On January 21 promoters of the new Park for Study and Reflection in Bolivia signed a Sales Commitment Contract regarding the acquisition of the property where the new park will be located. The ‘Montecillo’ Park for Study and Reflection will be close to Cochabamba, Bolivia, and will be located in the community of Montecillo, in the municipality of Tiquipaya, Quillacollo Province, department of Cochabamba.
The property is 7035 m2 and contains a building that could be renovated and is presently in a satisfactory condition to be used as a work centre, namely a space for meetings and retreats for study and reflection. In order to finish paying for the property and to finance construction, organisers plan to launch a campaign for voluntary monetary contributions.
Alejandro González, a member of the Organising Commission of Montecillo Park, expressed that “there is still a long process to undergo, but the joy of having a new beacon of insight in Bolivia has started to irradiate and spread to all corners of the country.”
Next Sunday, on January 24, people from six different Bolivian cities will hold a meeting in order to become familiar with the park, to discuss future activities, and “to collectively plan how we will go about giving life to this sacred place,” stated Alejandro.
Alejandro, an activist with the Humanist Movement in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, emotionally expressed that “the Bolivian people are going through an incredible social process that should inspire the entire world, and now it is possible for the depth of humanism to make its contribution to people by offering them a path towards total renewal.”
Advocates of the creation of Parks for Study and Reflection throughout the world, who also belong to Universal Humanism and to Silo’s Message, define the parks as “open spaces for study and reflection in order to promote and deepen our own commitment to non-violence, love, and reciprocity in dealing with others.”
With regards to the objectives of these spaces, advocates explain that “We hope that a genuine wave of good feelings will emerge from them and will help reveal the Sacred that is in and around us, allowing us to understand that we are not alone in this world, nor in the infinite worlds.”
Presently there are numerous Parks for Study and Reflection: Manantiales and El Remanso (Chile), La Reja, Carcarañá and Kohanoff Parks (Argentina), Caucaia (Brazil), La Unión (Colombia), Red Bluff (United States), Toledo (Spain), Attigliano (Italy), Khandroli Ashram (India), and the historical Punta de Vacas Park on the border of Argentina and Chile, as well as others that just recently came into existence or will soon materialise in various countries in the world.
*(Translation provided by Jaimie Boyd Guevara)*
