¡Bienvenidos to our website!
Our idea
We at the Helping Hands Project Bolivia have been working with students of limited economic resources from La Paz and its surrounding areas since 2004. We have been supporting them throughout their studies and helping them to take their first steps into the world of work. So far, we have worked alongside more than 500 young people enabling them, with the help of our sponsors and supporters, to realize their dreams of an education and to achieve independence.
Our history
Originally focused on teenage boys who were forced to leave the state boys’ home at the age of 18, the Helping Hands Project now works with both girls and boys from orphanages and other social projects around La Paz, Bolivia.
Since 2004, more than 120 students have finished high school with the support of the Project, and more than 250 have finished a program of post secondary studies.
Creating a family feelING
The Helping Hands Project is an educational project which endeavours to give our students a safe and comfortable place that they can call home. Many of our students consider Helping Hands to be one big family, and this is an atmosphere that we actively try to foster.
““I feel very lucky to have entered the Project and I am very grateful for all the support it has given me during all the years I have been there. I also got to know many wonderful people and made friends. That is why I feel very much at home and these are the things I cannot forget.””
We aim to maintain close and personal contact with our Project participants, keeping a watchful eye on how they are progressing. We hold monthly meetings for our students in which we discuss a variety of important issues affecting young people. Should problems arise we do our very best to offer our support, practically, financially and emotionally.
Our students: a truly diverse group
This year in 2023 the Helping Hands Foundation is assisting 91 students, more than half of whom are girls. Some of our students attend high school and the remainder are pursuing a post secondary education. We have young people studying Gastronomy, Nursing, Education, Tourism, Languages, Systems Engineering, Commercial Engineering, Veterinary Medicine, Accounting, Economy, Early Childhood Education, Automobile Mechanics, Law, Medicine, Odontology, Psychology, Graphic Design, Hair Stylist, Social Work and more.
How to help
Financially, our students are largely supported through individual sponsorship. This sponsorship is spent in a variety of different ways depending on the individual student's needs. Generally the funds go toward purchasing school materials, paying for transportation to and from their school, providing rent for a room or paying for school fees. Our sponsors receive regular updates from their students including personal letters, photographs of the students and their grades.
In addition, some of our administrative costs are provided through donations by organizations from the UK, Europe and North America. Their help provides us with the security we need to maintain our office and all the services the office provides for our students, such as the use of computers, homework assistance, showers, and personal guidance.
Our supporters help our students in a variety of areas, easing often stressful financial burdens and allowing them to focus entirely on their studies and future goals. Should illness or injury occur, our students are not alone as we and their sponsors will support them during these difficult and expensive times
“The project helps me a lot with my studies. It also teaches me moral values that I didn’t have before, like solidarity, friendship, companionship, and much more. Most importantly, with the help of the project and the monthly meetings, I have learnt to be more friendly, more courteous and more helpful to my family.”
How to keep up to date
Every two months, we at the Helping Hands Project Bolivia, send a newsletter to our supporters to keep them informed. If you are interested we can add you to our mailing list.
If you would like to learn more about us, sponsor a student or make a one-off donation, check out our sponsorship and donation pages and please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Here at the Helping Hands Project, we love having visitors and volunteers, and we welcome any enquiries. ¡Todos son bienvenidos!
On our website, via facebook and through our newsletter, we aim to keep you updated with all that we are doing, so please do keep your eyes peeled!