More and more long-term travelers like to combine their journey with some sort of volunteer job in one of the countries they visit. Others simply like to do volunteer work. Volunteering offers a great opportunity to learn the ins and outs of a culture, most likely in the less-fortunate part of society. El Centro Educativo Nanta in Sucre, in central Bolivia, is an interesting option when interested in working with children.
What is El Centro Educativo Nanta in Sucre?
El Centro Educativo Nanta has existed since 2000 and focuses on helping working children, such as shoeshine boys and kids who work in markets. Some of these children have to work to earn money for their parents, others find a job in order to finance their own education. They work long hours and often don't complete their high school education due to lack of funds or time.
What started as an enthusiastic initiative of Bolivian and foreign volunteers has grown into a professional, Bolivian NGO that receives its main portion of funding from abroad [mainly the Netherlands, but also Spain]. Furthermore, the centre organises fundraising activities in which the working children participate.
Housing of El Centro Educativo Nanta
The Centre has a multifunctional building downtown. Here, up to a hundred children [more on the weekends] daily receive a lunch for a symbolic figure. The building has several rooms where children do their homework, receive tutoring and can participate in art and music classes.
The children live with their families and don't spend the night here. The centre has a social worker who, among other things, is very busy involving parents in the schooling of their children – the Centre considers the parents to be responsible for their children and offers a helping hand in assisting them how to do this.
Nanta has one small children's home in Sucre for twelve boys between ten and eighteen. This home has been set up for a few children with a special background, who for a variety of reasons are no longer able to live at home.
What Kind of Volunteer Work Does the Education Centre of Nanta Offer?
Contrary to what some [potential] volunteers may expect, most organisations are not waiting for somebody to come in for just one week to do the dishes or to talk to children. It takes time to find your way around in an organisation and apart from funds, time is limited – work is done with as little staff as possible. If they invest time in showing volunteers around and making them feel at home, volunteers should also want to stay for a longer period of time.
The Education Centre asks and offers the following:
- Minimum stay of eight weeks.
- Preferably Spanish-speaking.
- Flexibility to participate in different tasks, such as tutoring, assisting in art and music classes, preparations of meals, chores such as cleaning, helping in fundraising activities, translating during tours given by the working children, etc.
- If possible, raising funds in one's home country, for example by finding padrinos [people who want to sponsor the schooling of a working child].
- Commitment. As said before when you work here as a volunteer, the Centre – and the children! – expect you to show up every day and not just when you feel like it.
Practicalities when Volunteering at the Education Centre Are:
- Accommodation is the volunteers' own responsibility. The Centre has a list with addresses and when needed, will help volunteers find accommodation.
- Volunteers can join the children for lunch [free of charge]. Other meals are the volunteers' own responsibility.
- Volunteers are expected to work six days a week [Sunday is free] and to be flexible in hours.
- It is possible to take Spanish lessons in Sucre [one's own responsibility, the Centre can help organise this]. When lessons are taken, the volunteer is expected to work half days.
Why Do Volunteer Work at Education Centre of Nanta in Bolivia?
As may be clear from the above, the Centre doesn't just want anybody to help out for a day or two. They search for dedicated volunteers who are committed to their job and are flexible in hours and doing chores. In return Nanta offers the opportunity to work with a great staff of about ten persons. Flexibility also means variety; apart from tutoring, volunteers can contribute in finding ways to raise funds or – depending on one's own skills and schooling – help the social worker in a variety of tasks.
Most of all, volunteering at the Education Centre of Nanta offers the opportunity to learn about Bolivia's less-fortunate. Volunteers will daily help many of the working children of Sucre and in doing so will themselves receive a greater insight into and understanding of the problems a country such as Bolivia has to deal with. Last but not least, Sucre is a great city to spend a longer period of time in. Read more about Good Reasons to Visit Sucre.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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