[CIMC-work] Fwd: [Imc-finance] PROPOSAL: Money for Computers-to-Bolivia Project

[Chris Kaihatsu]

___

Justice Dept. Memo Says Torture 'May Be Justified'
www.truthout.org/docs_04/061504C.shtml

US torture in Iraq, Afghanistan: Authorized at the highest levels
www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/tort-j15.shtml

Recently, Haiti has seen large demonstrations against the coup. One
crowd, estimated by Reuters at more than 10,000, marched on the US
embassy in Port-au-Prince to denounce the coup and demand the
withdrawal of US and French troops from the Caribbean island.
www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/spai-j16.shtml

Photoillustrations by Chris Kaihatsu
community.webshots.com/user/ckaihatsu/






------- Forwarded Message
To: imc-finance at lists.indymedia.org
Cc: 
Subject: [Imc-finance] PROPOSAL:  Money for Computers-to-Bolivia Project
From: "bht" <criticalmasser at riseup.net>
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 20:20:20 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <3873.criticalmasser.1087528820.squirrel at mail.riseup.net>

bht here from portland imc, passing this along to global finance.  I am
not on the list but follow the list.  This proposal is backed by portland
imc for bolivia, please read and respond accordingly.
--

Hola,  mi nombre es BartolinaSisa de Bolivia radicando en Portland, OR
indigena
parte del colectivo (Raiz de
Maiz) involucrado con el proyecto Indy Media Portland de mandar
computadoras a Villa
Ingenio y Warisata.

Hello, my name is BartolinaSisa from Bolvia, an indigenous person living
in Portland
Oregon, I work with a collective called Raiz de Maiz (Root of Corn/ Roots
from
Corn). I have been helping Indymedia-Porltand with their project to get
computers to
Villa Ingenio and Warisata.

Es parte personal de preguntar a ustedes si podriamos tener la posibilidad de
soporte financiero para mandar las computadoras a manos de estas comunidades.

On my part, I would like to personnally ask you all if we can have the
possibility
of financial support for getting the computers into the hands of these
communities.

Se agradese su trabajo y esperamos su respuesta.

I an grateful for your work and we await your response.

Att: Raiz de Maiz (Barto)

Translation by Kim Alphandary.

PROPOSAL:

PORTLAND-INDYMEDIA SEEKING FUNDS TO SHIP COMPUTERS BOLIVIA
JUNE 17, 2004


ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVING COMPUTERS ________________________________________
A Rural Teachers Training College and a Catholic Church will be receiving
computers from the United States; both organizations are located in
Bolivia.

Site 1: Escuela Normal de Warisata
Plaza Principal de Warisata, Provincia Omasuyos
Departamento de La Paz, Bolivia
STUDENTS: 1,200

The Escuela Normal de Warisata is a teacher’s training college for rural
teachers, training the Aymara Indians to become teachers of their own
people.  The school teaches bilingual education reflecting real life, the
combination of intellectual and manual work, and democratic
self-government.  The students come from all over Bolivia.

The Bolivian village of Warisata is located about an hour from La Paz,
near Lake Titicaca.  For the Aymara people, Warisata symbolizes their
struggle to obtain the right to have a school and an education, and has
come to be referred to as the “Athens of the Aymara".  Since the late
1800’s several attempts to organize and construct their own school were
suppressed, as buildings were burnt to the ground and leaders and
community members were persecuted.

Eventually the “Escuela Normal de Warista” was founded permanently in 1931
and became such a model in the field of Indian education that by 1945
representatives from Peru, Bolivia and the United States met in Warisata
to lay the groundwork for the creation of the first campesino school in
Peru, and establish more schools in Bolivia.

As for the Aymara people, they were once members of the Tiahuanaco Empire,
disappearing a thousand years ago.  Many of them still live as they have
for centuries as herders and farmers.  They have a very strong and unique
culture.  The Aymara make up one third of the population of Bolivia and
are the predominate group in Southern Peru and Northern Chile, their total
population is estimated to be some three and a half million people.

Almost everything is needed: computers, money for the shipment,
tech-support.  They plan to construct a new building to create a computer
room; the possibility for good Internet connection exists, and they have a
disposition to pay some expenses (electricity, phone lines).

Site 2: Samaritan Social Center
PARROQUIA "CRISTO REDENTOR" [PARISH "CHRIST THE SAVIOR"]
Calle Luis Espinal sin número, junto a la Plaza Elizardo Pérez.
Villa Ingenio, El Alto, Bolivia
STUDENTS: 300

[Padre Wilson Gonzalo Soria Paz submitted a proposal in Spanish; copies of
the full translation are available upon request.  As it is extremely
lengthy, I have chosen to extract small portions for his proposal and have
occasionally summarized.]

The Parish of 'Christ the Savior' is in the North Zone of the Diocese and
in city of El Alto, some 6 km across. The towns that make up the Parish
are:  Port Mejillones, Eastern Villa, Villa Ingenio, Villa Nueva Asuncion
and Villa San Juan.  In this parochial jurisdiction there are five Fiscal
Educational Establishments and one private.  A Health Center PRO-SALUD
[For-Health].

There is one paved street and another paved with cobblestones; the
majority of the streets are dirt roads. The climate in our parish is much
colder than in other sectors of the city El Alto.  For this reason we say
that this suburb [Villa Ingenio] is one of the poorest and coldest of El
Alto.

The population is approximately 37,500 inhabitants.  Some 90% are of the
inhabitants are Aymara.  In general they are simple and poor people.  A
high percentage of the adult population is people without a high school
education; and illiteracy is much higher among the female population.

[Bolivia suffered a tragic social uprising in October 2003.  Twenty-three
people from the community of Villa Ingenio were killed and some 70 people
were wounded.  The role that Padre Soria took during these conflicts was
heroic, using every means at his disposal to support the people, a major
influence in organizing: press conferences, writing official announcements
from the clergy, hunger strikes, giving refuge to anyone that needed it,
alive, wounded, in mourning or dead.  ]

Before the reality of need and tragedy happened in October 2003 to Villa
Ingenio, we had already decided to respond to some of the many factors
that lead these people to protest, and resulted in the wounded, dead and
destruction of so many families:
DIGNITY - PARTICIPATION - HUMAN PROMOTION.

For that reason our Parish Christ Redentor, has opened itself in a decided
form to SOCIAL SERVICE for the year of 2004 we plan to create a social
infrastructure.  In this Social Center  “El Buen Samaritano” [The Good
Samarian] with ten educational rooms, also baths, a dining room and
kitchen, we want to give the following social service: [briefly I will
state that they have begun their schooling program, as the local schools
are very inadequate, they have begun classes teaching all persons from
their community reading and writing, and a variety of skills such as
building, sewing etc.  They wish to teach typing and computing, a dream
that awaits the arrival of these computers.]

COMPUTERS FOR INDYMEDIA BOLIVIA
________________________________________
Indymedia-Bolivia will have complete access to the computers in Villa
Ingenio, that is to say, Bolivia-Indymedia will be located at Villa
Ingenio.  Once Warisata receives computers they will be establishing an
Indymedia-Warisata, information that will become available straight from
the center of the Aymara nation.


COMPUTERS
________________________________________
Freegeek www.freegeek.org/, a local computer recycling organization has
agreed to donate 30 computers and 15 printers.   A current employee at
Freegeek, Vague-rant vagrant at freegeek.org has volunteered to go to Bolivia
and spend some three months training in computer construction, repair,
networking, and software operation.  If for some reason Vague-rant is
unable to go, Steev Hise has volunteered to a back-up and if necessary, go
in his place.   This is beyond extremely important for the sustainability
of this project, especially in Warisata where the folk will be making a
few major leaps in technology.  This volunteer will teach the Aymara how
to build and repair computers and, how to network and operate
free-software.  The Project will not be considered complete without the
accompaniment of a Tech-Teacher-Type.

Atamira Electronic Translation ( http://www.atamiri.cc/en/index.html )
Iván Guzmán de Rojas, has stated that his organization will donate
software for this project once computers are installed.  They have
developed translation software for the Aymara language.

FINANCING ________________________________________
I am currently seeking assistance with freight costs for this project,
$3,800 to ship 30 computers.  And airfare, $600.00 for the tech-person
willing to teach in Bolivia for a six month period of time, organizations
involved have pledged to house and feed this volunteer.

CONTACTS  ________________________________________
Organizers:  Kim Alphandary, kalphandary at earthlink.net, 503-554-5404
                    Steev Hise, steev at detritus.net  503-236-4288





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