Background:
Ayni Ruway was established in 1995 to help incarcerated individuals in Cochabamba live dignified and healthy lives. The organization provides current and former inmates with educational, vocational, and emotional support in order to successfully reintegrate into society.

The primary goal of Ayni Ruway is to improve the lives of inmates and their families, many of whom are left to suffer with no means of income.  Services provided include educational, psychological and legal aid, skill shares and micro-enterprise projects.  Spouses are offered skills training so they can support themselves, and former inmates are provided career advice as well as skills training to help find employment upon release.

What once started off as a small NGO has now developed into a three-story community center with a wide range of professionals and volunteers from around the world.

Objectives:
Ayni Ruway’s central mission is to fight for the equality of inmates, former inmates and their families. By providing workshops and classes they hope to better the quality of life and facilitate integration of incarcerated individuals back into society. A key element of their work also includes violence and crime prevention for adolescents at risk of entering a life of crime. Ayni Ruway’s goals include:

• To offer educational, health and legal services within all Cochabamba prisons
• To provide workshops in art, music, computers, cooking etc. to young at-risk people
• To help inmates make an income by providing skill shares and training
• To offer childcare services for the children of current and former inmates
• To help with the marketing and distribution of goods produced by current and former inmates

Who does Ayni Ruway help?
Bolivian prisons have seen a large increase in numbers due to changes in the drug trafficking law stating that anyone caught is guilty until proven innocent. 60% of those imprisoned are on drug charges, two thirds of whom are awaiting trial and may be for many years.

Ayni Ruway also deals with current and potential buyers of products produced by inmates while in jail. These can be both domestic and international. The focus is on maintaining a constant relationship so that prisoners have a secure source of income.

Working conditions:
Ayni Ruway’s main office is located in the center of Cochabamba. It is open between 7am and 9pm, although office hours are usually from 9am to 6pm. The center also houses a restaurant and a gift shop, (both run by former inmates), a conference room and offices. Many volunteers would split time between the office and making visits to different prisons.

Program Supervisor:
Mr. Orlando Mengoa is Program Director and one of the founding members of Ayni Ruway. He is also the supervisor of all volunteers and interns. Mr. Mengoa specializes in the field of Human Rights and has over fifteen years of experience working in La Paz and Cochabamba.

Ayni Ruway Programs:

Violence Prevention:
Violence prevention constitutes an integral part of Ayni Ruway’s programs.  Included are skills training, recreational activities, drug abuse support and AA meetings.

Internship Opportunities Include:

• Develop a violence prevention program in a prison where one does not exist, or improve current programs
• Fundraise: maintain contact with current donors or locate potential donors
• Grant writing
• Increase cooperation with other institutions and organizations on a local and national level
• Conduct individual studies and writing of reports
• Raise awareness within the community

Micro-enterprises:
Currently the Bolivian government provides minimal support for inmates and their families in the form of three bolivianos (about $0.40) per day. Inmates must find their own means of food, clothing, education and other resources to support their families. Ayni Ruway helps run and support micro-enterprise projects to provide a steady source of income for current and former inmates. At present, Ayni Ruway promotes the production of over twenty-two different types of goods. Various micro-enterprises include:

• Bakery and laundry services at the San Sebastian Women’s Prison
• Bakery, woven & ceramic goods by former inmates of San Sebastian Women’s Prison
• Shoe Repair at the San Antonio Prison
• Carpentry at the El Abra Maximum Security Prison

Internship Opportunities Include:

• Assist in expanding current programs
• Marketing of goods
• Help create and expand projects for spouses of inmates
• Research potential community resources to help develop projects
• Improve current projects and research ways to further develop them
• Run a workshop/skill share

Childcare Services:
If an inmates’ family has no means to an income, the family is allowed to sleep in the jail, entering and leaving during the day. Ayni Ruway offers childcare services at the San Sebastian Women’s Prison, run by current inmates, and at its Castilla La Mancha community center, run by former inmates. The centers provide educational support and recreational activities in a safe environment.

Internship Opportunities Include:

• Teach, play, and interact with the children
• Develop and implement educational and recreational activities
• Fundraise
• Conduct research into expansion of childcare centers
• Work in conjunction with other institutions to develop and improve current services

Skills Training:
Ayni Ruway provides training and workshops to support inmates’ micro-enterprise efforts. This is important for generating an income from the production of goods such as clothing, shoes, painting, pottery, furniture and musical instruments. Some inmates opt to go into services such as bakery, laundry and metal work.

Internship Opportunities Include:

• Assisting in Workshops and developing ways to possibly improve them
• Develop and implement new workshops/skill shares
• Fundraise
• Marketing and promotion of goods produced by inmates
• Running a skills share project (past volunteers have taught computing and guitar classes)

Educational, health and legal services:
A key factor in Ayni Ruway’s mission is to provide educational, health, and legal assistance to current and former inmates. These services are generally provided by inmates themselves and volunteers, depending on experience, at the community center and at various prisons. Unfortunately, due to lack of human resources and funding, these services cannot be provided on a regular basis.

Internship Opportunities Include:

• Assist with current projects and look at ways to further their development
• Provide educational, health or legal services, (dependent upon experience)
• Fundraise
• Work in conjunction with other organizations to improve services available
• Write reports on current projects and develop ways to improve them

Volunteer/ Internship requirements:

• Intermediate Spanish
• Experience and/or knowledge in one or more relevant fields (i.e. counseling, marketing, education, paralegal work)
• Experience working with at-risk persons (valued but not necessary)
• Willingness to work in a prison environment
• Willingness to share a skill
• Motivated with good interpersonal skills
• Minimum commitment of 3 months