Confital
sits high up in the windswept mountains between Cochabamba and
La Paz. Poverty is evident in the squat adobe homes set alongside
the road and up into the hillside. Confital is right off the
main road connecting two of Bolivia's largest cities. Buses
make their short stop in the
community at the tollbooth marking the passage through Confital.
Children wait there for the few cars that pass through to beg
'plata' from the occupants. Women also wait at the tollbooth
with buckets full of cooked potatoes, chuño, and some
type of meat. They compete for customers on the buses and trucks
that pass through.
Confital
is only a twenty minute drive from Challa but its location on
the main road between Cochabamba and La Paz gives it an entirely
different atmosphere. Each Tuesday there is an open market where
residents gather to sell their wares in make shift stalls along
the steep hillside lining the highway. Burros dressed for market
with colorful ear wear and aguayos for saddles, festively dressed
residents, and scavaging dogs mingle along the roadside. A number
of tiny retaurants hide in the long row of low buildings facing
the road. Kids can be found nearly everywhere spinning tops,
shooting baskets in the schoolyard, or playing a rousing game
of soccer.
Confital
is the newest of FHI Bolivia's four Cochabamba centers. There
are currently 200 children in the program. It is sponsored by
individuals across Korea.
The
Child Development Program in Confital is sponsored through FHI's
office in Korea. Click
here to visit their site.
