“Don’t go because you’ve fallen in love with solvability. Go because you’ve fallen in love with complexity” -Courtney Martin
Thirty hours, four planes, nine people. This is all it takes to be a part of change. It is important to note that we are not here to solve a crisis. We are here to understand the complexities of a new country, a new culture, and a prominent issue. Bolivia stood out to each of us for various reasons, yet we all have the same goal: to engage, to lead, and to understand. We have finished our first day of real work! Our work consisted of cleaning coarse sand, gravel, and other, materials needed for the water filters. It was fun working as a team despite rain, humidity, language barriers (we’re trying), y muchos perritos! While the work we did wasn’t physically demanding, it was a first step towards the adventures we will face in the future. In the upcoming days, we will be mixing concrete, making filters, and transporting 150 lb water filters to rural communities along the Rio Beni. These are tasks that we have to mentally prepare for as a team. Thus far, we have discussed our goals, motivations, and expectations for the rest of the trip. Eventually, we ended our discussion talking about how nothing will get done unless we care. This is what brought us together. This is why we traveled to Bolivia from across the United States. We all have the common goal of positively impacting the communities we visit. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.”- The Lorax
The Bolivia Team