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The Center The Manuela Gandarillas center is the only public school for blind children in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia. It serves children from 4-18 years of age, some abandoned orphans and others from families that live in rural areas. At the center they learn how to live independently; get dressed, cook, write in Braille, and other basic day to day skills.
The Need Doctors offices are distant, difficult to attend, and expensive. One of the girls describes the experience as a journey, “first we have to take a bus that goes to the marketplace, then another bus that goes to the doctor’s office; then we wait in line for our turn. After we see the doctor, we take the buses back home and return at the end of the day when it’s already cold outside.” With priority given to regular customers, the doctors wait until the end of the day to see the blind children.
The Project Our solution is to bring the doctors directly to the children. We have coordinated a group of medical professionals including a dentist, an optometrist, and a pediatrician that have volunteered to see the children once a week; all they need is a small facility with adequate light and basic equipment. We will provide funding to build a second level of the Mauela Gandarillas center which will serve as a weekend health clinic. Once completed the center will be the first clinic in Bolivia specialized for the blind.
Go to http://www.fondointeramericano.org/english/index.phpfor more information.
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