USAID Donates Uniforms to Shoe Shiners

By M.Romero

Lawrence Odle, Program Office Director with shoe shiner (USAID)

On July 19, the Community Development Association Fund (CDAF) project delivered working uniforms for shoe shiners in the city of El Alto.  The shoe shiners association was organized in 1997, but has never received aid from municipal or national authorities.  This association includes 35 members made up of  both men and women and as a counterpart this donation the shoe shiners bought shoe shining kits.  The donation will contribute to the ability of the association to better serve their clients and will protect the shoe shiners from the climatic conditions of the city of El Alto.  In September 2009, through a cooperative agreement with USAID/Bolivia, ACDI/VOCA began implementing the CDAF Program.  The CDAF is a mechanism which allows USAID/Bolivia to finance small development activities with immediate people-level impact.  CDAF implements small self-help projects that respond to the needs of low-income communities in urban and rural areas.  These projects are characterized by their people-to-people approach and include substantial input from local communities.  To date, the program has worked in 20 different municipalities in 7 departments (La Paz, Potosi, Chuquisaca, Oruro, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Cochabamba) implementing education, health and inclusion projects for the benefit of more than 15,000 people.