Sponsored climb with Colonia Ecologica
Time is flying by, and in only 2 months we will be leaving Bolivia and heading for home. Therefore we decided to leave Colonia Ecologica on a high note – literally. Every year Kiko and Carmen organise a camping trip and climb of Cerro Tunari, the highest mountain in Central Bolivia, with some of the older residents and neighbourhood children. They invited us to join them this year, and it seemed a very apt way to say our goodbyes (or hasta luegos, as we will of course be returning to visit!). Therefore after we leave Cochabamba , we will travel in Bolivia for a few weeks and then return to Cochabamba for the hike. We are hoping to raise some money for the project through sponsorship of this event.
The hike will be taking place during the children’s winter holidays, in the last week in June. So far we are expecting 13 children to be hiking with us, with an age range of 10-17 years old. The plan is that we will be starting on the slopes at Payrumani, a nearby village, and will camp for the first night in a cave. The second night, after a day of climbing, will be spent under plastic sheets (they have not been able to afford to buy tents to sleep in) and on the third day we will reach the top of the mountain and then descend to the cave to camp, returning to Colonia on the fourth day. The ascent will take 2 ½ days, the descent 1 ½ days. The total ascent will be 2500m (8250 feet).
The photos below give you a view of the mountain Cerro Tunari from Cochabamba. We climbed the mountain not long ago, but we did it the easy way, taking a bus up to an altitude of 4400 metres and then going up and back in one day. The altitude has a huge effect on climbing ability – we were really struggling for breath towards the top, and you need to stop every few paces to stop your heart pounding in your ears! Therefore ascending a mere 700 meters took us about 5 hours. The views from the top made it worthwhile however. When we go in June it should be even clearer (and colder!) as it is the middle of winter at that time.
We would like to ask for your help in obtaining sponsorship for the climb - all money raised through sponsorship would go towards completing the orphanage at the project. At the moment, thanks to the generosity of donators, the top floor of the house has been partially built and almost all of the children are now living in it. We are aiming to raise enough to finish levelling and tiling the floors, finishing the walls and installing electricity. This would mean that the top floor of the house would be finished (except for the bathroom plumbing), and would cost approximately £1000.
If you would like to help us out by collecting sponsors, please print out the sponsorship form (see below) and ask anyone you know to sponsor us for the climb. Another possibility is that people could sponsor a particular child to make it to the top. The children who are accompanying us so far (subject to minor changes) are as follows:
Gabriela, age 14
Ana Maria, age 14
Rocío, age 12
Ana Ysaura, age 11
Yosely, age 14
Robert, age 11
Susi, age 17
Monica, age 15
Rosalía, age 15
Carla, age 13
Favio, age 17
Cesar, age 10
Gustavo, age 10
If you or anyone you know are interested in sponsoring a particular child, please contact us for photos and more information about any of the children.
Any money you collect can be sent to us or paid in to the charity bank account by cheque or direct debit:
account name: Charity Bolivia
sort code: 08-92-99
account number: 65149870
Bankrekening bij de Rabobank in Nederland
Rekeningnummer: 14.22.53.847
tnv: C.L. Hamnett te Naaldwijk
Beschrijving: Donatie Charity Bolivia
You can also use paypal to donate - for details see the donate page on the website.
Thank you very much for your time and interest.
Claire Hamnett and Gertjan Janszen
Charity Bolivia.
Click on the download button below for the sponsorship form in word format and save it on your computer.
View from Cerro Tunari
The hike will be taking place during the children’s winter holidays, in the last week in June. So far we are expecting 13 children to be hiking with us, with an age range of 10-17 years old. The plan is that we will be starting on the slopes at Payrumani, a nearby village, and will camp for the first night in a cave. The second night, after a day of climbing, will be spent under plastic sheets (they have not been able to afford to buy tents to sleep in) and on the third day we will reach the top of the mountain and then descend to the cave to camp, returning to Colonia on the fourth day. The ascent will take 2 ½ days, the descent 1 ½ days. The total ascent will be 2500m (8250 feet).
The photos below give you a view of the mountain Cerro Tunari from Cochabamba. We climbed the mountain not long ago, but we did it the easy way, taking a bus up to an altitude of 4400 metres and then going up and back in one day. The altitude has a huge effect on climbing ability – we were really struggling for breath towards the top, and you need to stop every few paces to stop your heart pounding in your ears! Therefore ascending a mere 700 meters took us about 5 hours. The views from the top made it worthwhile however. When we go in June it should be even clearer (and colder!) as it is the middle of winter at that time.
We would like to ask for your help in obtaining sponsorship for the climb - all money raised through sponsorship would go towards completing the orphanage at the project. At the moment, thanks to the generosity of donators, the top floor of the house has been partially built and almost all of the children are now living in it. We are aiming to raise enough to finish levelling and tiling the floors, finishing the walls and installing electricity. This would mean that the top floor of the house would be finished (except for the bathroom plumbing), and would cost approximately £1000.
If you would like to help us out by collecting sponsors, please print out the sponsorship form (see below) and ask anyone you know to sponsor us for the climb. Another possibility is that people could sponsor a particular child to make it to the top. The children who are accompanying us so far (subject to minor changes) are as follows:
Gabriela, age 14
Ana Maria, age 14
Rocío, age 12
Ana Ysaura, age 11
Yosely, age 14
Robert, age 11
Susi, age 17
Monica, age 15
Rosalía, age 15
Carla, age 13
Favio, age 17
Cesar, age 10
Gustavo, age 10
If you or anyone you know are interested in sponsoring a particular child, please contact us for photos and more information about any of the children.
Any money you collect can be sent to us or paid in to the charity bank account by cheque or direct debit:
account name: Charity Bolivia
sort code: 08-92-99
account number: 65149870
Bankrekening bij de Rabobank in Nederland
Rekeningnummer: 14.22.53.847
tnv: C.L. Hamnett te Naaldwijk
Beschrijving: Donatie Charity Bolivia
You can also use paypal to donate - for details see the donate page on the website.
Thank you very much for your time and interest.
Claire Hamnett and Gertjan Janszen
Charity Bolivia.
Click on the download button below for the sponsorship form in word format and save it on your computer.
View from Cerro Tunari
