Virgen de Chapi Census
Our volunteers returned to the community of Virgen de Chapi on October 7, 2006, to conduct a census. We sought to gain a clear idea of the number of residents of the community, as well as information about their demographics. During our conversations with the families we also learned more about their needs. We are still in the process of tabulating complete statistics from the census, but here are some of the preliminary demographic results:
- Total number of families: 109
- Number of children (0 - 18 years of age): 232
- Total number of residents: 485
Some residents were not home when we visited. Therefore our numbers are lower limits and we estimate the total population of Virgen de Chapi to be between 485 and 550 people.
The families we interviewed had many comments about economic, educational, and infrastructure requirements that are not currently being met in the village. We hope that someday we will be able to help them with many of these issues, which include:
- Scarcity of potable water
- Lack of proper sewage system
- Access to health care
- Poor educational opportunities
