Innovative fight against poverty in La Paz
One of our much-travelled Foundation Board members came across this small project. Shoeshiners are omnipresent in La Paz. In 2005, they began to organise themselves and the Hormigón Armadao project was launched with the aim of improving their income opportunities and raising their professional status. A simple ‘newspaper’ was created as a means of communication, car windscreen washers were added and, as an alternative source of income, the Armada members were trained as guides for alternative city tours. These city tours have become an insider tip.
The Hormigón Armado has grown somewhat over time and has developed new ideas for combating poverty. Workshops for sewing and clothes making are to be offered. The gratitude of those responsible for the Armado is immense.
We have approved a one-off and comparatively modest contribution for this purpose. This is also to show that we consider even small steps in the right direction to be good steps.