MWR : Articles : Latin America and Caribbean

Last updated April 29.

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Articles : Latin America and Caribbean

Bolivian colonists try to move past trauma

In the isolated Manitoba Colony of Bolivia, Old Colony Mennonites are beginning to move on with life after the conclusion of a trial that focused global attention on the community.
Peruvian villagers welcome health team

CUSCO, Peru — Mary Dunn and her Eastern Mennonite Missions team recently took a break from clinics and lessons about nutrition and sanitation to distribute something just as important — sweets and gifts.

Business, education keys to Haiti’s recovery

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Before the magnitude-7 earthquake struck here almost two years ago, Ronald Sadou Zami struggled to find work. Like many Haitians, he had discovered multiple ways to earn minimal income. He wrote poems for schools, was a sewing machine mechanic and sometimes did masonry work.
Beyond aid, MCC Haiti an advocate for people

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Nearly two years after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, about $9 million of Mennonite Central Committee’s $16 million disaster response funds have been spent on projects to revitalize Haitians’ lives.
Trauma healing not just for earthquake survivors

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — With dignified humility, Edouarnus Estivil calls himself a direct victim of the January 2010 earthquake. It destroyed his Port-au-Prince home. It paralyzed his sister, and it killed his mother, the head of his household.
Housing, latrine projects help bring dignity back to life

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — In a matter of seconds, the January 2010 earthquake turned Elumene Charles’ modest, concrete home to rubble. She lost everything.

Mennonite World Conference’s 100th member

SANTIAGO, Chile — Mennonite World Conference’s 100th member did not need a nice round number to feel the addition was momentous.

8 convicted in Bolivia rape trial

A Bolivian court on Aug. 25 convicted eight Mennonite men of aggravated rape after a two-month trial that brought to light shocking reports of the systematic rape of more than 100 women and girls over five years in a reclusive Mennonite colony.
In Bolivia, a closed society is torn open

MANITOBA COLONY, Bolivia — Susana Banman dreads the dark. Since one terrible night in early 2009, she and her husband check the closets and lock newly installed window latches each night before going to sleep in their picturesque Mennonite community of Manitoba Colony, in the eastern lowlands of Bolivia.