Bolivia
Travel: La Paz
Carnaval
de Oruro Bolivia is a must see festival
Volunteer
in Bolivia Can Help Eco-Tourism and Conservation
Volunteer
in Bolivia Can Help Eco-Tourism and Conservation by Seomul
Evans
Latin America is a traveler's
paradise and Bolivia offers some of the most spectacular landscapes that
you as a volunteer will get to see. A geographically diverse country, Bolivia
is also multi-ethnic and has partial control over Lake Titicaca, which
is the highest navigable lake in the world at an elevation of 3,805 m.
Bolivia is also known as the Tibet of Americas as it is one of the most
remote countries in Latin America or for that matter the western hemisphere.
Why Volunteer In Bolivia
Volunteering in Bolivia
is an exotic experience because you will get to understand the Bolivian
way of life and take part in different types of conservation, eco-tourism,
and community development projects. You will get a first hand experience
into the various cultural and traditional aspects of Bolivian people. Apart
from this, the fact of the matter is that Bolivia has one of the highest
poverty levels in the Latin America and as a volunteer, you can make a
difference to the country's under-privileged population.
Types Of Projects Available
As a part of volunteering
in Bolivia, you will get to choose the kind of project you are interested
in. The different types if projects available include:
* Children with special needs:
There is a saying that all of us are born with a gift and so are you. The
important thing is how you use that gift to benefit others. The special
children of Bolivia are those who are either mentally retarded, physically
handicapped or suffer from critical illness. You can as a volunteer take
care of them and instill new hope and faith in them.
* School for the deaf: It
is always a special experience working with the deaf, blind and dumb people
and often we are reminded of how lucky we are. As a volunteer in Bolivia,
you can work with schools for the deaf people and educate them towards
becoming independent.
* Teaching: Imparting valuable
education through teaching is important and even more so in Bolivia where
lack of basic education is one of the main factors driving poverty. The
various teaching work that you can get involved in as a volunteer include
teaching languages like English, and Spanish; teaching science, social
science, economics etc.
* Conservation: There are
quite a few conservation related projects that you can volunteer for in
Bolivia. Bolivia has some of the most diverse environment and microhabitats
and you can work with environmentalists, researchers, and scientists on
conservation projects like breeding programs for wild animals in captivity,
tagging animals and monitoring their activity and breeding etc. You can
also work as a volunteer with the Santa Cruz Zoo or the Botanical gardens.
* Children's Orphanage: As
a volunteer in Bolivia, you can work with orphaned children by educating
them, playing with them, and helping them to grow up. Taking care of one
child is a full-time job and taking care of a bunch is going to be challenging
and interesting.
* Animal Rescue: This is
a different type of volunteer job although you don't need to have any prior
skill sets but compassion and a spirit of adventure will be enough. Animal
rescue work can vary from saving exotic animals in captivity to saving
the street dog in distress.
It is a challenging and interesting
work and you will be working closely with non-profit organizations and
expert animal trainers or handlers. Some of the volunteer projects will
involve working with the Machia National Park authority to protect the
animals within the park and to offer them a safe environment.
Volunteer in Bolivia Requirements
There are different types
of requirements for volunteering in Bolivia and some of the requirements
vary from project to project.
Age: The minimum age for
volunteering in Bolivia should be 18 or older. Languages: English
All volunteer programs in
Bolivia are open to participants from all over the world and to individuals,
families, and couples.
Fee and Other details
There is a fee attached to
each of the projects that you volunteer for. The fee is charged in advance
and is charged for the following:
1. Accommodation 2. Food/meals
3. Transportation within the region 4. Staff support 5. Training support:
This will include all types
of training materials 6. Spanish Classes 7. Orientation on arrival 8. Local
sightseeing & recreational activities.
Conclusion
Most of your needs as a volunteer
in Bolivia will be taken care of by the project coordinator during the
entire span of the project, which can vary from 2- 4 weeks and even more.
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