Help Bolivia Foundation

The Challenge

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America, with increasing migration of rural population, mostly illiterate and extremely poor, moving to urban centres such as El Alto. These migrant families are often divided as one or both parents are forced to leave their families to seek work elsewhere. The most vulnerable; women, children and adolescents remain. The city of El Alto, on the outskirts of La Paz has some of the highest rates of violence against women and children. A large number of these migrant families' children are faced with extreme poverty, poor educational support, malnutrition, insufficient health care and increased risk of sexual abuse and gang violence.

How We HELP

Help Bolivia Foundation is working in the Tahuantinsuyo Community Centre in El Alto on the outskirts of La Paz. The foundation alleviates poverty in Bolivia by providing Health, Education, and Lunch Programs to underprivileged children.

HELP Bolivia Mission Statement:

To relieve poverty in Bolivia by providing programs that deliver education, counselling and nutrition to underprivileged children as well as skills training to underprivileged women and youth.

Starfish Parable

One day, an old man was walking along a beach that was littered with thousands of starfish that had been washed ashore by the high tide. As he walked he came upon a young girl who was eagerly throwing the starfish back into the ocean, one by one.

Puzzled, the man looked at the girl and asked what she was doing. Without looking up from her task, the girl simply replied, “I’m saving these starfish, Sir”.

The old man chuckled aloud, “But, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. What difference can you make?”

The girl picked up a starfish, gently tossed it into the water and turning to the man, said, “I made a difference to that one, Sir!”

The old man looked thoughtfully at the small girl. And then he, too, began throwing starfish back into the ocean...