LA COLONIA

Volunteer/ Internship requirements:

• Beginners Spanish
• Interest in working with children
• Motivated, patient, energetic
• There is no minimum commitment period

Background:
La Colonia is dedicated to helping children and young adolescents who have either been abandoned or whose parents work long hours in low paying jobs, such as street vending. The organization was founded in 2002 by Francisco Villanueva Torrez and Maria del Carmen Vargas Doria Medina, and works for the prevention and protection of child rights. Above all, La Colonia wants to provide children with familial support and a home. La Colonia offers a safe and positive environment in which the children can play and participate in extra curricular activities, obtain educational support, and most importantly, have a sense of family. La Colonia currently helps a total of 114 children, thirty of whom are permanent residents of the facility.

Objectives:
Approximately 500,000 children between the ages of six and nineteen work in the informal sector and are poorly paid and often exploited. Witnessing the reality of the situation, La Colonia saw the necessity to provide children with a safe environment in which they can grow. La Colonia focuses on keeping children off the street, preventing children from dropping out of school, and raising academic levels. For its residents, La Colonia is dedicated to providing a secure and comfortable living situation.

Who does La Colonia help?
The organization serves children and adolescents who are orphans, children who live or work on the streets but maintain contact with their families, or children who live with relatives because their parents have migrated elsewhere.

Working conditions:
La Colonia is situated in Tiquipaya, a half hour trufi ride from the center of Cochabamba. Every care is taken to ensure that the organization functions in an environmentally friendly manner and the children are taught to be environmentally conscious.

La Colonia Programs:

Study Huts:
There are ten study huts in La Colonia, with two in construction. Each hut has study space for seven children and is assigned a “study aunt or uncle” who help the children with their studies. Reading is a compulsory daily habit in an effort to increase vocabulary and general knowledge.

Volunteer/ internship opportunities include:

• Develop and run extra curricular activities
• Help with homework
• Create educational resources/activities
• Help with the construction of more study huts

La Colonia does not offer many set programs, as the organization focuses on educational support and general interaction with the children. La Colonia also encourages the children to strengthen their characters and expand their practical skills by participating in small projects involving minor manual labor. Along the same lines, all children are required to complete an hour of chores per day, including such tasks as cleaning, taking care of the orchard, washing up, mowing the lawn, cooking and general maintenance. Children and volunteers frequently engage in sports and other games that aid in the development of motor skills and physical potential. Children who excel in their academics are rewarded with such activities as camping, mountain climbing, hiking, and cycling.  In November 2007 a group of adolescents cycled from Cochabamba to Uyuni.

Program supervisor:
Francisco Villanueva Torrez