Bolivian newspaper article

Leaving Colonia - Sarah Hodgson

I will be very sad to leave Colonia Ecologica next month but intend to stay in contact with everyone and return and visit one day. I would highly recommend working with Colonia to anyone considering volunteering in Bolivia for 6 - 12 months. It has been an extremely fun and fulfilling experience for me.


My first impressions arriving at Colonia have proved, as is not always the case, to be absolutely right. I found it to be a very happy community of people where children who have previously been denied their childhood are allowed to revel in it. Under the direction of Kiko and Carmen the children at Colonia are guided through their education and encouraged to explore all their potential. Within hours I felt a part of Colonia and everyday since have looked forward to arriving there and being greeted by 90 beaming children. Seeing all these familiar faces each day and learning from Kiko and Carmen so much about childcare has made my time in Bolivia unforgettable and priceless.


Twice weekly I teach Beginners English and have also been working with a group of fifteen children helping them to complete their homework. The latter often involves a lot of energy, persuasion and a rollercoaster of emotions, but always results in the homework being completed! I have seen some real development in each child even in such a short space of time. A great example of all that Colonia is achieving, with the support of Charity Bolivia, can be seen in a girl in my group, eight-year-old Lisbeth, who when I arrived was unable to read or write. She was being given homework that involved copying pages of words and yet she was unable to read the letters of the alphabet. Now, Lisbeth can read and write all 26 letters and is moving onto copying words and using punctuation. Her reading still remains behind but what strikes me as most important is how her attitude to study has changed. Where previously she would frequently cry during study time, ashamed of the work she was producing, and would ask “¿Está mal? – Is this bad?”, she now happily attends study, never cries and even asks ¿Está bien? – Is this good?”. She is now more confident, happy and enjoying her education whilst before she felt isolated and had very little self esteem.


Without Colonia´s support it is doubtful that Lisbeth could have made this kind of progress. With many of the children at Colonia coming from large families where either parent, or the single parent in many cases, have to work very long hours there simply is no time for them to provide educational support to their children.


Another example of the real difference Colonia is making can be seen in a brother and a sister, Limbert & Danitza, who arrived 2 months ago. On arrival they were withdrawn, shy and reluctant to do any work. They would refuse to enter the cabaña with the other children and would pretend they had no homework. Now, in a short space of time, they are more outgoing and are willing, at times demanding to do their work. The agreement with the children is that they must attend school and do any homework in order to continue attending Colonia. This incentive, to become part of the wonderful environment that is Colonia, has been enough to change Limbert and Danitza´s attitudes towards the education they receive. They are now appreciative of all that Carmen and Kiko offer, as well as the family atmosphere that pervades Colonia and are happy to work in order to enjoy the privilege of attending the centre.


During the 9 months Colonia has also been growing at an incredible rate. I have witnessed the opening of 2 new classroom areas, the building of the reading area, perimeter wall, the installation of the new toilets and showers and now the building of the kitchen and dining area. It is really exciting to see it grow and to see the children working for this growth. During one month, after lunch each day we all set about rolling the enormous tree trunks that had had to be cleared for the building of the wall around the centre. In some cases the trees were so big it required 15 people to roll them along. Each of these tree trunks had to have their bark stripped to allow the local school to use the wood for the building of their playground. With all this furious activity not once did a person have to ask for assistance as the willingness to help and the responsibility felt towards Colonia is inherent in the children. Even the children as young as four were happily involved stripping the bark, picking up sticks. This is one example that demonstrates the reciprocal relationship existing between the children and the centre and this is what I believe lies at the heart of Colonia´s success.


Sarah Hodgson

Plans for the future

The priorities that Kiko and Carmen have identified for future fundraising are as follows;
• Three more cabañas and a library above the existing one for the secondary school students. More and more children are attending Colonia and there needs to be more space for them to study and do their homework.
• Toilet block for the externos (children who don’t live there). Kiko has designed a toilet block to go by the entrance in the shape of a huge caterpillar; this would be one of the first things seen when coming into Colonia.
• The current metal shack to be replaced by a garage for the trufi, and some more rooms to be built above it to accommodate more children
• Caring for more children – although there are 27 children actually living there, there are many more who need help; for example there were often 40 children there for lunch during our visit in August. Many children can’t eat at home as their parents are away working during the day. Obviously if children are hungry when they arrive, then they can’t concentrate on doing their schoolwork.
• Money to pay staff to work at Colonia – they have two staff who were previously volunteers there and are now paid a nominal wage through funding from Mark and Stefanie in Switzerland. They would like to be able to pay more permanent staff to help out there.

Sponsored events

We have several people to whom we owe thanks for their sponsored activities. In no particular order we would like to thank the following;


Staff at Lancashire Rural Futures took part in the sponsored "Bike to Work" initiative in the summer, and together raised over £400. Thanks to those who took part and all who sponsored them, both at the Clitheroe and Leyland offices. We are intending to put this money towards paying for Dario’s cochleal implant and therapy.


Claire Boost took part in the Gobi Desert marathon and successfully completed the 150 mile marathon; money is still coming in for this and we would like to give her a huge thank you for her efforts, as well as thanking all her sponsors.


David Moore and his daughter Vanessa More took part in the BUPA Great Manchester Run and raised almost £100 for us – we will be using these funds to go towards the next phase of construction at Colonia Ecologica. Thanks to David and Vanessa and their sponsors.

The 500 mile Spain trek - Update

Hi there and greetings from the Camino de Santiago de
Compostella in rural Spain!


Today we have reached the half way point (Tempranillos
de Templarios) and have found a good computer so we
can finally write you all an update! What an epic
journey this is, it just seems to go on and on (we
feel like we´ve been walking for months already but
it´s been only 3 weeks!).


From the first day climbing over the Pyrenees, a
gruelling hike in the cold, fog and rain, to a very
hot 33 C yesterday, walking 17km across the mountain
plains without any shade - the hardships, the fun and
lots of time to contemplate life.


We´re now passing through the arid central plains of
Spain, it´s dry, brown and the sun is unrelenting.
It´s like being in another time out here - little
villages almost untouched by the modern world, rolling
fields of gold, and little pueblos(villages) with
traditional mud buildings.


One night when there was no room at the inn, we slept
outside on the grass, beneath the stars, 2
streetlights and the 15 minute dongs of the
churchbells. Surprisingly we all slept rather well and
rose before the larks, off on the road by 5.50am the
next day, guided by the milky way.


On arriving in the next town, Viana, at 9am, we
stopped for coffee and ran into full fiesta -
fireworks full of sweets, lots of wine and James and
Nick running the bulls! Looking rather scared but
adorned with traditional red neck-kerchiefs and
fortified with the local fire water (Pacharan)!, they
made it through and we finished the day dancing with
all the Grannies to the local rock band in the square!


Up again at 6.30am and on the road again.. and so it
goes on.


We are lucky to be doing this but have a serious
motivation for walking 500 miles, to raise funds for 2
local charities in Peru and Bolivia working to help
vulnerable children have a better start in life
through education and a safe home.


Thanks if you have already sponsored us. We are hoping
to raise 1500 pounds towards a new school for children
in a mountain village, outside Lima in Peru. This will
be the first time these children will have the chance
for an education and all the opportunities this
brings. We are also raising funds for an orphanage in
Cochabamba, Bolivia and more specifically for an
urgent ear operation for Dario, one of the children
there.


If you haven´t sponsored us and would like to please
click on the donate button below.





Very best wishes to all

James and Caroline

Construction

There has been an amazing amount of construction work done at Colonia in the last two years, as mentioned in our newsletter. Here we have included some photos to show what is going on. For a better idea of the progress made please visit our photo pages which show you how much has been built in the last 2 years.

A useful trufi!

A well used trufi!




Charity Bolivia paid for a new minibus for Colonia, which was purchased at the start of this year. While we were visiting in August, a trip was arranged to visit the circus. Gertjan and several of the volunteers attended and the trip was open to all children under 12. Kiko’s philosophy is that everyone should visit the circus at least once in their lives! As you can see from these photos, the minibus is being put to good use, with the record number of children in it being 34.