Posted by student EMILY FISCHER – Hola from Bolivia. I am spending my summer working at La Colónia Ecológica, an orphanage and afterschool center devoted to helping children and adolescents in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Founded in 2002 by Francisco Villanueva Torrez (Kiko) and Maria del Carmen Vargas Doria Medina (Carmen), La Colónia serves over 114 children, 30 of whom live at the center and have either been abandoned or whose parents work long hours in low paying jobs.
The organization works for the prevention and protection of child rights by providing children and youth with a safe and positive environment in which they can learn, play and have a sense of family. La Colónia focuses on keeping children off the street, preventing them from dropping out of school and raising academic levels. They strive to be environmentally sustainable and teach young people how to be mindful of the world that they live in.
My project has focused on making the center more environmentally friendly, both through greening initiatives and education. We have started a compost pile, a recycling program and last week CEDESOL, the organization my classmate Nicholas Hall is working with, delivered us a solar powered stove.
Next week I will be giving a presentation on solar energy, after which I’ll have two weeks left to finish my project. Time has flown by in Bolivia, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such an amazing organization and be introduced to such a wonderful country.
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