I would like to congratulate Christina Elles on her article telling about her experiences in Bolivia (“Bringing power to the people,” Aug. 18). I would also like to commend her on the work she has done and is doing there with the Energy for Development Program.

However, I am at odds with her statements about trash in the streets and loose dogs roaming the countryside. This unfair statement creates a false image of cities overrun by wild dogs and drowning under a sea of trash.

I was born in Bolivia and immigrated to the United States at the age of 27. As a small child I clearly remember rising in the mornings and helping my grandmother sweep the sidewalk and street in front of our house. This was a morning ritual practiced by my grandmother and all of the neighbors on my street. To do otherwise was a profound disgrace. The municipality was not expected to clean the mess created by its citizens. This responsibility was laid at the feet of those directly responsible. There were no street-cleaning machines to clean the mess once a week. The citizenry took care of this on a daily basis.

I have also had the opportunity to do some traveling over the years and would comment that the United States is one of the few countries in the world where I have seen cities with leash laws for dogs. I have no quarrel with leash laws. Leash laws serve an important purpose in the densely populated urban areas of the U.S. However, many of the cities in Bolivia, which still maintain a strong rural atmosphere, have not adopted these laws. Some specific districts have.

Nevertheless, I don’t recall ever walking the streets of Cochabamba, where my mother lives to this day, in fear of being shot in a “drive-by.” Bolivian citizens can leisurely walk the streets of their respective cities of an evening without these kinds of concerns. By comparison, in 2007 the United States experienced more than 16,200 murders, while Bolivia’s murder rate was less than 250 during the same period.

Yes, 70 percent of the citizenry of Bolivia is made up of an indigenous Indian population. A large percentage of these indigenous people are poor and uneducated. Though some, like Evo Morales — who rose from the very depths of poverty to become president of Bolivia — have proven this stereotype to also be wrong.

These indigenous people don’t have an overabundance of material wealth, but they are extremely hard-working and appreciative of the things they do have. They are always striving to make their lives better. They don’t waste their time worrying about luxuries or whining to the government for handouts or subsistence. Nevertheless, they live very healthy and happy lives.

Bolivia also has a highly-organized educational system comprised of public and private schools and universities. Students more often than not attend school for up to eight hours a day! Students have a sense of responsibility, respect and morality instilled in them, from a young age, for their families, teachers and themselves. Many specialty schools exist where the curriculum is taught in the languages of the world, to include German, French, English and Italian. Many students graduate from these specialty schools to attend colleges and universities not only in Bolivia, but in the many countries represented by these schools. As a consequence, almost without exception, students graduate from their respective schools and universities fluent in more than one language.

In addition to all of the aforementioned, a description of the Bolivian people is not complete without mentioning their caring and giving nature. Even the poorest of these people will welcome not just friends and family into their homes to share their meager fare but are particularly delighted to entertain and care for the needs of strangers and foreigners. “Mi casa es su casa” is spoken quite literally and given happily. We privileged few here in the U.S. could learn some important lessons from the people of Bolivia.

(Efishoff is a native of Bolivia and lives in Napa.)