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