top of page

Welcome:

​

The Friends International Bilingual Center is a center that offers educational programs for children, young people, and adults, which are focused around human values and Quaker principals.  

 

The participants of the different programs experience a spiritual and intellectual growth due to the fact that there is that of God in everyone.  

Programs:

​

  • Language Program which emphasizes personalized learning of quality English, Spanish and Aymara. 

  • Children's Program which encourages and nurtures the gifts and talents of our young ones ages 5-12 

  • Program of workshops and seminars designed to equip participants with leadership tools and strengthen work abilities   

  • Translation Program which offers access to valuable Quaker books and documents to both english and spanish speakers  

Language Program

Our language program offers Bolivian Quakers have the opportunity to communicate with Friends from other countries and learn more about the Quaker community on a global scale.  

We teach the native language, Aymara, at our center because many young people who have grown up in the city do not know how to speak it. Often, people come into the city from rural/outlying zones of La Paz  and these young people are unable to converse with them, let alone help them around the city.  Our objective is to create a community which accomodates and brings together both of these groups of people.  

The Spanish classes we offer at the center provide volunteers and other foreigners with a supportive environment to learn and practice their spanish skills.    

​

Workshop and Seminar Program

The workshop and seminar program promotes an innovative education for students, professionals, pastors, and Christian education teachers, among others.  It is thanks to this kind of learning and acquisition of new knowledge that we are able to better our realities at a cultural social and personal level.  

Because of the growing Bolivian Quaker population, there is a growing need for training new leaders to excell in the areas of youth ministry, evangelization/outreach, pastoral ministry, and Christian education.

Children's Program

The Children's Program at the center is designed to instill basic Quaker values in our little ones ages 5-12.  

During the upcoming months, March through June, we will be offering a series of children's workshops around climate change and environmental concerns.  

Participants will learn new habits and tools such as different ways to recycle which they can use to better care for our planet.  The workshops will also serve as a safe and open environment for these children to express their thoughts and feelings around climate change both artistically and verbally.  Young leaders will emerge from this series of workshops empowered to be blossoming seeds of inspiration in their families, communities, and the world as a whole.  

 

 

 

 

 

Translation Program
Friends International Bilingual Center Staff

 

Director 

Emma Condori Mamani

 

Program Coordinator & Public Relations Manager

Magaly Karen Chambi

 

Assistant Secretary

Liz Tania Chura Canaviri

​

Teachers

Diego Huanca Sosa

Iran Castillo Alarcon

Carola Canaviri Chipana

The translation program at the center makes available translated resources which serve to better the communication and education at both an idividual and group level.  

There are many important written materials including books, pamphlets and messages which we translate from spanish to english and vice versa.  This translation serves as a bridge, allowing the interchange of spiritual experiences, testimonies of faith, and Quaker education work.  This program especially supports Spanish speaking Friends throughout the world.  

 

Quotes from Friends on Quaker Values and Testimonies

"Through the simplicity testimony, Friends encourage one another to look beyond the outward and to the inward. In contemporary terms, Friends try to live lives in which activites and possessions do not get in the way of open communication with others and with one’s own spirituality. By clearing away the clutter, Friends and able to more readily hear the “still small voice” within."

"Quakers have long been known for their opposition to war and violence of any kind, whether political, social, or personal. This quest for peace comes from their belief that there is “that of God” in every person in the world, regardless of their background or social status—every person deserves our respect and kindness.

"At the foundation of Quaker behavior is the belief that your words should match your deeds and your deeds should be an honest reflection of your words. In dealings with others, Quakers affirm to tell the truth and speak the truth with kindness and respect.

“Community is the matrix in which young people can develop the trust and self-confidence essential for the risk-taking required in education. In community everyone can learn to take responsibility, to follow or take the lead. In community we can learn to give and receive love.” – Paul Lacey.

"In contemporary terms, equality brings to mind equal rights and social justice. For Quakers, the notion of equality begins with the belief that everyone is equal in the eyes of God and that every individual has access to their own equally valuable inner Light. In the early days of Quakerism, Friends acted on this belief in several ways: rejecting the social distinction between “you” and “thou”; equally valuing men and women in worship; opposing slave-owning; and rejecting the death penalty.

bottom of page