We were all in prison!

Hoping the title got your attention, I can now tell you that we weren´t actually in prison, but in a really interesting part of it. Here in Bolivia, when one parent commits a crime, the whole family goes to prison! That´s right. Everyone. The children go to school during their alloted time (another story) then they come back to Carrcelario (a type of afterschool program if you will). In Carrcelario, the children are sort of at an extended school setting. They are divided into age groups and they continue to do learning activities. Part of the learning activities involves the books from Thurichipitas. Casillida, one of the volunteers from the library, goes to the Carrcelario once a week and volunteers with the children. She takes the books there for the children to read. They seem to really enjoy that. They stay there sometimes until 6 or 7 o´clock in the evening. After that, they leave and join their parents in prison. According to the ladies and gentlemen that work at Carrcelario, the life in prison is still really bad. Children sometimes witness violence and rape. But the alternative to this would more than likely be the streets. From what I understand, the families are taken care of. Bolivia doesn´t have the high crime rates that we do in the USA. The murder rate is significantly lower because no one can afford to buy a gun! The contrast in Bolivia is amazing. Just in the area that we were in, you might see a house with partial roof beside of a very nice house with a terracatta roof. It is a society of ¨haves¨ and ¨have-nots¨. Not much in between. That is all I have time for right now. Next time we talk I´ll be back in the great USA!! Tracy :)