Dear brothers, we thank you for your prayers for the ministry and the Technical School.
Regarding the Technical School we have had some years with difficulties in regard to the number of students. This is perhaps because some public schools were activated and also because in Camiri there was a considerable economic decline. Three years ago we had six students and in the last two years we have only had four students at graduation. The positive side is that you can do a more personalized training but the negative side is that with four students the operating expenses are not covered, let alone thinking about improvements and updates in the equipment and facilities.
This year was special, we had a large number enrolled and had even accepted the 20 enrolled students of which 18 were incorporated (our ideal number of students is between 12 and 20, more than that is a bit uncomfortable). However, after a little over a month of classes we were paralyzed by COVID-19 quarantine. We were just in the best of practical progress but have been left with the engines unarmed and so far we have not been able to return to classes normally. The government in Bolivia prohibits face-to-face classes and it seems that this will last for a few more months.
At the moment we are doing classes through Zoom, at least the theory, but several students do not have access to the internet and this is affecting their ability to learn. This worries me a lot because I think that most will not be able to take technical training again for economic reasons. Because the quarantine is a total quarantine in Camiri, there is no normal trade, very few items are working, and even when activities are normalized, everyone will be in debt and looking for ways to pay.
The strengths of the Technical School are the good training they receive and they do more practice than the other schools so the graduates themselves become good publicity. We also have a good amount of tools and engines, although we need to renew some of them. The low points are that due to government policy in previous years, it was not possible to process degrees at a higher academic level. At the moment we are certified by a public technical school but its certification is not of a high level although it is working well at the moment. We are also a little behind with more modern electronic diagnostic tools and equipment, and we need more suitable furniture and multimedia equipment to conduct the classes.
Thank you very much for your prayers and love.
Blessings in Christ,
Ephraim