Bolivia

If you are considering volunteering your time with Ecolibirum Adventures, please read this review.I believe that people who are already dedicating their money and time to volunteering should not be profited from. I found Ecolibrium Adventures through a mutual friend and made my first mistake by assuming this translated to trust. The founder spoke with me and addressed most of the stigma's about volunteering abroad and did a superb job convincing me that Ecolibrium was different. By the time I got off the phone with her, the questions I determined as key to going were answered and I made my payment. A week later I was on a flight that costed me $3000, to make a difference. After a 24 hour journey to Bolivia I started to find the expectations set by Ecolibrium were falling short. I was promised a detailed itinerary and still did not have it as I landed in a foreign country. I flew on a Friday at her advice and was told I would be taken around and my weekend would pass quickly and I would be more cultured. I arrived at the headmaster's school 2 hours after landing to be told to come back the next day for my first Spanish class and since I had this class scheduled I would not be able to join their weekend activities. I walked back to the apartment jet-lagged and weary and unable to reach Ecolibrium or get on the Internet (I was told finding Internet cafes was the easiest thing and that everyone had wi-fi yet I could not find even one cafe). The next day I waited an hour for the Spanish teacher who did not show up and found out later that she was not informed by the headmaster I had a lesson with her. Monday, my first day of school, the headmaster showed up an half hour late (and did not pick up my calls) and told me volunteers pay for her bus fare. We took an hour bus journey beyond the outskirts of town and she left right after handing a folder to the (other volunteer) teacher. It was shared that I had a background in teaching but after 10 minutes in the classroom I was signaled to follow the teacher and spent until lunch time peeling peas. Many other incidents followed similarly, and by the end of a short 2 week period every question I posed for Ecolibrium and every expectation was not met. Some disappointments were minor while others directly affected me such as how the city was shutdown for Carnival (and I had clearly told her my intention was to maximize my volunteer time, leaving me with 6 days of volunteering) or about being vegetarian (she said there would be abundances of restaurants though I barely found a vegetarian restaurant), or how easy it would be to reach her or get online, or the feeling that I was being exploited when my ride to the airport was included but the headmaster only confirmed it late the night before and informed me I needed to pay for the taxi that picked her up than me and dropped her back off after she "took" me to the airport. What probably hurt the most was my concern for where the money would go which Ecolibrium collected from me. I did a quick analysis and found there must have been a 40-50% markup and when I addressed it, I was informed the profit made was 'fair' to the work involved in organizing a trip. It does not take a lot of money to get by in South America. Overall, I felt the expectations set by Ecolibrium exceeded my dream volunteering experience. The actual support provided and fees charged for it (and the fact that my my trip was planned on the fly by Ecolibrium) fell short of making it the experience it could and should have been. If you are going to volunteer, do not rush into it, ask all the due questions, do not assume everything the organization tells you is going to happen, and explore choices beyond Ecolibirum. These experiences are meant to be memorable, make effective change, and not create bigger gaps between the poor and wealthy.

I wanted to travel Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia to see the main sites which the countries offered in each. The Frontier trip looked like it offered that, and it exactly did. I really enjoyed seeing that part of the world, there were some beautiful places - although the photos you take just don't do it justice. The trip was well organised and the itinerary was flexible enough for you to chose which places you would like to visit on a day to day basis (provided there was enough time). 1 month however is not long enough to explore these 3 countries, but I suppose one will always want more time in a country than they are given. I highly recommend this company for what they offered. Awesome experience.

I looked for a program that I could take my two children, ages 7 and 13, to volunteer in another country. After doing a lot of research, I found Projects Abroad and ended up working in an orphanage in Bolivia. It was important to me to have my children actively participate. From the moment we arrived, we were well taken care of by the Projects Abroad staff and placed with a host family that generously accommodated me and my family with their hospitality and home. Working in the orphanage was an incredible experience, one that neither me or my children will ever forget. I highly recommend this organization. There was a lot of pre planning that went into the process of going to Bolivia and Projects Abroad answered every question and guided us through each step. We were made to feel safe and felt if any problems should arise we could contact them at any time of day. Fortunately the program is very well run and we had no issues. I am hoping to do a lot more volunteering abroad and am relieved to have a lot of the leg work already done. It is scary to trust that an organization is reliable and responsible, but rest assured that is what we found. Lastly, this may or may not be within your budget. Students are often limited with funds, and wonder why they need to pay for volunteering. However, don't forget that food and shelter are covered, and you absolutely do need a well run office in case of sickness or the unexpected occurring. That was important to me having my two children, and probably important to a lot of parents sending their kids down to volunteer in another country. It was well worth it.

I love river kayaking in South America--both in Ecuador and Chile.
This time I wanted to see a different side of South America. I contacted
NGOabroad to see about volunteering. The Director of NGOabroad, Ann,
recommended if I wanted something far from my ordinary life that I volunteer
in Bolivia.
Whoa. It was other-worldly being so high in the Andes! I had to spend time
acclimatizing so I could handle the 14,000 feet elevation.
In Bolivia, being so high and dry, it's hard to make a living. High infant mortality and high
malnutrition were the challenges that Ann proposed that I help tackle. (I am
trained as a nutritionist.)

Because I am so crazy about river running, Ann & I talked about me perhaps
going to Uganda next year with NGOabroad. The upper Nile has some great
white water I think, and this time I will see if I can help the Congolese
refugees in Uganda tagged on the end of some kayaking on the upper Nile. I am impressed with the depth of knowledge at NGOAbroad.

Last year I traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia and arranged my volunteer project through Bolivia Volunteers.
They were simply the best. (I´d been volunteering a couple of times with other outfits.
Highlight of the trip for me was the weekend to Carnaval in Oruro that they arranged. What a blast !

A heads up if you´re wanting to go to Carnival this year - they are arranging something again this year.

It´s very difficult to choose between all the different organisations which offer Volunteer Projects but I can confirm that this one is excellent!
Providing excellent value for money, it is a family run organisation with vast experience and incredibly friendly service.
I´m having an awesome time!
In terms of projects, there are no limits! Let them know your dreams/skills and a project will be found especially for you.
Cochabamba is also a beautiful, safe and welcoming city with plenty scope for Volunteering, learning Spanish and trips out into Bolivia.
I could not recommend them highly enough.