Futuro Juvenil

For two weeks now, I have been helping out at the children’s foundation, Futuro Juvenil.

Founded in 1968, the organization subsists without any government aid. The kids at Futuro Juvenil come from the poorest parts of Bogotá. Some have no family. One six-year-old girl had witnessed her Dad kill her mom in front of her.

The instant a child arrives in La Mesa, the mountain town where the kids live and grow, things begin to change for the better.

Well behaved and full of life, they wake up at 4:30 a.m. In the morning, they do chores and attend school. Later on, they return for lunch, homework, sports, and arts and crafts.

The kids also lend a hand on the farm, helping the foundation raise funds by selling the crops to England.

My role here is primarily to help in online fund raising for the organization. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

As mentioned by other bloggers, things move a little slowly in South America relative to the US. For example, it’s going to take Banco Bogota one month to obtain a debit card for receiving online donations.

I mention this not as a complaint, but as an acknowledgment of how things work here. This knowledge can be used to my advantage in making plans and setting expectations.

I am the only person in the organization who speaks English, so my native language is an asset in communication with individuals and organizations in the US and UK. Also of note, I am the only person who speaks imperfect Spanish, so I will have to do my best to overcome the inevitable language barriers.

The coming weeks will consist of learning the best practices of nonprofit marketing, developing content for the website, and making contacts with organizations that may support our cause.

The workers of the foundation have made it clear that they will provide we with whatever resources I need. They are kind, put up with my broken Spanish, and help me with any questions I have about Bogotá.

I feel comfortable here. Futuro Juvenil is an efficiently run organization – 80% of the donations go to the kids – with great people. Maybe I will be proved wrong, but it seems that I lucked out. What more could I ask for out of a volunteer experience?

North Bogota

Since 2007, I have been running a small business over the internet. It has enabled me freedom of time and freedom of location, for which I am very grateful.  Recently I got the itch to travel to Colombia and pursue a volunteer opportunity.

Colombia because of the great things I have heard from other travelers and the inaccurate perception of the country in American media. Volunteering because I need a change of pace from internet work and to expand my resume to include social work.

Not sure what type of social work. I have worked in the past tutoring elementary school students and with autistic adults, so they could be places to start. I am keeping things open-ended here on purpose because I am aware of how little I know; about Colombia and about what organizations/causes will appeal to me.

I am not part of the Peace Corps nor am I going as part of a graduate school program. When it comes to the non-profit/volunteer sector, I don’t have any connections. When looking for volunteer opportunities online, I found them to be:

A) Expensive: “Cost for the 6 week trip is $3000″
or
B) The organizations are looking for volunteers with a ton of experience.

I don’t have a lot of money and have even less experience. The trip to Bogota is an exploration of option C: a free volunteer opportunity for someone with minimal experience. This  will be the focus of my blog entries: from finding and working with organizations, to negotiating housing, to visiting the dentist, to extending my passport stamp. I aim to be very accessible to readers. Contact me whenever about whatever.

In my first week in Bogota, here are some things that I have thought about:

1. What is the best way to contact organizations? By email, phone, or should I just show up?

2. I have the perception in my mind that many non-profits will be in poorer, more dangerous sections of Bogota. How will I distinguish between places where I need to be cautious versus places where I need to stay away from?

Today, I will begin to contact a list of three organizations I compiled through the owner of my guesthouse.

So it begins now, I have been in Bogota since last Monday. I’m at square zero – aware that I know very little, but full of excitement about learning a little bit more.

(Editor’s note: this post is from Monday July 27th, published late due to technical difficulties with the blog)