The University of New Mexico’s Latin American and Iberian Institute hosts a reception for Suzanne Dulle and Juan Velasco of “con Bolívia,” on Monday, Nov. 21 from 3-5 p.m.
A non-profit organization, con Bolivia provides opportunities for UNM students and faculty to go to Bolívia and participate in service-learning projects based around “Sol y Luna,” a daycare center for indigenous children in a village south of La Paz.
Sol y Luna is managed by a group of volunteers and employs women from the village as caregivers. Con Bolívia also works with Padre Hugo, or Father Hugo Varqga who runs a safe haven for drug-addicted “lustrabotas,” or shoeshine boys. He also works with nuns in El Alto who have sewing machines and a work center to train former prostitutes in sewing skills.
The mission of con Bolívia is to provide direct support to locally based projects in Bolivia to address the educational or economic needs of indigenous women, children or youth.
“My hope is that through networking with educational organizations such as the University of New Mexico, our ability to support our various projects in Bolívia will be enhanced, and at the same time, I will be assist in establishing beneficial educational links between Bolívia and UNM,” Dulle said.
Established in 2003, con Bolivia came about because Dulle and her husband, Juan Velasco, wanted to create a “network of goodness” linking generous people to grassroots projects in Velasco’s native Bolívia.
“We believe that people in communities throughout the world know what they need, but often times lack the means to make their dreams a reality,” Dulle said.
“Similarly, there are many caring individuals who have a desire to be connected with fellow human beings in other countries, but do not have the opportunity to get involved. con Bolívia, through its ‘network of goodness,’ helps individuals find a path that will connect them to some truly transformational, grassroots projects in Bolívia,” she said.
Dulle has 20+ years’ experience as a professional administrator. She was the City of Santa Fe’s first female city manager and was director of administrative services and vice president for management systems at Integrated Genetics. She accepted a contract to open the National Center for Genome Resources (NCGR) in Santa Fe, and later served as vice president for administrative services.
Her first foray into international initiatives came in 1997 when she was recruited to the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) by President Ellen Goldberg. There she directed their business network and international program. As SFI’s international program director, she helped establish the Institute’s first International Summer Schools in Budapest, Hungary; and in Qingdao, China, and created and managed SFI’s International Fellows Program.
Posted by scarr at November 16, 2005 04:25 PM