{"id":223,"date":"2011-08-06T10:04:06","date_gmt":"2011-08-06T14:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/discoveriesofawanderer\/?p=223"},"modified":"2011-08-09T15:53:48","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T19:53:48","slug":"so-i-met-the-it-girls-of-bolivia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2011\/08\/so-i-met-the-it-girls-of-bolivia.html","title":{"rendered":"So, I Met the ‘It’ Girls of Bolivia"},"content":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re beautiful. They inspire us. Who are they?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Celestine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celestine<\/strong> \u2013 Meet a woman who is a fierce example of what the love of a mother can do. When Celestine\u2019s son was young, he wasn\u2019t able to walk and play like a healthy\u00a0little boy. Her community wasn\u2019t exactly helpful either. Celestine remembers, \u201cPeople used to come and tell me I drank something and that\u2019s why the child is like this.\u201d But instead of feeling helpless, she carried him everywhere she went, even when she went out into the fields to work. Celestine\u2019s son was finally able to receive surgery at the age of five through World Vision support, and now this happy little boy runs and plays. She is very thankful to God. Celestine\u2019s determination to never give up on her child inspired her community and will continue to inspire others around the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Silvana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Silvana<\/strong> \u2013 One woman that brought a smile to my face was Silvana. Silvana works as a World Vision child sponsorship coordinator in Colomi, which is located close to the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. She had the kind of smile that can light up a room and brighten someone\u2019s day. Although Silvana might see gloomy conditions that some communities live in (such as children that live in an abusive household), she never would let go of her joy. Her glowing personality really uplifted my day, and it was a pleasure to get to know her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Victoria with Her Class<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Victoria<\/strong> \u2013 Victoria was once a sponsored World Vision child, but now the 20-year-old woman shows what it means to give back to others. Victoria is still in school herself, but she spends three days each week being a preschool teacher. It was a surprise to discover how much time this busy woman devotes to the children! We were lucky enough to visit her preschool class. As we watched her teach we could tell that she is patient and wonderful at her job. The little ones adore her, and I know that she will continue to make such a positive different in the lives of these children.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aide with Her Mother and Children<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aide<\/strong> \u2013 Those who weren\u2019t born with a green thumb (like me!) can learn a lot from this avid farmer and mother, Aide. On her small plot of land this woman has been able to revolutionize the way she feeds her family. World Vision programs, like nutrition-based programs, help parents know which healthy foods will be best for their children. Before the nutrition program, Aide was feeding her children toasted corn and didn\u2019t have a large variety of foods available. But now with her land, garden, and livestock, three generations of this family live on fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, meat, and more. They grow enough beans and carrots to take to the market (which gives them an income). Aide will use that money to buy milk, and they will make cheese in the process. Now it\u2019s easy to see the benefits of this new healthy, diverse diet by watching her kids: her daughter Gabriela was recently the top student in her first grade class. Three cheers for Aide and her hard work to feed her family! With hope, Aide can inspire others to keep nutritious food an important priority.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Arminda - the Same Girl on Our Sponsorship Banners!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arminda<\/strong> \u2013 You\u2019d never guess Arminda had a difficult past when you saw how much she smiled. This 6 year-old was left to fend for herself on the streets as a very young child. Soon Elena, a woman who lived nearby, found Arminda on the streets and immediately took Arminda home. Arminda was cleaned up and given food to eat. Elena loved this little girl and she said to us that, \u201cthe girl was suffering too much\u201d and that she, \u201cwanted to protect her.\u201d Elena and her husband officially adopted her (even when they had four children of their own). Arminda now giggles and her bubbly personality is infectious. This little girl doesn\u2019t allow her past to affect her present life. I left meeting Arminda with a big smile on my own face.<\/p>\n

Check out the story of\u00a0Arminda’s mother and other inspiring woman on my friend Rachel Held Evans’ blog “Six Bolivian Women of Valor<\/a>.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

All photos copyright Amy Conner with World Vision.<\/p>\n

\"Sponsor<\/a><\/center><\/center> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re beautiful. They inspire us. Who are they? Celestine \u2013 Meet a woman who is a fierce example of what the love of a mother can do. When Celestine\u2019s son was young, he wasn\u2019t able to walk and play like a healthy\u00a0little boy. Her community wasn\u2019t exactly helpful either. Celestine remembers, \u201cPeople used to come…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,29,30,12,25,58,37,8,3],"tags":[20,44,57,18],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-economics","category-education","category-god","category-inspiration","category-parenting","category-photos","category-south-america","category-womens-rights","tag-bolivia","tag-determination","tag-women","tag-world-vision"],"yoast_head":"\nSo, I Met the 'It' Girls of Bolivia - Discoveries of a Wanderer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/discoveriesofawanderer\/2011\/08\/so-i-met-the-it-girls-of-bolivia.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So, I Met the 'It' Girls of Bolivia - Discoveries of a Wanderer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They\u2019re beautiful. 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