A Friend Supports SEED in Bolivia

Voices
A Friend Supports SEED in Bolivia

November 2007 [Santa Cruz, Bolivia]

By David Philipp, friend of SEED, USA

My name is David Philipp. I am not an employee of Schlumberger nor am I a SEED volunteer. After a chance encounter with SEED at one of your connected schools in Bolivia, I have become an outspoken advocate on behalf of SEED and I would like to share my story with you.

I first went to Bolivia in March of 2005 to help a local orphanage (the Talita Cumi Orphanage) in Santa Cruz with a development project. That was the start of a wonderful relationship with the orphanage that continues to this day. In 2006, my family and I were working with the orphanage on a renovation project at Modulo Educativo Flamingo, a nearby public school that is attended by the orphanage children. We painted a room with murals and supplied the school with tables, chairs and bookcases. At the time we heard that a corporation would be providing computers for the room. It was a great idea, but we left Bolivia before the computers arrived.

I returned to Bolivia a year later and we visited the Modulo Educativo once again. The room, which now had many computers and IT stations, was full of kids that were learning science and other skills on the computers. The two school principals, Directors Cirilo Huarachi and Nicolas Gildres, were thankful for all of these resources and told us about the great company and program that provided them – Schlumberger and SEED. As a Schlumberger shareholder, I was proud of what the company is doing. As a supporter of Talita Cumi Orphanage, I was grateful that our kids’ school had been selected to be a part of SEED. Thank you for all that you have done for the kids of barrio Flamingo.

As someone who has visited the school regularly and has seen it evolve over several years, I assure you that SEED could not have supported a more energetic and enthusiastic school principal as Cirilo, who is the main contact to the orphanage. The condition of the school is considerably rundown as a result of the scarce local resources. It would be easy to accept the situation and live without any real dreams, but not this principal. He and Nicolas want the best for the school and its students. In the fifteen months since we were there last, they have transformed a barren front courtyard into an attractive plaza for students to interact. They have planted a garden that is cared for by the children. Also, they have taken excellent care of the computers and the library. The room looks as good today as the day we left it in 2006.

Cirilo intends to continue the school’s renovation. He showed us the existing Kindergarten playground, which is an enclosed area with little more than dead grass and dirt. In the future, the principal envisions a real playground. The orphanage director is planning a contest to design the playground, and we are coming down next April to assist with its installation. Given the proper support, he also has plans to refurbish the school’s chemistry lab and to build more classrooms to accommodate the overcrowded facilities.

I am sharing this story with you for three reasons – first, to say thank you for all that you do as an organization; second, to encourage you to continue doing it; and, third, to challenge you to do more. The principal and the kids are so grateful for what you have done there. Imagine how much farther we could go together.

From the perspective of volunteering, I think the best part of the story is the power of the collective volunteering of Schlumberger, Talita Cumi Orphanage and Cirilo to work toward the renewal of the school and ultimately to give the kids better life skills. I should point out that the involvement of my family and others has really been to follow and support the lead of the orphanage. Consequently, we’ve been amazed at how these kids are so ready to give back to their school, classmates and neighbors. SEED is a positive influence in these children’s lives and your volunteers are great role models as well.