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There are so many ways to give back to leave the places visited better off because you were there, or to leave a better person because of your experience. Often it's both!
Go BIG has partnered with multiple organizations that protect children, animals, and landscapes. If schedules permit, and pre-approval is granted, micro-volunteering opportunities can be available in certain areas of the tour. The goal for these volunteering opportunities is to allow for Go BIG travelers to be introduced to some incredible organizations that are making a difference for individuals, communities, landscapes, animals, and the world as a whole. The hope is that these opportunities will inspire future engagement with these organizations or similar ones. Each organization is unique as are the opportunities available to engage with them. Some of the opportunities will allow for seeing completed projects that the organization was involved in, some will allow for meeting of the staff members, others will allow for direct involvement. The specific engagements possible for one tour date may not be available for all tour dates, and we will do our best to provide maximum engagement for those that are interested.
Give some of your scheduled free time to volunteer. We will organize it and provide transportation for you.
at an orphanage or community support organization.
at wildlife rescue & rehabilitation centers or domestic animal shelters.
Go BIG buys requested supplies and delivers them utilizing our tour transportation. Deliveries are made during non-tour itinerary times. Tour guests can take part by monetary contributions for the supplies or by joining the delivery team if they are so inclined, but taking part is completely optional.
Go BIG’s philosophy: Preservation through education and mindful travel. Tourism when done right, helps people (both traveler and host) appreciate what they have as a resource to be preserved.
Help yourself to a new perspective by getting to know some of the charitable organizations Go BIG supports.
Help spread knowledge and goodwill by giving a mini lecture of a subject that you know well.
Charitable Donations
Volunteer w Animals
Volunteer w People
Educate Yourself
Educate Others
We at GBT feel it is important to try to counterbalance any environmental footprint increases caused by travel-related services - we bypass the current voluntary carbon offsetting marketplace and offset our footprint independently.
To nurture community pride in the areas' unique ecosystems bolstered by community outreach initiatives that are grounded in environmental understanding based on research and education.
A community of foreign and domestic members that strive to balance growth with preservation in stewartship of the environment.
We highlight the innovative projects of partnering NGOS throughout the tours' tineraries (see organizational descriptions below).
We utilize GBT transportation to deliver donations and requested supplies to in need and often remote communities and organizations we have partnered with.
We, at the Helping Hands Project Bolivia, have been working with students of limited economic resources from La Paz and its surrounding areas since 2004. We have been supporting them throughout their studies and helping them to take their first steps into the world of work. So far, we have worked alongside more than 300 young people enabling them, with the help of our sponsors and supporters, to realize their dreams of an education and to achieve independence.
OUR HISTORY Originally focused on teenage boys who were forced to leave the state boys’ home at the age of 18, the Helping Hands Project now works with both girls and boys from orphanages and other social projects around La Paz, Bolivia.
Since 2004, more than 120 students have finished high school with the support of the Project, and more than 250 have finished a program of post-secondary studies.
OUR STUDENTS: A TRULY DIVERSE GROUP
This year in 2023 the Helping Hands Foundation is assisting 91 students, more than half of whom are girls. Some of our students attend high school and the remainder are pursuing a post secondary education. We have young people studying Gastronomy, Nursing, Education, Tourism, Languages, Systems Engineering, Commercial Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Accounting, Economy, Early Childhood Education, Automobile Mechanics, Law, Medicine, Odontology, Psychology, Graphic Design, Hair Stylist, Social Work and more.
HOW TO HELP
Financially, our students are largely supported through individual sponsorship. This sponsorship is spent in a variety of different ways depending on the individual student's needs. Generally the funds go toward purchasing school materials, paying for transportation to and from their school, providing rent for a room or paying for school fees. Our sponsors receive regular updates from their students including personal letters, photographs of the students and their grades.
In addition, some of our administrative costs are provided through donations by organizations from the UK, Europe and North America. Their help provides us with the security we need to maintain our office and all the services the office provides for our students, such as the use of computers, homework assistance, showers, and personal guidance.
Our supporters help our students in a variety of areas, easing often stressful financial burdens and allowing them to focus entirely on their studies and future goals. Should illness or injury occur, our students are not alone as we and their sponsors will support them during these difficult and expensive times
We are a non-profit, non-governmental, and independent organization working for the rights of children to live in a family. Worldwide, we are the largest organization providing direct childcare.
OUR PROMISE OF CARE Our commitment is to ensure that children all over the world enjoy the quality care they are entitled to. We seek to improve and learn from our experiences, our allies, and from childhood itself.
OUR VALUES
Commitment We fulfill our promises. Commitment is, above all, engaging with reality to transform it.
Trust We believe in every person. Trust generates adherence to a project and to the people who make it a reality.
Boldness We take actions that provoke radical change in children's lives.
Responsibility We are partners who convey trust. Responsibility expresses a duty and a special sensitivity to respond to the needs of others.
Plan International has been working in Bolivia for over 50 years to promote children’s rights and equality for girls.
Our work focuses on supporting children and young people to live free from poverty, violence and injustice. To achieve that, we work with a number of different partners as well as children, young people and their communities.
The rights of children and young people in Bolivia are central to all our work and we strive to be innovative and strengthen intercultural relations across the country.
Senda Verde was established in 2003 in the subtropical region east side of the Bolivian Andes in South America. Concerned about the urgent need to do something meaningful in favor of the natural world, Vicky and Marcelo decided to take hands-on action. They decided to devote their energy, effort and work to that noble and inspiring task.
OUR MISSION Senda Verde exists to save and shelter animals rescued from illegal trafficking and destruction of habitats and inspire people to value nature. The planet, our only home is under assault like never before. Humans are speeding extinction and altering the Natural World at an “unprecedented pace. Wild animals are innocent victims of cruelty and suffering. Only one out of ten that are taken from their habitat survives.
OUR VISION Guided by a purpose to create a healthier planet, our vision is a world richer in nature where wildlife thrives. The world’s nature and wildlife are facing unprecedented threats. Protecting wildlife is vital for the present as well as future generations. We make every effort to move people to action and play a bigger role in the future.
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is a Bolivian non-governmental organisation dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and care of wildlife that has fallen victim to illegal trafficking and other harm.
As Bolivia’s leading organisation in the fight for animal rights and wildlife care, CIWY works to combat the illegal wildlife trade and the destruction of the environment. We collaborate with the Bolivian authorities to enforce the law, to seize and rescue animals from poachers and merchants, as well as zoos when conditions do not meet legal requirements.
CIWY also rehabilitates wild animals that were injured by fires or other disasters. We conduct educational projects locally and nationally, as well as research projects, and scientific dissemination.
CIWY operates three wildlife sanctuaries distributed throughout Bolivia: Machía, Ambue Ari and Jacj Cuisi. Our sanctuaries are managed by a team of professionals and volunteers from around the world.
Our name reflects the ethnic diversity of Bolivia and our link with nature, by using words from the indigenous languages of the three main ethnic groups in Bolivia. “Inti” means “sun” in Quechua, “Wara” means “star” in Aymara, and “Yassi” means “moon” in Chiriguano-Guaraní. Bringing these languages together symbolises unity.
OUR MISSION CIWY rescues, rehabilitates and cares for wild animals seized from illegal trafficking, and fights to end the animal trade through educational programs, research projects and public actions.Through this work, we aim to inspire humankind to uphold values that promote conservation and the recuperation of biodiversity.
OUR VISION Our vision is a world in which wildlife thrives and lives freely in its natural habitat, free from the dangers of poaching and the destruction of its ecosystems.
Armonía means Harmony in Spanish: we strive to create harmony between nature and people.
Founded in 1996, Asociación Armonía quickly became Bolivia’s most effective conservation organization, working with local communities to protect the country’s wildlands and wildlife.
We are a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization with 14 conservation programs across the country that protect Bolivia’s natural heritage while supporting local communities.
OUR MISSION To conserve Bolivia’s birds and their habitats by empowering local people
Armonía was founded because no organization existed to save Bolivia’s most threatened birds from extinction, while encouraging local people to take action to conserve their natural heritage.
Our greatest success is engaging and empowering local communities and indigenous peoples – from the Andes to the Amazon. We have years of experience coupling environmental protection and raising awareness, with improved livelihoods and living standards for the Bolivian people.
Bolivia Kids works in partnership with Bolivian communities to improve the health, education, and well-being of children and youth. Together, we envision a world where all children have the opportunity to realize their full potential. Our goal is to improve the future of children by identifying and harnessing their strengths.
Bolivia Kids aims to tackle the root causes of inequality and collectively nurture each child's capacity to overcome barriers and realize their potential.
Parents and grandparents also benefit from education programs as well as their active involvement in project governance. Through their participation, they develop a supportive network of relationships that grow their capacity to provide for their children's developmental needs. Our team of instructors builds capacity in the larger community by providing teacher training and technical support to surrounding elementary schools, promoting child protection and family violence prevention, and working to challenge beliefs and attitudes that foster gender inequality.
Bolivia Kids strives to promote equality, develop sustainable solutions, and create collaborative and inclusive processes, with a particular focus on supporting children to exercise their rights, express their views, and participate actively in their communities. Addressing the current community needs is our immediate focus. However, Bolivia Kids and the children we work with have shared many dreams for the future, including a Canada-Bolivia youth exchange.
WHERE WE WORK
Project Sariry is located in the community of Tilata, just outside of El Alto and La Paz. It is a community on the rural/urban divide, and it is made up of rural migrant families who have come to the city in search of economic opportunities and better quality education and services for their children.
Since 2007, Bolivia Kids has been helping underprivileged children and their families build resilience and transcend poverty through literacy, life skills, and nutrition.
WHAT WE DO
Education Is one of the most powerful means to break the cycle of poverty and positively change a life trajectory. At Project Sariry, children receive enriched learning opportunities and support with their school work so that they reach higher levels of education. The children are actively involved in school governance. They learn their rights and how to advocate for them. Together, we strive to create a safe community hub where children and their families acquire knowledge, experience, and life skills that enable them to realize their full potential and participate as active members of their communities.
Health We work together to ensure the children's right to a healthy start in life. Each day, children receive a nutritious lunch, snacks, and additional vitamins if needed, to overcome and prevent malnutrition. Twice annually, children receive physical and dental check-ups. Instructors promote a healthy lifestyle to children and their parents, and also provide quality reproductive sexual health education. A key objective at Project Sariry is to ensure that all children have birth certificates so that they can access government services.
Equality Girls face unique barriers due to discrimination that can lead to gender-based violence, limited educational and economic opportunities, and early pregnancy. Gender inequality is a tragedy for individuals, their families, and society as a whole. At Project Sariry, girls are actively involved in all facets of program governance and take on many leadership roles. Instructors actively work with boys, young men, and fathers to champion gender equality.
Protection Household violence has a devastating impact on child development. Witnessing or experiencing violence creates toxic stress which can negatively impact brain development and healthy growth. The instructors at Project Sariry, including an on-site child psychologist, work with children, parents, schools and communities to promote children's rights and to support children in conflict situations. Children are also threatened in their community by human trafficking, which is a considerable problem in Bolivia. Project Sariry provides a safe environment to learn and play while parents are working.
Leadership Project Sariry provides many opportunities for children to develop their leadership and inform their world view. Children participate in music, theatre, dance, and recreation, including outdoor camping experiences and visits to important cultural and heritage sites. These off-site activities provide wonderful opportunities for children to learn more about the environment, their Aymara cultural values and traditions, and to build confidence and community.
Bolivia, similar to its neighbors in the region, continues to experience rapid urbanization with the most vulnerable families settling in peri-urban areas in precarious housing conditions. More than 67% of the population lives in urban areas, concentrated primarily in the metropolitan center. It is estimated that 80% of the population will be urban by 2030.
According to the National Institute of Statistics data, the qualitative shortage is characterized by severe overcrowding, experienced by approximately 30% of the families. In 24% of cases, three or more people sleep in a single room and an estimated 31% of the population has inadequate living conditions.
HOW HABITAT ADDRESSES THE NEED
Advocacy
We promote regulatory and/or procedural changes that facilitate access to decent housing through close cooperation with the Housing and Habitat Vice Ministry, and in partnering with civil society organizations and grassroots organizations. We are part of the National Network of Human Settlements, the Popular Habitat Committee, the Coordinator of Canadian Civil Society Organizations in Bolivia, the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies in Bolivia, and the Habitat International Coalition, among others. We also advocate in the market systems through institutional technical assistance.
Housing Assistance Services
We provide technical assistance for the self-construction of new homes, repairs, improvements, and rehabilitations, according to the needs of each family. We also strengthen peri-urban communities to improve their participation in local planning, access to basic services, and the management of public spaces.
Since 2020, we initiated specific water, sanitation, and hygiene or WASH projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the needs of vulnerable families, so that they can have safe housing with a bathroom, kitchen, laundry area, and access to drinking water.
Considering that the construction sector is vital for post-COVID-19 economic recovery, we trained and supported women construction workers to strengthen their technical skills in plumbing, electricity, and painting, and thus improve their employability.
The Natura Bolivia Foundation was established in 2003 with the aim of undertaking biodiversity conservation actions and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources to contribute to improving the quality of life for the Bolivian population. Our main objective is to assist communities in protecting their water sources through forest conservation. We pursue this goal by implementing Reciprocal Agreements for Water (ARA), which, in their execution, consolidate local institutions that carry out activities in favor of conserving water sources in the Tropical Andes of South America. Currently, these agreements involve more than 70 municipalities in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, benefiting approximately 200,000 water users who invest in water source conservation. In return for receiving productive alternatives, around 12,000 families conserve approximately 400,000 hectares of forest. All of this has been achieved in partnership with local stakeholders such as municipalities, water cooperatives, private companies, and international cooperation.
We are pioneers in implementing agreements for forest conservation, and we are the first in the world to establish impact assessment mechanisms for such actions to better understand their effectiveness in the realms of conservation and development. This is why we have received various international awards and recognitions.
