Over the recent months, Peace and Hope Bolivia (Paz Bolivia) has been working with the Guarani Indigenous community so that these communities can live free from gender violence.
The Guarani are urban indigenous communities that have continued to practice their traditions and beliefs. Paz Bolivia is participating in an exchange of learning so that while the Guarani are trained in healthier relationship dynamics, Paz Bolivia can also grow in their understanding of the Guarani customs.
There is a belief, not only in the Guarani communities, but throughout all of Bolivia that the man is divinely sent by God to authoritatively lead the family. This belief has permitted violence to exist in the household. In this specific area, Paz Bolivia wants to help communities establish new narratives. In one of the workshops, Paz Bolivia is working to rebuild self-esteem in a group of 15 women who have experienced severe violence in their homes. In another workshop, Paz Bolivia is teaching about the healthy foundations of a family and how to communicate through a disagreement. The hope is to encourage a family structure where both the man and woman live in equality, based on a foundation of positive physical, emotional, and spiritual behaviors.
Paz Bolivia is a team promoting a culture of peace in the family by “defending the weak and the fatherless; upholding the cause of the poor and oppressed” (Psalm 82:3).
