Another new program for MIMA started this summer in Buena Vista, which is another community that is building from within to help the future generations. With the help of a dear friend, Anna Haarman, who is a volunteer from Holland, a school has been built and a medical post is under construction.  They also have a meal program for the school-age children, and even offer it on Saturdays for the most needy.We have implemented a vitamin program there also, for 600 children, following the same format as in Tutimayu.

We also have donated tooth brushes and tooth paste which is kept in school for each child. Each morning, they receive a vitamin, have breakfast and then brush their teeth.  We are hoping to implement a more comprehensive dental program once their medical post is completed.

I anticipate sending MIMA volunteers there to work in the medical post and hopefully our team will have at least one dentist, hygienist and dental assistant to complement the program.

We supplied the yarn and patterns, and after convincing them that women use shawls and scarves for accents and that we weren't concerned about warmth ( especially in Florida), they produced some very nice pieces for us to sell or give as gifts. Each piece was marked with the knitter's name, and each directly received the money for the work they had done. We then matched that and donated it to the co-op for more supplies. I have just bought another huge supply of yarn, and will hope to start working with a company in the future that may want to donate their older inventory. Additionally, I have received generous donations, especially from my aunt, Patt Cavanaugh, who is very supportive of this program. We are very interested in encouraging the women in these communities to continue their crafts and realize their worth, and thereby enabling them to stay in their villages instead of seeking employment in the cities. I have to say, I have seen some real changes in this area, and the women seemed totally in awe that we were so thrilled with the work they had done.

High in the Andes Mountains, at a bit less than 15,000 feet, there is a very remote village named Posota. Actually, it is not as remote as Challa, which is the village where Bau and Cresy Cruz come from. Both adopted by Mary Kay, one of the founders of the MIMA Foundation, travel to Bolivia each year to visit their family and friends.

Challa and the other surrounding villages are as far away as three hours walking to Posota, but the children from these villages travel there each day to go to school. It was soon realized that the children that walk this distance daily were at a huge disadvantage. Cold, hungry and tired, they hardly had what it takes to learn in the classroom. It was Sr. Fulvia's dream to build an "Internado"...a dormitory for the children to stay in during the week while studying.

With the help from the MIMA Foundation, Anna Haarman, ( a Dutch Volunteer and her supporters) and Sr. Fulvia's connections in Italy, this finally came to fruition in 2006. The Inaguration took place in November and now 80 children and their teachers have a wonderful, heated facility to stay in. Additionally, the MIMA team will soon be spoiled when they visit in June, as they are now able to stay there as well, instead of in tents or in the adobe huts in Challa. Yeah...!!! This is progress....Next on the agenda...What else? A medical clinic....Stay tuned....