Info

Colombia has a huge family-oriented culture and orphans tend to be taken in by extended families or are even sometimes taken in by neighbors.

The centers for children in Colombia are not organized the way most people are used to seeing in the USA, UK or any other Western countries. Children from all over Colombia find themselves here in Bogota due to displacement from the more rural areas. Wars and fighting in the 1980s and early 1990s have forced thousands of families to flee their homes and head to the large cities. Without anywhere to live they have to share with whoever they can. These added men, women and children put a huge strain on the families who take them in and so the children are sent to ‘centers’ for certain hours of the day to receive education, interaction and food. Volunteers must understand that the children usually do not live at the Centre and are only there for a few hours in the day. We need as many volunteers as possible to ease the workload for the local workers who care for these children. These children are in desperate need for some love and attention and volunteers are the perfect people to get the job done.

IVHQ PLACEMENT: Hogar Madre Teresa
This is a centre for the children of central Bogota. Most of the children here have a family but they cannot afford to look after them. The care workers and sisters take in the children everyday just to give them shelter and feed them. There is a great need for volunteers here. There can be up to 40 children on one day and not nearly enough helpers to look after them properly. The volunteers' main job will be to keep the children entertained and care for them. They will be able to dance, play games and organize group activities with the children as well as teaching English and reading books with them. The work can also involve some cleaning, cooking and generally helping out with the feeding program. It is so entertaining to be in the company of these children, many volunteers feel they never want to leave. This project is 100 meters down the road from Hogar de Cristo (another IVHQ placement) easy and safe for volunteers just to go back and forward from each one if needs be. The sisters here also speak English very well so it is easy for all volunteers regardless of Spanish ability to communicate with the local staff. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in Colombia and not necessarily the one you will be working at.