By Sr. Socorro Gumnad, MIC

Here are some of the photos taken during our National Teachers Day in Bolivia.

I am with two Grade 1 students and the mother of the girl dressed in black at the gate of the rural school. The boy wearing his apron at my right came to tell me tat he is participating in the acto civixo program to honor the teachers. All primary students wear apron in school.

The drapery with “HOMENAJE AL MAESTRO” is made of native cloth. The little girl shows me the school banner: Escuela Nixta Milivoy Eterovic Matenda. The bird on the emblem is the national bird called the CONDOR while Iquircollo is the name of the pace where the school is located (part of Quillagollo the district to which we belong).

Sr. Socorro Gumnad tells us a little of her life in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where she tries to share the Gospel of Peace.
During winter schools in South America and in Bolivia are on vacation for a month, this is to prevent the students from suffering in the cold classrooms. The Departamento de Cochabamba, where I am working, is in the center of Bolivia. It is interesting to note that the city of Cochabamba is a valley. Though we are 2,750 meters above the sea level, the effect of the altitude is not as dangerous as that of La Paz and Oruro which can cause heart failure or high blood pressure in most lowlanders.

Visiting a needy family. The little girl offers me her pet chicks as a token of gratitude for the milk I brought them.

From the left to right: Sr. Socorro Gumnad, MIC, Sr. Alicia Dotolfo, MIC, Sr. Alicia Alambra, FMM, and Sr. Rosario Salazar, MIC celebrate Pentecost Sunday.

Sr. Rosario worked in Lima, Peru, while Sr. Leticia is assigned in Huancarani, Potosi, Bolivia. Sr. Alicia and I stay in Cochabamba.

Three Filipino Maryknoll Missionaries visited Cochabamba for a meeting. From left to right: Srs. Norma, Teresa, Gloria and Socorro; seated is Sr. Alicia, Sr. Teresa Dagdag, MM worked in the Central Governing Board in New York, while Sr. Norma Valdemoro and Gloria Kintanar, MM are missioner in Santiago de Chile.