The Chief is pleased to introduce a new monthly feature by 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 photographer and social activist Jessica Butler, who is on a humanitarian mission to help Bolivian youth survive economic and social hardship by initiating the Camino el Futuro project.
Vancouver-Lima-La Paz; after two days of numerous line-ups, body checks and horrible food, my final destination, Sucre - the capital - was now only a 16 hour bus ride away.
The smells of burning Palosento in the vicinity with the sounds of firecrackers going off in the distance are two of the many characteristics of Bolivia that can't go unseen while here.
As I walked the streets of La Paz, the biggest city of Bolivia, my eyes as usual wandered into the horizon, where thousands of houses climb up the Andean mountains that surround the city of La Paz. As my memories of last year started to unfold before me, the reality of it all started to sink in.
Having only been in Canada for 10 months to save up and fundraise for my project working with underprivileged youth, Camino Al Futuro, I realized how one culture can make you forget another in such little time. And more so, how the simplest necessities in life such as clean drinking water or using a toilet are not always at your fingertips in a developing country like Bolivia.
In the central bus station of La Paz, the hustle and bustle hadn't changed. Cocaleros (Coca Farmers) as usual were out and about with their tightly stuffed sacks of coca leaf on their backs with a handful already nestled to one side of their mouth.
Across the street, lined up wooden booths of cholita's (Andean women) cooking local dishes from chicken with rice to cow intestines fried with potatoes a common diet for a population living at an altitude of 3,700 metres above sea level.
Known to be a physically strong and have a higher threshold of pain, the Bolivian population are quite impressive to watch just in their daily routine. Fist fight matches amongst women are a common activity in the city of El Alto, and men at the age of 60 are never too old to carry three fully loaded gas tanks on their backs, using only a rope as a lever.
By some time before noon tomorrow, I will be back in a familiar place but this time with 2,500$ of funds for Guia Foundation, a non-profit organization I worked with last year.
With the mission of trying to improve the lives of underprivileged youth by finding them work and providing them an education, I had the chance to create their first work fair, Camino Al Futuro, which will take place for a second time this April.
Of course time is not of essence in Bolivia, but patience is. As my bus finally started its engine an hour behind schedule, fatigue set in and as we drove out of La Paz and out of the Andean mountains, a display of fireworks set off into the sky, creating a striking view and a great send off to a new beginning.
