Case studies: former SOS child, Edwin, from Sucre, Bolivia

The SOS International College in Costa Rica has enough reason to be proud. Edwin Quispe, from SOS Children's Villages Bolivia, is the first youth to achieve the International Baccalaureate, after the college first offered it last year.

And the First International Baccalaureate Graduate Is......

The SOS International College in Costa Rica has enough reason to be proud. Edwin Quispe, from SOS Children Bolivia, is the first youth to achieve the International Baccalaureate, after the college first offered it in 2004.

Slim and with vivacious eyes, he is the first International Baccalaureate student to graduate from the SOS International College, an undeniable honor.

Edwin looks quite young for his age, although if you ask him how old he is, he would at once answer, "I am not sure, I don't have my passport with me, but I am of legal age". The reason, he explains, is that he has about three different birth certificates. He had one before joining the village, but his biological father lost it, so he had another one made, but he mistook the boy's age. Then, when joining the village, they made another one for him. "So, I just don't celebrate my birthday on a fixed date. If there is a big party or celebration, I go with my friends and celebrate it as if it's my birthday," he says with a smile.

Edwin describes himself as a mischievous person who loves a good party. His first love is literature, but his favorite music is "reggaetón" (a Latin mixture between reggae and rap with a twist). Although reggaetón is mostly censored and criticized because of its slang language and controversial message, Edwin likes it because it comes from the streets, from the masses, and he feels identified. His favorite singer is Tego Calderón, a Puerto Rican rapper, because "he started working as a mechanic; he is a normal guy who proudly defends his cultural roots."

Controversial and opinionated, he says that if he could change anything in the world, he would have stopped humankind from developing beyond clans. "That way," he explains, "there would not have been materialism, no religion, but a strong spirituality in communion with nature. People would not take money as a priority and would not lie so much either."

Life at the village

Born in La Paz, Bolivia, Edwin joined the SOS Children's Village Sucre with his eight brothers and sisters when he was only nine years-old. He doesn't remember much about his previous life, but he claims to have a good relationship with his biological father, whom he sees every time he goes back to Bolivia.* "I also have uncles, but I don't hear from them often," says Edwin.

As all his brothers and sisters constituted a whole family, all of them were "adopted" by Mother Mercedes, who Edwin describes as a great person and with whom he gets along with. "However," he continues, "I have quite an aloof personality, so I don't show my feelings too much. With my brothers and sisters, we have a great relationship; now that I am in Costa Rica we keep contact by e-mail or chat."

Edwin remembers his life at the village as a very active one. His after-school activities included athletics, chess, indoor football and the Boy Scouts, among many other hobbies. Asked whether he had time left to study, he laughs and says he doesn't recall studying too much, but he spent much time reading universal literature, one of his best-loved activities.

Life went on for Edwin until he was twelve or 13 years-old, when he was selected to attend the SOS International College in Costa Rica.

Life at the college

Before arriving in Costa Rica in the year 2000, with the first group of students for this international high school, Edwin had barely an idea of where Central America was located, but he accepted the challenge of a new adventure. "I wanted to go to the college, but I didn't know if I was good enough to be selected," he adds.

That first year at the college was the best, according to Edwin, because everything was new; no one knew each other at the beginning, but within a week everyone relaxed and started to enjoy their stay there. His first roommates, Juan Ramón from Nicaragua and Enrique from Chile, also became his first friends.

If anyone at the college is asked what was one of Edwin's main contributions to college life, he or she will certainly say "El Alba". "El Alba" (meaning "Dawn" in Spanish) is the college's controversial newspaper, founded by Edwin and two other outstanding students on their initiative in July 2004. In fact, Edwin himself named the paper after a Russian newspaper.

"El Alba"was one of the most serious things I did during my time at the college. I was editor-in-chief, and as such I wanted it to be more than a school newspaper; I wanted it to be something more intellectual," he remembers. "My favorite article was one I wrote on the Iraq War, although I believe not many people understood it."

The IB exams

At the end of eleventh grade, Edwin decided he wanted to go ahead with the International Baccalaureate (IB), as he thought it was very exciting and stressing to do those exams. As he puts it, those tests are not multiple choice, so it was a big challenge for him.

One of the requirements to obtain the IB is to write a monography. Edwin, of course, chose his strongest area, and wrote it on literature. His monography is about eroticism in one of Mario Benedetti's short-stories, "La noche de los feos" (literally "The Night of the Ugly"). Originally, he wanted to write on Henry Miller, but he desisted as it required to work on the original novels in English.

Edwin learned he obtained the IB on a Sunday in March, but he didn't want to brag about it and only told his best four friends. A few days later, everyone at the school knew about his achievement. He still doesn't feel too comfortable with all the recognition he gets.

Now, in retrospective, Edwin says he learned a few useful lessons during his time at the college. First, luck does not exist; it is necessary to study hard to pass the exams. Second, he learned to be organised because he and his classmates had to study until very late at night, and then go back to class early in the morning. And third, he learned his capacity for research, and not to answer with just a "yes" or "no", but rather give valid reasons for his answers.

Future plans

This year, Edwin will still be at the college, working as a volunteer by supporting the CAS Program (Creativity, Action and Service). At the same time, he will start university in May. His goal is to do his university studies in this country, probably in Spanish philology. Then, he would like to stay in Costa Rica for a couple of years, and then go back to Bolivia to teach as a professor at the university.

In 2006, he plans to change to the Universidad de Costa Rica, but then he would have to move to San Pedro because it is much closer to the university. He explains how he will manage once he starts his studies, "I know it will be difficult out there. I want to make extra money and not only depend on what the organisation gives me, and I know Costa Rica is much more expensive than my country. Most university students work, but instead of working, I want to write, if everything goes well."

Edwin's ultimate goal is to become a writer, like his favorite so-called "damned writers" like Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Miller. His poems were published in "El Alba", and he proudly tells that "one of my poems was published in an anthology in Spain last year, but I couldn't buy the book... it's a good start, right?"

"I am writing a book," he confides. "Although I dedicate most of my time to volunteer work, but at night I write to finish my book. I will send my manuscript to different publishing houses and see if they accept me."

SOS Children has been working in Bolivia since 1968 and today has nine children's villages which give a family for life to children in Bolivia. The SOS Children's Village Sucre cares for more than 110 children and more than 500 children and familes are given practical support through SOS Social Centres which work with local communities, providing day care and other services.

You can support children like Edwin by sponsoring a child in Bolivia.