HOTLINE - week of October 23, 2006

"The indigenous people of the Chaco region of South America are mostly hunters, gatherers, and fishers," says Martin Coria, CWS Regional Coordinator for Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. "Access to land is crucial to their survival."

The indigenous people of the Gran Chaco are spread across nearly 400,000 square miles of central South America, spanning parts of three countries--Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Long-standing racism, exclusion, and unsustainable development models have deprived them of their economic, social, and cultural rights, including the right to own lands they traditionally inhabited.

CWS and five local partners are accompanying the people of the Chaco as they gain legal rights to their ancestral lands.

In Bolivia, for example, Claudio Kuarasi, a community leader in the Guarani village of Pananti, is grateful for the guidance provided by CWS partner the Center for Regional Studies for Development of Tarija (CER-DET). "They opened our eyes," he says.

Kuarasi recalls a time a few years ago when CER-DET began meeting with him and his neighbors, who were then living on land at the margins, bordering large haciendas (ranches). Kuarasi and his neighbors learned about their legal rights through CER-DET. They learned how to register their community with the government, become eligible for government services, and claim title to the land where they lived.

With CER-DET's guidance, the people of Pananti chose leaders and other to serve as "promoters" who will train in areas such as education, health, and infrastructure.

They also began a community garden, started growing corn and peanuts, and started building a community center.

The people of Pananti are making progress in getting title to the land where they live and farm, too. After Kuarasi and several other Pananti residents protested with 300 other people from indigenous communities seeking recognition, the city council in Yacuiba granted Pananti’s registration. The community now has the right to government services available to other residents of the region.

Indigenous families are also learning better fishing and farming techniques, women are learning more about making and marketing crafts, and young people are gaining more educational opportunities through the CWS-supported program in the Chaco. "Seventeen indigenous young people are attending university," says Martin Coria. "They are the first in their communities to do so."

Read more in the Photo Gallery: CWS Chaco Initiative.

Residents of Pengtianyuan Village, southwest Hunan Province, are working to repair the Caijiachong Dam, with the help of CWS and long-time partner the Amity Foundation.

The dam had been damaged by flooding and was not functioning properly, meaning that the irrigation canals were also malfunctioning. Without proper irrigation during the dry season, the families have been able to harvest only one crop of rice, the village staple, instead of the usual two per year. The families have had to depend on other crops like sweet potatoes for almost half of the year.

A well-functioning dam and irrigation system will allow the families to grow more food--especially rice--and earn more income. Village committees will be responsible for maintaining the newly-repaired dam, water cellars, water catchment systems, and diversion water tanks.

CWS and representatives from the Croatian Government and the Bosnia-Herzegovina Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees met recently to finalize a partnership agreement wherein 88 new homes will be constructed for returnee families. The $1.5 million project begins immediately.

Your prayers and support - and your participation in CROP WALKS and the TOOLS & BLANKETS Program - make possible these and other life sustaining programs. For information on how to get involved, please call your Church World Service/CROP Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-CWS-CROP, that's 1-888-297-2767.

For information about free loan videos, please call 1-800-297-1516, ext. 338, or e-mail us at: videos@churchworldservice.org.

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