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.

About the Author

Seomul Evans is a project manager and copywriter who contributes to Volunteer in Bolivia programs at Global Crossroad.