Our History
In February 1983, a group of Bolivian residents in London and British nationals met when news reached us of the great distress caused by the drought on the Altiplano (the high Andean plateau). We held our first fundraising event, which was an instant success and we were able to send urgently needed funds. What appeared to be a one-off event is now a thriving venture that will hopefully continue for a long time.
Since our inception we have supported dozens of initiatives and contributed over £418,000.00 in aid to Bolivia. Most of the projects we support are directed towards relieving poverty, advancing education and promoting the health of children, women, and the elderly living in deprived urban zones or in remote rural areas, including the Amazon.
The funds are sent to projects in different parts of the country. These funds are mainly sent to and are administered by established charitable organisations working in Bolivia. Friends of Bolivia has also representatives in Bolivia to monitor the use of the funds.
In June 1998, Friends of Bolivia was able to send USD $10,000 to reconstruct 15 homes in the peasant community of Montecillos, near Cochabamba. This area suffered a devastating earthquake in May 1998.
After the powerful thunderstorm that raged in the Department of La Paz in February 2002, we were able to send USD $9,655 to reconstruct the school of Jupapina in the district of Mallasa of La Paz. Not included in the above sum are several wheelchairs and parcels of children’s clothes sent to different institutions.
Committee
Friends of Bolivia is run entirely by volunteers, and we do all we can to ensure that our only expenses are those related to our fundraising events.
We are a membership-based charity, and our committee meets monthly to plan our fundraising activities and evaluate the projects we support.
Our Annual General Meeting is held in May each year, at which we report all our activities for the past year and elect new members to the Management Committee.
Roles within the committee are as follows:
- Chairperson
- Vice-Chair
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Projects Director
- Membership Secretary
- Communications Officer
If you would like us to keep you up to date with our fundraising events, please sign up to our mailing list…
