I love the geographical diversity. Bolivia has Amazon rainforests, lush valleys, high plateaus, mountains. The people are just as diverse as the environment, Schollaert notes. Most are descendents of different Indigenous peoples mixed with colonial, mainly Spanish, forebears. Schollaert says that the 8 million Bolivians do not shy away from their ethnic heritage.
People here are proud of their diversity - it is part of their Bolivian identity.
Of course, there are inequities in Bolivia and these are reflected in the differences between the modern buildings of central La Paz and the dilapidated shantytowns on the outskirts of the city or the more typical simple dwellings of the rural, still largely Indigenous, people. In fact, most people in Bolivia are poor despite a rich resource base that includes natural gas, oil and the famous silver mines, which once helped to fund the Spanish colonial empire. Helping Bolivia's poor to achieve better and more secure lives is the principal aim behind CARE's work in Bolivia, which began in 1976. Initially, CARE's work focused on rural health and water supply projects. Today, they range from support for small business to large-scale technical assistance, from girls' education to health, from rural development to city government.