The WALJOK Foundation
We partner with local organizations in Latin America
to provide life-changing education and better health.
AVP-QUAKER VIRTUAL STUDY TOUR of BOLIVIA
Between heaven and earth Bolivia floats, towed ever upward by the condors. — Oscar Alfaro.V
Visit Bolivia without leaving home. The WALJOK Foundation (waljok.org) invites you to join Earlham School of Religion Professor Ben Brazil and Bolivian AVP leader Magaly Quispe Yujra in a virtual tour to learn how Quaker values expressed through the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) improve lives for thousands.
IMPROVING EDUCATION
Our AVP Student Residence in Sorata
Provides access to secondary schools and university scholarships for young Indigenous students from remote farming communities in the Sorata Valley. They receive life-changing educational support and guidance based on Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP) principles. Higher education can lift them out of poverty.
The project is managed by social workers, with a cook and custodian all in residence. A certificated teacher is available daily for support after school. A psychologist, nurse, attorney, seamstress, and other specialists are available as needed to help students broaden their experiences and qualify for university study in the area of their choice. A university degree will lift them and their parents out of poverty.
History of the Student Residences in Sorata
The AVP- Student Residence in Sorata was founded in February 2019, just in time for the new school year. A joint project of WALJOK and AVPPAV Bolivia, it is funded by WALJOK and administered by Magaly Quispe Yujra, the founding director of AVP-PAV Bolivia.It is fully licensed by the Bolivian government and has received significant recognition, including an award from a UN committee.
The original Internado Student Residence in Sorata was founded in 2006 by WALJOK to fulfill the dream of a young university student. Benito dreamed of a house inSorata where others like him could stay during school weeks to gain the education needed to qualify for university enrollment, without thevery challenging walk he had made daily for several years.
The WALJOK Foundation collaborated with Benito and leaders of his community to open the Internado Student Residence in time for the new school year in February 2006, with Benito as director and his parents as the house parents in residence. We rented a very small inadequate building for the first year, but fortunately, the next yearwe were able to purchase a former bed and breakfast as an ideal home for the project. Much of the purchase price was funded by Quakers in Ireland. Bolivian Quaker Education Fund in La Paz, (bqef.org)was able to accept funds from WALJOK and manage the administration of theInternado Student Residence. It operated successfully for many years, but unfortunately after 2016, they were unable to find an appropriate onsite director. In December of 2018, BQEF abruptly closed the project, as it was not meeting legal requirements.
Determined to continue to support students from rural villages to qualify for university enrollment, we were able to join with Magaly’s newly founded Bolivian non-profit AVP-PAV Bolivia to establish the AVP StudentResidence. Students chose the official name for the Project: Home for students who are determined to improve with AVP. Most of our graduates have been accepted to university and are fulfilling their dream. Their studies include architecture, agricultural engineering, education, nursing and more. Their employment will lift them, their parents and future generations out of poverty.
Improving lives, today and tomorrow
Students enjoy working toward self-sufficiency, reducing their impact on the climate. They grow their own organic vegetables, buy only local products if possible, and their water is heated by the sun.
They have a major recycling project that can involve others. All year long they collect paper to recycle, engaging classmates and sometimes members of the community. Twice a year they recycle what they have gathered. First they shred it, then boil it for hours until it is a soft pulp. Then each one takes a turn at feeding some pulp carefully into a machine to create their own sheets paper, which they will use for writing special letters.
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HIGH SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
address Bolivia’s severe problem of domestic violence. Alternatives to Violence Program experiential workshops Prevention of Violence in Relationships in secondary schools help to promote gender equality, empower women, provide conflict resolution and communication skills for students, teachers and parents.
INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS
promote mutual respect across cultural differences with personal friendships. For decades our Quaker Study Tours hosted visitors from many countries. Visiting the Student Residence was always a rich experience. Some long-term friendships were formed that enriched the lives of students and visitors. You can see above some letters from students to friends they met personally. To reduce our impact on the climate, we are now organizing a Virtual Study Tour. Please click below for more information.
EXPANDING EDUCATION
Help Improve lives through education.
Your can share in changing lives for young people in South America’s poorest country. Please click the button below or mail a check to
WALJOK, 8290 Appian Way, Sebastopol, CA 95472
I Came to Serve
Adapted from August 2023 Friends Journal (with added photos)
By Magaly Quispe Yujra, with editorial support and translation by Barbara Flynn
Quakers and Alternatives to Violence in Bolivia
“Magaly! Magaly! Are we having a workshop?”
“Not this time,” I replied. “Today, I am bringing a friend from England to meet you.” Graham and I had just entered a maximum security prison in La Paz, Bolivia, leaving the guards behind.
Similar to prisons in other Latin American countries, the guards at Chonchocoro Prison are only at the gate. Once inside, visitors are pretty much on their own. The inmates roam freely throughout their area, with no bars and no locks. I assured Graham that my “friends deprived of liberty” would take care that we stayed safe. Bolivia has no death penalty, so Graham felt he was probably shaking the hands of murderers and was glad to know they appreciated me.
Be part of a change in the World
An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.
