Last week, I had the honor to be in Bolivia working with a group of women volunteers. These women were nurses, health educators, community activists, moms, and students. Each of them had her own story of why she volunteered, but they were dedicated to making a difference in the lives of women.
I was amazed at their stories. One of the women, a nurse told me that in Bolivia, if they want to volunteer for an activity, first they must find someone to fill in for them at work, AND PAY THAT PERSON! Another woman told me that for her to attend the training, she had to take three buses and walk and that the total travel time was three hours each WAY! Another of the women was mother to 11 children, but she still found time to volunteer. And then there was a woman, whose husband had been killed in the line of duty as a policeman, diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer herself, who was recruiting 10,000 women for PAP Smears.
As I heard their personal stories and observed their thirst to learn and dedication to make a difference, I kept thinking about us here in the US and wondering if we would sacrifice as much? Some of these women travel eight hours to very rural communities, where they organize PAP smear clinics that last 12 hours, and then drive back home again eight hours. Would you do that? Would you find your own replacement at work and then pay them, so that you could volunteer? Would take three buses and walk to go to a volunteer training? Makes you think, doesn’t it.
My life has been permanently enriched by knowing these wonderful women. So to my friends, Bertha, Jenny, Guadalupe, Francesca, Elizabeth, Magda, Carolina, Elba, Zaida, Claudia, Veronica and all the others, thank for your hospitality, for teaching me what true volunteerism looks like, for loving each other and me, and for caring about the future of the women and girls in Bolivia.
La gente de Bolivia viven en mi corazon seimpre. Gracias por su amor.
