Volunteering in Bolivia

In the heart of South America!

Bolivia is a landlocked country in the heart of South America, bordering Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile, stretching from the Central Andes to the Amazon. Due to the geographical conditions, Bolivia has very different climatic zones. On the one hand there is the Altiplano (highlands) with dry climate and average temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees during the day and at night around the cero. On the other side there are the lowlands and the Amazon with tropical humid climate around 30 degrees year-round.

Why should I do volunteer work in Bolivia?

Bolivia is considered the poorest country in South America and therefore there is a lot of need for voluntary help. Paradoxically, Bolivia has an immense wealth of natural resources and is scenically a beautiful travel destination, which would offer excellent conditions for ecotourism. Unfortunately, the country lacks the infrastructure, technology and know-how, and certainly the necessary interest of the responsible people for sustainable tourism or environmentally friendly dismantling of natural resources. Instead, huge areas of nature and habitat for endangered species are ruthlessly destroyed. Furthermore, many people suffer from poor basic services and live in great poverty.

Over the last decades, various social projects have been implemented in Bolivia to help the poorest of the poor, to provide a minimum level of education and health care or to get children off the streets. Nature and animal welfare projects fight against the destruction of biodiversity and rehabilitate hunted, maltreated or ill animals in animal welfare centers. When volunteering in Bolivia, can you really help where help is needed. Our volunteer projects in Bolivia are very well structured and have a big impact on those affected.

Which volunteer projects are there in Bolivia?

We offer volunteer services in Bolivia in diverse areas where you have the opportunity to actively support local people. In our offerings we have, for example, a volunteer program with children in Bolivia, that supports a kindergarten, an orphanage, a daycare or an afternoon care in the capital Sucre. During your volunteer work with children in Bolivia, you can plan activities for the children and help with daily tasks such as playing, painting, singing, sports, preparing meals. During your stay abroad in Bolivia, you will live with a host family (including half-board) or in a guest house (self-catering).

If you are more interested in the medical field, our volunteer work in the health center in Bolivia is suitable for you. Here you can help as a volunteer either in a center for handicapped children and adolescents or in a psychiatry and above all take care of the patients, organize leisure activities and support the nurses and doctors in their daily tasks. You can either stay in a host family with half-board or in a self-catering guest house.

If you are looking for something really out of the ordinary you can also take part in our volunteer project in a jungle community in Bolivia. You live and work in a small village in the middle of the Amazon jungle, with a long-established Indian tribe that has remained faithful to ancient ways of life and traditions. Here you can, for example, learn a lot about small farming, give English lessons for the locals or help serving the tourists of the ecotourism project on site. You live directly in the jungle community and get full-board.

In addition, we also have three different animal welfare projects in Bolivia to choose from where you can make your contribution to the protection of endangered species. Possible tasks here are for example the care of the animals, the preparation of food, the cleaning of the enclosures, etc. In these projects you live together with other volunteers in a Volunteer House and you receive board.

We offer volunteer projects in Bolivia in the following areas:

This link will take you to the volunteer opportunities that we offer in Bolivia:
 Volunteer projects in Bolivia

Registration for a volunteer project in Bolivia

No matter which of our volunteer projects in Bolivia you decide on, we are sure that you will have a unique and enriching time and will learn a lot about the locals. To register for one of our volunteer services fill out our registration form and our Volunteer Questionnaire and send both documents back to us. The Volunteer Questionnaire gives the project the opportunity to get to know you and your motivation a bit better. Contact us if you have further questions! Of course, we are happy to help with the selection of a suitable volunteer project!

Do I need Spanish for a volunteer service in Bolivia?

Language is an important medium to gain access to the culture and way of life of local people. Understanding the language enables you to interact with the locals, to learn more about their problems and also about their traditions and customs. A stay abroad is especially valuable if you can completely immerse yourself in the host country and become part of society. Our tip for all volunteers in Bolivia is therefore: Make a Spanish course in Bolivia before starting your volunteer project! The language course creates the basis of communication for your voluntary service and gives you the opportunity to get settled in Bolivia, to find your way around and to make friends with other language students.

If you already have previous knowledge of Spanish, you will probably need two weeks of language course. If you start from scratch, then you should plan at least 4 weeks to reach a level where you can communicate in most situations without problems with the local people. By the way, you can combine your volunteer service in Bolivia with a language trip to South America and take a Spanish course in another country. We offer 30 different language school schools!

We offer Spanish courses in the following city in Bolivia: