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Transcript

[SPEAKING SPANISH] We've seen that when a mother dies, the family falls apart. The husband and the children are left alone.

In El Alto, the mortality rate for mothers and children at birth is very high. [SPEAKING SPANISH] The Los Andes Maternal and Children's Hospital is a very important hospital for the community because it is the only health institution that helps mothers and newborns in an area with 400,000 inhabitants. The hospital has been the most neglected in El Alto. You can see that the ceiling is falling off. It is completely rotten. It is wet and full of mold. It has flooded three times. We have even had to evacuate the building and move to other places. I work at this hospital, and I am also a member of the Church. We had the privilege of receiving a visit from a leader of the Church welfare program. And we were able to identify the needs that this hospital has as an institution. [SPEAKING SPANISH] When they told me that some Church leaders came and saw our hospital and decided to help us, I didn't believe it.

Here in Bolivia, we're used to having people offer help, but at the end, nothing happens. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Members came for a long period of time every weekend to fix, clean, and paint the hospital. Some of them would come in the middle of the week to weld the beds, clean the roof, paint the exterior of the hospital. [SPEAKING SPANISH] Also, within this group were the sisters from the Relief Society. They made sheets, bedspreads, quilts, blankets-- not only for the mothers, but also for the babies. [SPEAKING SPANISH] We got together for two days to sew the sheets. It was beautiful. We were happy because we could share this as sisters. We also feel happy because we knew we were helping many mothers. [SPEAKING SPANISH] One day someone called me and told me, "It's done. We can go and see the equipment. Everything you asked for is here." At that moment, I was totally amazed. [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH] [SPEAKING SPANISH]

Bolivia Hospital Restoration

Description
Los Andes Maternal Hospital, the only health institution to help mothers and newborns in La Paz, Bolivia, had fallen into disrepair. Every weekend for a considerable time members worked to make needed repairs.
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