"If anybody is looking for a place to volunteer in South America, look no further than Proyecto!" - Kathryn, United States

My final day of volunteering has come to a close and I leave for the United States tomorrow night. But before I finish this journey, I wanted to write one more post about the amazing organization that I have been volunteering for. 

That organization is Proyecto Horizonte located in Ushpa-Ushpa. They focus on healthcare, education, and local development.  I have been working with the education aspect by teaching English classes at a local school to students between the ages of 11 and 17. What amazes me about Proyecto is their dedication to improving the lives of the people in the community.  They want everyone to be educated and not just on science and math but also on living a healthy lifestyle. I have enjoyed getting to know everyone that works in the physiological department, the youth club, and the educational department. 

Another aspect of Proyecto is the volunteers that work there. During my time here there have been volunteers from the United States, Cananda, Germany, England and Bolivia. Volunteers travel from all over the world to work with this organization. Some stay as long as a year, while others volunteer for the summer. Each person has a different story but also comes from a different culture. During one conversation I am likely to hear English, Spanish, and German. One of the things that I will also remember about Proyecto is the chance to meet people from all over the world. 

I loved Proyecto ever since reading about them online before I came and when I was talking to the volunteer coordinator.  Although my first two weeks in Bolivia were an adjustment, the people at Proyecto supported me every step of the way.  Because of this organization, I have been able to learn about and appreciate the culture of Bolivia. If anybody is looking for a place to volunteer in South America,  look no further than Proyecto. Just do me a favor and know more about Bolivia and the city of Cochabamba than I did to try and prevent culture shock. 
The link to their website is below if anybody is looking for more information about this amazing organization. The website has information about volunteering, donating, or buying products from the local women's group. Feel free to email me or let me know if you have any questions as well!
http://www.ushpa-ushpa.com/

- Kathryn, United States

"My Eyes are starting to open"

How interesting is it to read about the experience of a Bolivian-born volunteer who lived most of his life in the United States?  

Christian writes about going away a on a little adventure to the rural Bolivia: 

"Man has this city opened my eyes and thoughts. As I try to observe myself in those little hours I have to myself at the end of the day I start looking back at my life back in the United States… This week I decided to go on a little adventure hours away from my homestay with a new friend I had made in Proyecto Horizonte, in a bus, no in a train, actually both. 

Excited to leave, we rushed to the Cancha (The central area for transportation, sales, and food) to catch our bus-train, unfortunately we underestimated how crowded it would be on a Saturday. Getting close to departure time we tried running but that was not an option for us as the fastest we could go was walking not mentioning getting lost in the way. Thankfully after getting out of the crowd we started running to buy our tickets and made it just on time. Astonished myself I have never seen a bus on train tracks and was excited for the trip I was about to adventure to. Unlike going on the roads we were able to see the rural parts of Bolivia which were beautiful in every way possible. Seeing the “Cholas” (Natives to Bolivia) in their natural habitats was interesting as a lot of families had farming fields, herds of animals, and mud houses. Of course there were some scary parts where the bus-train would start shaking back and forth violently as we cross bridges that are thousands of feet up high. 

Being able to see the different levels of Urbanizations as we visited many pueblos on the way to Mizque. The 6 hour train ride really made me reflect on my life seeing more than just a regular “American” lifestyle I’ve always seen. Seeing most of the people astonished and smiling because of a bus-train, kids playing around, and the many family driven jobs. I’ve been battling this thought my time I have been staying here, the thought of opportunity, emotion, and perspective. 

How many of the intelligent kids I come across with in Proyecto Horizonte never going to college because of opportunity, but at the same time live a happier life than the regularly stressed working American? Of course I do not speak for everyone but it’s something I hope to define more in the time here".

- Christian, United States

Experience with Proyecto Horizonte

I arrived in Cochabamba in the end of September. During the first weeks I tried to find my place in
Proyecto Horizonte and practice my Spanish. I worked at the kindergarten with two-years olds children. In
the kindergarten the days went through in the same way one after the other. We played with kids and took
care of them. We also taught children the numbers, colours and names of animals, vegetables and fruits. It
was fun because I was also learning Spanish with the kids.
After couple of weeks I started to work in the youth centre, too. It was great because I really like to work
with little bit older children. In the mornings I took part in different groups with children 7 to 12 years old. We practiced circus, arts and dance. We also just played with children or red to them. It was also so much
easier to practice my Spanish with them, because they spoke a lot. In the afternoons we worked with some other voluntaries with the youths. We had a group of aerobic and dance for the youths and a special group of the girls. I also organized a group of culture for children and youth. The idea of this group was to share experiences from other cultures with children and youth together with other voluntaries. So we got to know different cultures through plays, music, arts, and videos.
In the Proyecto we also made several events and trips. One night I helped to organized “La noche de
talentos”, “The evening of talents” event. There were a lot of kids and youth who performed skills they have learned in the Proyecto. There were singing, dancing, theatre, circus, playing drums and guitar and lot of other things. With little children we had a trip to close river, where we ate and played with them. When
holiday started we also had a lot of celebrations in the kindergarten and in the youth centre.  We had some
kind of “school ending party” in kindergarten where the oldest class got their diplomas and other class had dance performers. In the youth centre we had performers of circus and last days we ate cake and fruit saladwith children and youth.
All in all, I have done lot of different things in Proyecto and it has been fun. There were also many other
voluntaries which make the whole thing much easier.  We had a great time with planning and instructing
the activities for the children and youth. We also spent a lot of time together in the free time, so it made
this experience even better.

EASY AND YUMMY FUNDRAISER

 In the three years since I left Bolivia, I have been looking for ways to stay involved with Proyecto Horizonte.  It can seem difficult, because I feel so far away from the kids and families about whom I care so deeply.  What can I do for the people of Bolivia from my home in Santa Barbara, California?  It turns out, it's actually easy to stay involved by holding fundraisers and raising awareness within my own community!
   Last weekend, I hosted a fundraiser for Proyecto Horizonte at a nearby Chili's restaurant.  Setting up the fundraiser, called a Give Back Night, was so easy.  I simply contacted the restaurant, provided them with Bolivian Charity Foundation's tax ID number, and chose a date.  They provided me with custom-made flyers, which I was able to photocopy and hand out around town.  For every group that comes in with a flyer, Chili's donates a portion of the profits from their check!  I went in with a group of friends to eat, then hung out at the restaurant for a while to answer any questions that people had about Proyecto Horizonte.  We had a large number of people come in with flyers, so I'm excited to find out how much we raised!  We should be receiving the donation within a few weeks.
    While nothing compares to actually being in Cochabamba with our friends at Proyecto Horizonte, it's nice to know there are still ways to stay connected!  If you have any questions about hosting a similar Give Back Night, please feel free to contact me!

 Jenna Wolff

Volunteer happiness

It was a wonderful and sunny day, when I walked up the main street in Ushpa-Ushpa at the beginning of the holidays. Half way up the street I saw one of the kids of Proyecto Horizonte, who stuck his head out a garage door and I asked him how he was doing. His answer surprised me a lot, but also made me sad “I’m so bored” he said “I  would rather go to school, there is nothing to do here”. So I spontaneously decided to set up another little holiday program and promised to come back with games and learning activities. During the next few days I came back to the garage door several times and there were always more excited kids opening the door after I had knocked it. Their energy and curiosity was endless and made them constantly ask for new activities, so that I could hardly come up with new learning games in time. But although it was rather improvised and sometimes also pretty chaotic, the love and enthusiasm of the kids, who started to set out chairs and a desk in the middle of the sidewalk for further learning sessions also showed me that it was absolutely worth it. And it made me go home with a smile which was as bright as the ones I could see in the cute little faces of the kids. This happiness they gave me was the best recognition and better than any payment I could ever get!
From: Sarah Miehle-Honecker

Reconnection with Proyecto Horizonte in New York City

In January, I had the opportunity to meet the founder of Proyecto Horizonte, Christian Ruehmer, and work with other volunteers in supporting Proyecto Horizonte at the LatinFinance Awards Gala at Gotham Hall in New York City.  LatinFinance provides financial markets intelligence on Latin America and the Caribbean and publishes a magazine and daily news alert.  It also hosts conferences and other events, such as this one.  For the awards ceremony, Proyecto Horizonte was selected as the “charity of choice” and featured throughout the evening.  The gala showcased Proyecto Horizonte through an auction, a speech and video presented by Christian, and beautiful pledge cards, which highlight Proyecto Horizonte’s own children appreciatively thanking the new donors with their short, extended arms waving paper with letters that spell out, “GRACIAS”.

I first worked with the children of Proyecto Horizonte about two years ago when I volunteered onsite, tutoring after school in reading and writing and supporting the Tantakuna women’s group through marketing and research.  Since then, I have worked remotely with translations and marketing, still supporting the organization, but at a distance.   

As a part of preparing for and supporting Proyecto Horizonte at the LatinFinance event, volunteers supplied tables with pledge cards, set up the auction table, and talked about PH among ourselves and with potential donors.  Ramping up for the event was exciting and filled with anticipation, but after an evening filled with drinks, dinner, an awards ceremony, and the auction, we were exhausted. However, at the end of the four-hour event, we paused and gave a toast to Proyecto Horizonte, satisfied that what we did that evening would translate into changing lives.

The venue was beautiful, the evening went smoothly, and thankfully, our work that evening did raise funds for Proyecto Horizonte.  What was most meaningful to me was the chance to meet Christian and his family and other volunteers, like Brittany Denter, who are excited about and engaged with Proyecto Horizonte’s work.  Collaborating as a remote volunteer can sometimes be challenging, even with Facebook, Skype and all of the other technologies connecting us.  This event has helped me reconnect with Proyecto Horizonte’s mission and remember why it’s important to me to support the community of Mineros San Juan and to share the happiness I experienced while I was there walking through the bright Bolivian sunlight and chatting with the children.

---Ashley Lacy, Volunteer