Para Los Niños does not require nor offer any kind of financial assistence to the volunteers.
Spanish is recomended but not mandatory.
Since 1995, Para Los Niños has functioned through the support and dedication of its volunteers. They are a valuable part of our organisation and we are constantly in need of people to dedicate time to our projects. Volunteers offer much needed support to workers in state run care homes and institutions, provide care and assistance to the children who reside in these homes and assist pln in coordination and training. If you feel you have time or skills that pln could use, join us!
Para Los Niños accepts volunteers all year round, from both Bolivia and abroad.Para Los Niños is responsible for the coordination of volunteers in 12 homes and institutions run by the social service department (SEDEGES) of La Paz and processes the permit and issues the volunteer card which gives the volunteer access to whichever home or institution they will be placed in.
Para Los Niños has a volunteer coordinator who is responsible for the liaison with SEDEGES for all volunteer issues and handles recruitment, placement and coordinates the volunteers for these 12 homes.
If you wish to enquire about volunteering please contact us at: volunteer@boliviapln.org
What volunteers do
Volunteers can assist in the daily care of the residents of homes including helping with their general care, play, other development activities or they can use their skills to support or coordinate one of the many activities or ongoing projects that Para Los Niños is implementing.
You can read volunteers stories here.
Who can volunteer
Anyone from 18 years of age and above, from any nationality, can volunteer.
If you are 15 – 18 years of age and wish to volunteer please contact the volunteer coordinator: volunteer@boliviapln.org
How to volunteer
To volunteer for Para Los Niños, you should fill the self-evaluation form indicating your skills, motivations and when you want to volunteer.
The Para Los Niños volunteer coordinator interviews all potential volunteers to determine their skills, experience, interests and suggest to them where they could perhaps be of most service in the time they have available. You should bring a photocopy of your passport and two photos (ID card size) to make the paperwork process quicker.
When the volunteer has been accepted, Para Los Niños provides an orientation day to introduce volunteers to the environments of the different homes where they have shown interest to work (it can be the same day as the interview).
Following this the volunteer and the volunteer coordinator decide together on a routine with regard to the timing and the activities that the volunteer will undertake.
Once the volunteers papers have been processed they can start work immediately.
Code of Conduct
Volunteers that work in SEDEGES homes and institutions under the coordination of Para Los Niños must adhere to the following general rules of conduct:
- sign in and present their volunteer card at the home they are allocated to
- attend placement at times and dates assigned to them
- adhere to rules of the home
- respect staff, children and activities of the home
- get prior permission from Para Los Niños before starting new activities for the homes
- not to enter homes on dates and times not assigned to them
- bring complaints, issues or grievances to the attention of Para Los Niños
- volunteers are not permitted to take photos of the children in the homes
- volunteers may not inquire about the backgrounds of the children in their care; this is a private and child protection issue
- volunteers must present themselves in a tidy, capable and punctual manner
Reasons for the termination of a volunteer’s agreement include:
- volunteers found to be involved in illegal activity or unprofessional conduct
- being in possession of or under the influence alcohol or drugs
- being in possession of any weapons while in the homes
- volunteers who fail to maintain professional and appropriate conduct towards the children in their care at all times
- use of violent or threatening behavior towards the children, members of staff, other volunteers or other persons within the homes
- volunteers who promote religious teachings, address specific themes or personal beliefs while working in the homes
