JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WIN AWARDS FOR INDIGENOUS CULTURE

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – Jehovah’s Witnesses have continued to win accolades on the international scene for exhibiting fine conduct wherever they are found.

The latest came from Bolivia, where the authorities have presented to them an award for exhibiting indigenous culture at their 3-day regional convention, which held at the Fundación para la Feria Internacional de Cochabamba (FEICOBOL) from October 27 -29, 2017.

Two institutions, FEICOBOL and Departmental Council of Cochabamba Culture gave them the awards.

Over 17,000 witnesses from over 20 countries attended the convention. Two Bolivian institutions were impressed by the extensive improvements the JWS made to the venue and for an exhibition they constructed displaying Bolivia’s diverse indigenous culture.

Some 4,900 Witnesses volunteered to refurbish the interior and exterior of the facility over the course of 15 days.

“Their work included painting, plumbing, and the installation of audio/video systems and networks. They also completed additional exterior work, which included gardening, and repairing benches and street lighting”, the JWS said in a statement.

President of the board of directors for FEICOBOL, Aldo Vacaflores who presented the award said, “We have been deeply impressed by the level of commitment of your church members. You have [invested] much enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to make this [convention] worthy of admiration by all who come. We are going to use this as a model,” he said.

In addition, the Departmental Council of Cochabamba Culture, a government office for the state of Cochabamba also gave an award to the Witnesses. Council President, Sdenka Fuentes personally thanked the Witnesses for choosing Cochabamba as the convention host city, citing the museum as a unique display of Bolivia’s diverse cultures.

Garth Goodman, a spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bolivia, states: “With six other cities tied in, this convention was a wonderful opportunity for a total of 49,320 people to worship together. We are glad that the community appreciated the respect we showed to our host country, Bolivia, and its unique indigenous cultures.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been providing Bible education in Bolivia since 1924. In the beginning of 2017, they achieved two milestones when they released translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures (“New Testament”) into Quechua and Aymara.