What a bittersweet month it has
been! We have had to say goodbye to a fantastic group of both Bolivian and
British volunteers, while having to prepare and welcome our new group for the
next three months. Laura, Kav, Jonathan, Anita and Raquel have left big boots
to fill, but I am confident that our new British volunteers Antonella, Jade,
Kate and Leighanne will bring a lot to Up Close with all their experience and
passion. We also have two new Bolivian volunteers, Judith and Adriana who will
be working with Up Close for the next year and have already become part of the
Up Close family.
This cohort will see us
continuing with the work from last cohort; supporting and strengthening the
projects of Up Close, but with a few changes…
We are really excited to confirm that
this cohort we will be working with a local football coach to bring football
classes to Jupapina! Our cooperante, Judith, will be coordinating this project,
while our new volunteer Leighanne will be helping deliver classes. Leighanne
has been coaching football in the UK, and has also worked in South Africa
coaching young people, so I am excited to see what she can bring to the classes
for the children in Jupapina.
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| The first football class in Jupapina was a huge success! |
The ICS volunteers this cohort
will also be supporting Fundación Porvenir, which works with disabled children
through equine therapy. Both Adriana and Judith will be coordinating this
project, and Antonella and Jade will be supporting the foundation during their
time here. Antonella has ample experience working with both young people and
horses, while Jade has a passion for working with animals, as she is currently
studying veterinary sciences at university.
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| Adriana has already fallen in love with Fundación Porvenir |
This version of Nuestro Espacio, a
project which provides a safe and fun place for children to play through moral
and value-based activities and games, will be led by Kate, Antonella and Leighanne and
coordinated by Judith. Kate has worked with girl guides in the UK, as well as
coaching lacrosse to a variety of ages, so I am sure that they will make a fantastic team in leading the project.
Almost all of our British
volunteers will be helping out in Mallasa zoo during their mornings, with the
exception of Leighanne who will be providing support in the Valley of the Moon
Children’s Centre. The volunteers from the past cohort fell in love with both
of these projects, and I am sure that this will be no different in this cohort.
We will continue to work with the
Hermann Gmeiner high school in Mallasa (from which Judith graduated not too
long ago), through giving English classes which will look at world cultures
through the English language. The team which will be delivering these classes
are Kate, Jade and Antonella. This is a brand new experience for the
volunteers, as they have not taught English before, so it will be as much a
learning curve for them as it is for the students. Having seen the plans for
their classes over the next few weeks I am excited to see the students’
reaction, so watch this space!
We will also be working with the
Hermann Gmeiner school through providing self-esteem workshops. This was an
initiative of our previous volunteer, Raquel, and proved to be extremely
successful. We will be aiming to give the workshops on a monthly basis, and
will provide a space in which adolescents from the school can discuss and ask
questions about issues which affect young people, such as alcohol or bullying. The
team working on this will be Kate, Antonella and Adriana, and I am sure they
will continue to deliver high quality sessions this cohort.
I am absolutely thrilled with the
new ICS Up Close team, and I can’t wait to see them put all their previous
experience into practice in Jupapina and Mallasa. All the volunteers are full
of enthusiasm, passion and excitement, and I am sure they will maintain the
high standard and expectations left by the previous cohort.
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| The new Up Close team (from left to right): Bell, Adriana, Judith, Tristan, Bianca, Antonella, Fergus, Amanda, Jade, Kate, Cerys and Leighanne. |
Written by Cerys Tilston
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