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.