Helping children in remote areas of the world is one of the ways Children Incorporated ensures that we are reaching families that are in the most need, who otherwise might not have a lot of resources to help them when they are living in poverty.
According to our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, students at our affiliated site, the Lourdes School, in Bolivia, are by far located in the most remote area in which we work — one that Luis himself had never visited until this past year.
Today, we hear from Luis as he talks about his visit to the school, and how our sponsors are offering support to children and families with no connection to the rest of Bolivia.
Luis was welcomed to the Lourdes School with a traditional dance performance by our sponsored children.
“The Lourdes School is located in the central-northern part of the Amazon valleys of Bolivia, in the town of Santa Ana del Yacuma, Beni Province, just a propeller engine plane flight away from Trinidad, the capital city of the province of Beni,” said Luis.
“This is the least connected province to the rest in the country, as roads are still not paved, and are flooded every time there is torrential rain in the area. The congregation running this program, Instituto Mariano del Apostolado Catolico, has two schools to administer in this area. They do so through a convenio (a special agreement) with the government, where the government pays teachers’ salaries, and the congregation has to maintain the schools, pay for special education, and cover additional programs. There is one more school run by Fe y Alegria, a local government alternative program financed by Spain that has a direct relationship and support from the Congregation, as they have to cover maintenance and pay for any additional programs they’d want to implement as well. All Children Incorporated enrolled children come from all these schools.”
“While visiting, I did a review of our policies and procedures with Sister Ana Vasquez, the person in charge of the congregation, and our volunteer coordinator. We discussed post pandemic issues, reports, children updates, and funding utilization. Sister Ana does a great job helping the children our sponsors support, and shared about the tremendous support that our program provides to the families,” explained Luis.
“Everyone was very appreciative of the Children Incorporated support, especially during these difficult times after the pandemic and after the more recent cost of living increase.”
“The facilities are in relatively good shape, but need some improvements that the Sister will recommend to us to see if we can support updates. I could really see how poverty is rampant among the children and families here, and the parents showed me how grateful they are for the help they receive by providing me with a small token of local food. Everyone brought a piece of the local cuisine for all to enjoy! It was truly a special cultural moment!”
“After I had a chance to taste all the food, I took some time to listen to the concerns the children had about their education. These conversations, along with touring the facility, made it easy to see how important and essential it is that our program support the children here. Before I knew it, it was time to return to Trinidad before dark, on that same small propeller plane. Everyone was very appreciative of the Children Incorporated support, especially during these difficult times after the pandemic and after the more recent cost of living increase,” said Luis.
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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?
You can sponsor a child in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child that is available for sponsorship.