Charity Bolivia - Colonia Ecologica (Blog)

Accusations against Colonia Ecologica and Charity Bolivia

2009-10-26T17:21:00.004-04:00

We regret that we are writing with some extremely sad and shocking news about Colonia Ecologica, the project that we have been supporting since 2004. It is our duty as a charity governed by UK law to be honest, open and transparent in all our transactions; therefore we are writing to you to inform you of the current situation.

Over the course of the last two weeks there have been a series of spurious and appalling accusations made by the Bolivian press about Colonia, about our charity, Charity Bolivia, and about Francisco Villanueva (Kiko) the founder of the project. These include allegations of sexual abuse and procurement of children for foreign adoption. This follows on from the closure of another Cochabamba children’s home last month.

We take these allegations very seriously and they should be properly investigated. At the same time, our website has been mistranslated and misquoted to invent these lies and we categorically deny any wrongdoing. We have been advised to state for the record that we operate as a fundraising charity for the project, and have no management role at Colonia Ecologica. The project was set up long before we became involved, and is managed independently.

As Charity Bolivia, we have always operated in good faith, in a transparent manner and accordance with our mission statement. We are therefore devastated to have to tell you that the residential part of children’s home was closed on Wednesday 13th October to the distress of all the children. Kiko was then arrested on Thursday afternoon for the alleged abuse of 3 children.

Following a subsequent ruling by the judge, we have since heard that the
non-residential part which helps children in the afternoons with school work has been allowed to remain open. As a result the trustees have decided to continue support payments to the project until we know more. Our prime concern is and always has been for the welfare of the children at the project who we do not believe to be at risk. For all of those who donate monthly payments to the charity, it is your choice as to whether or not these continue, and we fully understand any decision you make.

We know Kiko and Carmen personally, we trust them completely and correspond with them regularly. We therefore find it impossible to believe that there is any truth in any of the accusations and we still retain our faith in Kiko. As well as legal representation, Kiko and Carmen are also receiving local support - many of the families whose children they helped have been demonstrating and protesting Kiko’s innocence.

We would like to thank all donors sincerely for all your support. We will keep you informed of events as we get more concrete news and will do our best to answer individual queries.

Yours faithfully
Claire and Gertjan
Charity Bolivia

Journalistic Contamination

2009-10-20T14:22:00.008-04:00

If you have followed the news about Colonia Ecologica please click here and read the news article shown in the local newspaper in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Si usted ha seguido las noticias sobre Colonia Ecologica, por favor hagar click aqui y leen el artículo de noticias demostrado en el diario local en Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Los Tiempos, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Contaminación periodística
Por García Angelo Miguel - Periodista Invitado - 17/10/2009

Car boot sale

2009-08-05T12:28:00.002-04:00

In July, Gertjan and I raised some money for Colonia Ecologica (and also cleared out a lot of our stuff!) by selling our unwanted items, and those donated by friends and family, at a car boot sale in Burcott. We did a roaring trade and managed to get rid of a lot of stuff before the torrential rain set in at midday. In the end we raised just under £100, which was a good morning's work! We now also have space in our loft and camper van again! Thanks to all who donated things for us to sell.
Claire

3 Peaks Challenge - Completed

2009-07-19T04:48:00.001-04:00

Dear all,

Thank you all so much for sponsoring me. The event is now over but I will keep this page open for another week or so. You have all been very generous and your sponsorship is much appreciated. The money raised will go to Colonia Ecologica in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

About the challenge: We got the Gold Medal. It was a tough 24 hrs or should I say 17 hrs and 43 mins!! Only 13mins away from a platinum medal! We started the challenge at 18:40hr in Scotland. It was a very hot day but luckily we didn't have to start too early. The weather wasn't in our favour as it was too hot to set an even better time. 112 teams joined the event and we came 19th overall, the second fastest gold medal.

These are the times of the 3 climbs:

Ben Nevis: start - 18:40 / top - 20:33 / finish - 21:42 / total - 3:02hrs

Scafell Pike: start - 05:13 / top - 6:38 / finish - 7:37 / total - 2:24

Snowdon: start - 12:54 / finish - 14:16 / total - 1:22

A total of 11hrs is added as driving time. This time is the same for all the participating teams. We also had five minutes taken off for our kit check on Scafell Pike, giving us a total of 17 hrs 43 minutes.

Thanks again for your support. Don't worry if you think you have to sponsor me again next year, I don't think I will be able to do this ever again! It takes a lot out of you and you have to train very hard (especially if you have a desk job like me).

A special thanks to Claire (my wife) and Carina (my 2 year old daughter) for putting up with me through the training period. I will now be able to spend more time with them and do more enjoyable things. I would also like to thank Claire's parents for putting up the team at one of our training weekends and helping to look after Carina during the actual event.

3 Peaks Challenge

2009-06-16T04:50:00.000-04:00

I have set up a page on JustGiving.com to raise money for Colonia Ecologica. All money raised here will go directly to the completion of the Radio hut. For more information visit www.charity-bolivia.org

I am taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge 2009, climbing the highest mountains in mainland Britain in under 24 hours. We are attempting to complete the climb in under 19 hours for the Gold medal, and we may try for the Platinum medal, under 17.5 hours. Details are given below;

To climb consecutively the highest peaks in SCOTLAND (Ben Nevis 4,406 ft), ENGLAND (Scafell 3,206 ft), & WALES (Mount Snowdon 3,560 ft), also the travelling of 500 miles between the 3 Peaks, (by minibus) in under 24 hours.
Distance on foot = 20 miles (31 kms)
Height gained = 10,000 feet (3,050m)
Distance by road = 500 miles (800 kms)

If you would like to sponsor me for this event, please follow the instructions on this page. You could sponsor a fixed amount, and/or an extra amount per hour for each hour below 24 hours in which we complete the Challenge - giving us an incentive to go faster.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Charity Bolivia gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

Thank you for your support!

Reflections from Stephanie and Roberto, two volunteers

2009-06-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

Here is a summary from Stephanie and Roberto who spent some time earlier this year volunteering at Colonia. They had a huge impact on Colonia in the time they were there and their contributions were hugely appreciated by Kiko, Carmen and all the children.

Summary of our month in Colonia Ecologica, February 2009
As part of our 4-month trip across South America, my husband Roberto and I decided to spend time volunteering in Bolivia. We are both Spanish speakers (Roberto is Chilean, I am half Argentinean) and we wanted to discover Bolivia, a neighbouring country, from a social point of view as opposed to purely as tourists passing through. Our month at the Colonia Ecologica exceeded all our expectations in terms of what we were able to achieve in such a short time and what we learned from the children. As a civil engineer, Roberto was able to apply his technical construction skills in a myriad of different activities. He built a thermal solar panel from scratch (to heat water through the sun’s rays) with a group of 8 boys AND girls, using recycled and new materials and a lot of inventiveness. It was a race against the clock but, on our penultimate day, the shower was turned on and hot water came pouring down! The joy on everyone’s faces was uplifting and very moving. The thermal solar panel will be used by the children to wash before and after swimming in the pool. Kiko’s plan is also to encourage the 8 boys and girls to present a smaller version of the panel at an annual school science competition. If they manage this, there is no doubt they will win! Roberto was also busy repairing leaky roofs, designing a better drainage system & looking into better chlorine systems for the pool, among other stuff. I taught English every afternoon to two separate groups: the advanced children with whom I designed a magazine entirely written by them (in English!), and the beginners with whom I sang English songs, played bingo and generally tried to increase their understand of basic vocabulary and expressions. One month isn’t long enough at all unfortunately, but there are many other English-speaking volunteers at the Colonia who will continue these lessons.
One of the most important activities we were involved in was the implementation of a new water purification system through the sun’s rays. When we first heard of the simplicity of this method, we were astounded to find that this wasn’t more widely applied in all sunny, developing countries. SODIS stands for Solar Disinfection. It works by filling transparent, 2L plastic bottles with clear water (from a tap, a river or a well) and letting the bottles out in the sunshine for 6 hours (ideally from 9am to 3pm) on a roof or steady ledge. The combination of heat and UV rays not only warms the water but also kills all bacteria and pathogens. Many PhD papers have been written about this. Please see www.sodis.ch for more info. We worked with SODIS Cochabamba to implement this system in order to provide the children with safer drinking water than what they currently receive from the grid (which doctors warn against). There is now a dedicated SODIS corner and it seems the children in charge of implementing it have done a super job!
The Colonia is extremely well maintained. They have very good home, sanitary & study installations, with a proper bed & wardrobe for every one of the 34 children who live in the house permanently. They may not have hot running water for everyone’s showers but Kiko and Carmen both believe that cold showers are good for the spirit! They receive hot meals every day and a very affectionate, loving, collaborative family environment in which to grow up. It’s a happy place and, while nothing beats having a Mum and Dad to take care of you, Kiko and Carmen dedicate their entire days (and some nights) to making sure everyone is cared for, studies hard, is well nourished, makes friends and receives adult advice on everything ranging from dental hygiene to sexual education. It’s a wonderful place to grow up and many of the older children are aware of and thankful for everything Kiko and Carmen have sacrificed to make the Colonia what it is. We just hope the Colonia continues to offer support to these and many other Bolivian children who deserve nothing less.
Stephanie Dazin
May 2009

Volunteering at Colonia Ecologica

2009-02-11T09:25:00.004-04:00

This is taken from a blog entry from two volunteers, Stephanie and Roberto, who went out to work at Colonia at the start of this year.

"Volunteering in Colonia Ecologica has been incredible. We are both happy and motivated. Roberto has immersed himself in his duties with gusto. He is building a thermo-solar panel (to heat water) with a group of 9 kids aged 13 to 20. It´s not easy but he is really dedicated to the task. He teaches from 6 to 7pm every day, on Saturday mornings and on Sunday mornings. He is also busy helping out with the pool which has gone green and other bits and bobs related to construction, water supply and mathematics. There is so much to do... it´s never-ending!

I teach English every day for an hour. With the more advanced kids, I decided to create a magazine in English. I divided them into groups of 4 and each group is in charge of a section. We have Food, Fashion, Sport, World Music and Movie People. It´ll have to be entirely written in English. I am really impressed with this group. They are really great! The other group (the beginners) are a handful... some are really eager to learn more vocab but there are 2 very disruptive boys in the class who distract the others and make unhelpful comments during the entire lesson. C´est la vie. If they learn only 2 new words a day, I´m still happy!

When I don't teach English, I play with the younger kids and a really tiny puppy (with more fleas than hairs). We are at the Colonia for about 4 hours each day, after the kids come back from school. 35 kids sleep and live in the Colonia (ie have no parents) while about 60 come only in the afternoons and go home at 7pm. The Colonia is very well maintained, I wish you could see it. They have a main building with the bedrooms, kitchen, dining room; and then about 8 or so "study rooms" which are little individual houses or huts with a different theme in each: Africa, Chalet (made entirely of wood), Numeros (with lots of numbers painted on the walls), a teepee etc and they spend about 3 hours each afternoon in their study rooms doing homework. The garden is big with a pool, a football pitch and a big area for cultivation where they have sugar cane and maze for now. The group in charge of gardening prepared two more patches of earth last week which will be planted with something this week. No idea what yet.

The Colonia is a very positive, moving place, where the kids learn about responsibilities, work, study and team work. Of course they fight and there are tears but overall you can tell they love to be here. Kiko and Carmen are the two adults in charge. They have three biological children, but the others also call them Mamá and Papá. Kiko and Carmen have sacrificed everything for the Colonia: no weekends, no holidays, no time off, no savings, no earnings and no privacy. They used to be teachers, but 14 years ago gave it all up. Now they have over 30 sons and daughters and have managed to grow the Colonia from a tiny collection of tents to a well-established, safe, constructive, growing environment.

Of course the Colonia requires a lot of help from outside: donations of clothes, books, pens, food, you name it, come in at irregular intervals from people in Cochabamba. They also receive money from the US, the UK and Switzerland which allows them to buy the stuff they need. Noone goes hungry, everyone has a clean bed with sheets, a toothbrush and they all get two hot meals a day. Still, they will soon need to replace the batteries from the solar panels that provide them with electricity or they will be left in the dark - this is of major concern to Roberto. The kids need more school books to write in, their shoes aren´t really adequate (especially for some of the heavy building work they get involved in) and it would be great if they could build at least 2 more study rooms.
We´ve been incredibly moved by the Colonia. The kids are all fighters who cope with challenging situations, nose bleeds, mud on their faces or dry bread and just get on with it. In 2 weeks we continue travelling, which means there is little time left to build the solar panel and finish the magazine. Manos a la obra... "

Thank you to Stephanie and Roberto for all their hard work and enthusiasm during their time at the project, they have made a big difference in a relatively short time, for which we are all grateful.

Monthly update from Kiko and Carmen

2009-01-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

Monthly update from Kiko and Carmen – November 2008
This is an edited version of Kiko and Carmen’s monthly newsletter which we will be putting on the website blog regularly to keep you all informed; I have tried to translate it as clearly as I can while keeping as much of Kiko’s original style as possible.

“Hello friends. This month Wendell and Carlye visited us which was very enjoyable, we were very pleased to be able to show all the progress since they left, and to feel that Wendell and Carlye belong to the Colonia family.

The holidays are already approaching and we are planning and organizing the possible activities. On December 10, classes finish in the majority of schools and colleges and on 12th December, Maribel is graduating. This means that we will be doing the annual camping trip from the 14th to the 21st December, taking about 50 children , although we are lacking sleeping quarters for some.

We also have a new initiative to allow the children to see the sea; Bolivian children do not have the privilege to bathe in and to know the immensity of the ocean, they are only familiar with it through the television. The nearest country bordering the ocean is Chile, the city would be Arica. We will travel there by bike and plan to do this over five or six years, each year taking 10 or 11 children.
This year we expect to be pleasantly surprised by end of year school results, the members of Colonia are studying harder than in other years, each time there is greater responsibility and focus on studying. The new system of responsibilities within Colonia is working very well, it enables the children to learn more about Bolivian reality.

This month we had some bad luck that the rearview mirrors of the taxi were stolen; we left it parked as usual by the school where Darío has classes. We went to find these rearview mirrors to "Chinatown" where all stolen objects end up. In this neighbourhood you can find anything, since all is stolen. The police do not say anything since all this is organized in this neighbourhood. We found the mirrors but each one cost me 180 Bolivians, so 360 Bolivians in total. This made me quite angry; it is no-one’s fault but I am annoyed that this money comes out of our monthly expenses.

Edgar, a resident of Colonia had an accident playing football last month, and injured his forehead, Carmen had to transport him to the hospital to have stitches. We all had quite a fright since his face was covered with blood but all was well.
Cristofer is a boy who has been at Colonia for 7 months, he is a year and seven months of age and needs an operation to correct his legs, up to now we have been helping him with correct nutrition nappies, physiotherapy, consultations to the traumatologist, medicines, etc. Cristofer needs 2000 Bolivians for this operation before it can go ahead. The operacion will cost 1500 Bolivianos and some pre-op analysis needs to be done first. This operation itself will take place in the city of La Paz. . For this he needs to travel by bus and and to cover some expenses while there, which makes up the 2000 Bolivians. Cristofer would travel with his mother; she helps in Colonia with everything that is needed.

The new wooden Cabana is already finished, and we are using this with the radio and the television, it is a project to discover future vocations. Now it is only lacking some equipment, which we are working towards.

The volunteers up to now have been of a huge help and we are trying to integrate them more, for example Paola takes charge of transporting the children to the Dentist you gave them Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Lena is responsible for a cabana. Alison is with the small children and also with the older ones helping with the studying. Lena and Paola will be coming with us on the camping trip.

Dear friends, thanks for your support and patience, thanks to this these children have a decent life now and a better future. With affection Kiko and Carmen."

Calendars sold out!

2009-01-11T16:58:00.001-04:00

The Charity Bolivia Calendar 2009 was a big success and has sold out – thank you to all those who bought a calendar and donated money. In the end we raised over £400 this year – this money went towards the bike trip which Kiko and Carmen have started to do each year. The purpose of this trip is to enable the children to see the sea – as Bolivia is landlocked they have never been able to experience the sea and the plan is to take about 10 children each year to the coast in Chile, travelling by bus and by bike. Details of the trip taken will be posted on this blog – watch this space.

Fundraising at Oxford Community School

2008-08-16T16:54:00.004-04:00

Oxford Community School’s Year 8 held a charity fair again in July. Students had been learning about Colonia Ecologica as part of their citizenship lessons earlier in the term. Each class then had to come up with their own ideas for fundraising stalls to be stationed in the atrium on the day. On the day itself we had makeover stalls, face painting, decorate your own cake, guess the name of the teddy, lucky dips, cake stalls and many more. There was also a raffle with prizes kindly donated by OCS staff. The day was a great success, with stalls running from 10am until 1pm, and students were really enterprising in their ideas, teamwork and hard work on the day. In total, we raised £248.30 which was fabulous. The money will go towards an extra study hut for the children of Colonia Ecologica. Many thanks to all the students who took part and to the staff, particularly the Year 8 team and all those who supported us.

Bolivian newspaper article

2007-11-28T17:08:00.000-04:00

Leaving Colonia - Sarah Hodgson

2007-10-10T11:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-19T15:22:00.000-04:00

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.

The 500 mile Spain trek - Update

2007-09-17T17:02:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-09-12T15:18:00.000-04:00

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.

The 500 mile Spain trek underway

2007-09-10T14:49:00.001-04:00

500 mile Fundraising Walk across Spain

2007-09-03T15:05:00.001-04:00

For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the old pilgrimage route – El Camino de Santiago de Compostela – from the foot of the French Pyrenees, St Jean Pied de Port, to Santiago in North West Spain.

The journey takes 780km (or about 500 miles) and is for everyone - young, old, fit, unfit, religious or otherwise.

Caroline Driver and James Mill (as well as two other friends Nick and Louise) are walking the whole trail, starting on 3rd September 2007; the whole trek should take about five weeks depending on their fitness! They will stay in bunk hostels and monasteries along the way and walk over mountains and along the high arid flat plains of Spain to reach their final destination.

We hope you can sponsor them by donating a small amount towards the two charities they are supporting: Charity Bolivia and Children's Horizon.

Please click on the following link to donate:
Sponsor the 500 Mile Spain Trek

Warm regards
James Mill and Caroline Driver, Oxford, UK

Car boot sale

2007-08-19T15:32:00.000-04:00

We held a car boot sale in July to clear out a bit and to raise funds/awareness a little too. It was very successful; in just over two hours we managed to raise just over £100 for the charity. It is amazing what some people will buy! Thank you to residents of Cowley who bought from us and to everyone who donated things to sell. We are planning to repeat this soon as we have some stuff left over, so please bear this in mind if you have things you would like to get rid of - there is bound to be someone somewhere who wants to buy it!

3 Peaks Challenge

2007-07-09T14:28:00.000-04:00

The Three Peaks Challenge

Nine employees from MouchelParkman’s office in Abingdon (the company Gertjan works for) took part in the Three Peaks Challenge on 16 June 2007. This year the team decided to collect sponsorship money for Charity Bolivia.

The aim of the Three Peaks Challenge is to climb and travel between the highest mountains of Scotland, England and Wales within a set time of 24 hours. The mountains climbed are Ben Nevis in Scotland (1344 m), Scafell Pike in England (978 m), and Snowdon in Wales (1085 m). In all, the challenge involves some 42 km (26 miles) of ascent and descent, with total travel approaching 765 km (around 475 miles).

The team managed to finish the challenge in 20 hours and 38 minutes, beating last year’s time which was a great achievement. The total amount raised was £500.-. This money has gone towards paying for the latest study hut at Colonia which will contain recent newspapers and magazines and a noticeboard for displaying headlines and current events. The remaining money was used to repair the car which is used for additional transport to school.

Charity Bolivia would like to thank the Three Peaks Challenge Team: Greig Horton, Vic Green, Matt Quick, Tom Fry, Mark Curtis, Mat Rak, Ian Pedley, Norman Ashworth and Paul Gallagher. We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored the team.

Gertjan Janszen

Gobi Desert sponsored race

2007-05-20T14:06:00.000-04:00

Claire Boost, a friend of Sarah who is currently volunteering in Bolivia at Colonia Ecologica, is going to be taking part of the Gobi March starting on 17th June.

The Gobi March is a self-supported footrace across 150 miles (250 kilometres) of the Gobi Desert in China. The race consists of six stages, lasting 7 days, with distances ranging from 10 to 50 miles (20 - 80 kilometres) per stage. She will be experiencing a wide range of terrain and weather, with sand dunes up to 300m high and temperatures reaching 40 degrees.

Claire is collecting sponsor money for Charity Bolivia, and we would like to thank her for this and to wish her the best of luck in the race.

Claire and Gertjan

First impressions from our new volunteer

2007-03-16T07:19:00.000-04:00

First impressions from our new volunteer

Here is an entry from our volunteer Sarah Hodgson, who arrived recently at Colonia.

I’ve spent 5 weeks working at Colonia Ecologica and have really enjoyed every moment. The welcome I received on my first day was overwhelming with happy children clambering all over me, each keen to guide me around their home. Everyone was so welcoming and kind, I was particularly struck by the instinctive wish to share that runs throughout Colonia. I had arrived at meal time and was offered food from every plate!

Kiko and Carmen who envisaged, realised and now run Colonia are regarded by each of the fifty odd children as their mother and father. All volunteers are aunts and uncles, all children are brothers and sisters. This is where Colonia is unique. It is a family, and this is the crucial component that sets it apart from other organizations and makes it so successful. Children who in the past felt isolated and without any family now have an abundance of people caring and looking after them.

The place itself is designed entirely with the children in mind, with trees left growing inside the classrooms, a slide that takes you from the top of one building to the ground with maximum efficiency and all doorways and windows set at the perfect height for the children. The entire site works very well with the surrounding environment, only when you are within Colonia do you know it’s there. In this way Kiko and Carmen have achieved what they set out to do - to create a site that allows its residents to live as harmoniously as possible with its surrounding environment, which is largely rural. As much as possible of the surrounding vegetation has been preserved to the point that ladders have been created from close set trees to allow for alternative access to first floors!

With regards to the primary function of the organisation – the development and education of its children, Colonia excels. After school the children arrive at Colonia for lunch. Lunch is followed by an hour of work on Colonia itself. Each child has a responsibility towards the organisation, be it cleaning a classroom, sweeping an outside area or keeping the bus in its constant pristine condition! Following this work that not only keeps Colonia looking so well-kept but also instills in the children a respect for their surrounding environment its time for study. Each child is assigned a group and the adults offer all the support necessary to enable them to complete their homework.

I have been assigned 6 children to work with in a beautiful classroom whose walls are painted with African scenes and whose shelves are filled with cuddly versions of African animals. The children work hard at their school work and considering the length of their day, which begins at 8 in the morning, they are always good humoured and energetic. Once the homework is done it’s time for drawings to supplement the African murals and then tea.

I am happy to be involved with Colonia´s work and find the children, volunteers and Kiko and Carmen an inspiration. The construction of Colonia continues with the remaining temporary buildings, that are constructed from corrugated iron and plastic sheeting, in need of being replaced. Any donations would be greatly received with Charity Bolivia ensuring that every penny gets to Colonia Ecologica.

A new Trufi at last!

2007-02-16T07:18:00.000-04:00

Charity Bolivia is delighted to report that at long last, a new trufi (minibus) has been purchased for Colonia Ecologica. Kiko and Carmen had been looking out for a suitable vehicle and at last found one; the money was transferred and the trufi was purchased at the end of January, for the sum of $7500. This means that not only will the children be able to ride safely to school, but they will also be able to use the minibus for day trips to different places, camping trips such as the one before Christmas etc, which will really increase their quality of life. Therefore we would like to thank all of you who have donated money towards the purchase of this trufi.

Calendar 2007

2007-02-02T07:17:00.000-04:00

The sale of these calendars was again a success, with all agreeing that the new larger format was a big improvement on the calendars from the previous year. In the end we sold 94 calendars, and although we are still collecting money for some of them, it looks as though we will have raised well over £400. Thank you to everyone who bought a calendar; we are planning to produce them again for 2008 but with a slight difference, the main photos will be of wildlife in South America so that the calendar has wider appeal, and we can therefore sell more of them and raise even more money for Colonia Ecologica.

Charity Bolivia - Colonia Ecologica (Blog)

Accusations against Colonia Ecologica and Charity Bolivia

Journalistic Contamination

Car boot sale

3 Peaks Challenge - Completed

3 Peaks Challenge

Reflections from Stephanie and Roberto, two volunteers

Volunteering at Colonia Ecologica

Monthly update from Kiko and Carmen

Calendars sold out!

Fundraising at Oxford Community School

Bolivian newspaper article

Leaving Colonia - Sarah Hodgson

Plans for the future

Sponsored events

The 500 mile Spain trek - Update

Construction

A useful trufi!

The 500 mile Spain trek underway

500 mile Fundraising Walk across Spain

Car boot sale

3 Peaks Challenge

Gobi Desert sponsored race

First impressions from our new volunteer

A new Trufi at last!

Calendar 2007