Intern or Volunteer with a Grassroots Human Rights Organization in Bolivia

  Bolivia

Cochabamba

Term: Academic Year, Fall, Spring, Summer, Throughout the year, Trimester, Winter 
Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks
Dates: See FSD Website

Description: Examples of how you can support Human Rights initiatives in Bolivia:

* Develop informational campaigns and workshops regarding citizens rights for children, adolescents, and women.

* Support efforts to educate and inform community members about the lives of young girls and women living in the streets of Cochabamba. Offer training for at-risk girls to assertively exercise their rights and responsibilities.

* Provide legal counseling to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and victims of sexual and physical abuse. Promote the civil and human rights of people living with the virus.

* Support public policy campaigns geared toward health and education reform. Lobby government at the municipal, departmental, and national levels with concrete policy proposals.

* Provide environmental legal consulting to shift local policies around land use.

* Assist with an organization's activities in dealing with and preventing intra-familial abuse: Provide holistic socio-physical recuperation, education, counseling, and health support to women and children who suffer from abuse. Work with foster and adoptive families to get children out of abusive homes.

* Work with the inter-institutional committee to write the Charter of the city of Cochabamba.

For more opportunities in human rights in Bolivia, visit our website or contact us directly.

About FSD

The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to support underserved, international communities in a collaborative and sustainable manner. Our model incorporates three overlapping programs:

1. Sustainable Development Training Programs for Interns and Volunteers
FSD provides comprehensive training and immersion programs for interns and volunteers seeking hands-on experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Program participants come from countless professions and more than 300 universities worldwide to collaborate with our partner organizations on community-driven projects that reflect sustainable practices.

2. Grantmaking to Projects and Initiatives Led By Our Partner Organizations
Donations and grants given to FSD are used to support projects and initiatives implemented by our partner organizations, site teams, interns, and volunteers.

3. Sustainable Development of Community-Based Organizations
Our professional field staff, consultants, and program participants provide on-site technical training and capacity building to more than 200 community-based organizations.

Highlights: Development Issues Addressed by FSD in Bolivia
In September and October of 2003, amid fierce civil demonstrations protesting the management of natural gas reserves, 59 Bolivians were killed and 200 more were seriously injured at the hands of the military. The tragedy shocked the country and continues to be a source of tremendous national frustration since there has not been legal consequence for these human rights violations. The result of perpetual rights violations by the government against its people has fueled a palpable sense of desperation and anger. The president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada who was in office for only 14 months of his second run as Bolivias president, soon resigned and left for the United States. His brief, violent regime brutalized the country with serious rights violations, such as limiting freedom of press, homicide, genocide, and torture. In response, the Bolivian Supreme Court began investigating the excessive force used to quell the demonstrations, along with many other violations committed.

Domestic abuse is another extremely pressing issue in Bolivia. Abuse of women and children is widespread and often goes unreported or unpunished as the two groups currently have limited capacities to be agents for change. Overall, Bolivians could gain much through education of their basic human rights and empowerment to act on political issues that affect them.

FSD partners with local NGOs that address grassroots rights issues in a wide variety of areas. Whether implementing educational workshops for women and children, promoting rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, or providing legal counseling to victims of violence, your experience with FSD will submerse you into a subject that lies at the heart of Bolivias development struggle.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Depends on Program Selected; See FSD Website

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: FSD supports participants who boldly wish to initiate the change they believe is necessary in the developing world. Interns are passionate about sharing their practical knowledge, heart-felt enthusiasm, and economic resources with communities abroad that suffer unnecessary hardship. They wish to gain hands-on, grassroots development experience because they believe change is most powerfully cultivated on a community level. The aim is to experientially learn how their work can empower the community toward applying sustainable development solutions, rather than increasing reliance on foreign aid. Participants choose FSD because the program structure enables them to design and implement their own sustainable projects in collaboration with their host organization and the FSD Site Team. They are able to test their ideas and theories in the most direct way possible, giving them the experience and knowledge they seek. The flexibility of the host organizations allows for participants at all stages and levels of experience in international development to participate, thus opening the programs to a diverse group of capable applicants.

Age Range: 18-75

This Program is open to World Wide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Bolivia Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

Foundation for Sustainable Development's Mission Statement: FSD supports the efforts of grassroots organizations in the developing world that are working to better their communities, environments, and the economic opportunities around them. We believe community development is only sustainable if it empowers the people to effectively use and cultivate their own resources in a conscious manner. Through our programs, we aim to raise international awareness of the economic challenges in developing countries and to support cross-cultural communities in finding more effective solutions to development issues.

Year Founded: 1995