Discoveries of a Wanderer

There's a lot of love in Bolivia

Bolivia can give a new meaning to the word community. The family structure is very important – and the bonds that people have together can be inspiring to lonely hearts everywhere.

Luckily, a whole community can benefit from even one World Vision program that comes from child sponsorship.

How does sponsoring one child affect the whole community?

Child sponsorship pays for programs like feeding centers that provide needy families with healthy food. When a child has enough healthy food to eat, he or she can concentrate and retain more when they are in school.

Consequently, children will stay in school longer and receive a better education. And often with a good education, an individual can get a well-paying job. In time, money can be reinvested into the community.

By providing nutritious food to children today, communities will have better economic opportunities tomorrow.

What does this look like in real life?

Victoria with her kids

Victoria is not your typical 20 year-old. She is not only in high school, but she spends three days each week working as a preschool teacher. Victoria was sponsored as a child through World Vision, and this helped her have enough to eat and an education.

Now she’s the one giving back! We had the privilege of watching this young teacher at work, and I can tell you that she is wonderful as she works with her preschool kids.

When you sponsor a child, you are not only giving to the child, but you are giving to many individuals. A gift to one child can be a blessing to an entire community.

What do Bolivians hope for when it comes to their communities and families? Check out what ideas they’ve shared with me about the future!

• High-quality health care for their children
• Stop and reverse child malnutrition in their communities
• Higher wages for the products they produce
• That their special needs children are loved and treated well
• For Women’s Empowerment groups to continue to work towards gender equality

Sound familiar? The more I travel, the more I feel that people around the world are surprisingly alike.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

Photo copyright 2011 Amy Conner for World Vision.

Sadly, the children with special needs in Bolivia might be overlooked. There can be many reasons for this. The parents might work and be away from their children. Another possibility could be that they suffer from drug addiction. They might love their beautiful child but just not know how to care for their little one.

Local Bolivians that work for World Vision are trying to change the lives of these kids that need extra support and attention.

We recently went to one community where a 12 year-old boy named Arturo lived without being able to hear for over 10 years. World Vision workers wanted give him a hearing aid. At last, through World Vision Sponsorship, they were able to afford a hearing aid for him.

Arturo was so happy to be able to hear that he almost cried immediately after he started wearing his hearing aid! His Grandmother was in the room for the big event, and the whole community celebrated this moment together. Needless to say,  it was an incredible experience to watch this child hear for the first time.

Watch the video of Arturo and his Grandmother after he received his hearing aid.

Check out the moments we’ve captured in Bolivia – and be sure to check back for more photos of our journey! Photos copyright 2011 Amy Conner for World Vision.

A Bolivian Greeting!

Our Bloggers and World Vision Staff

A Young Student Leads a Bible Study

A Sponsor Meets Her Child and His Mother