Visiting Proyecto Horizonte in Bolivia

To say that Proyecto Horizonte is an incredible organization would be an understatement. The massive collaborative effort in Cochabamaba, Bolivia seriously blew me away!

I was introduced to the organization after meeting the CEO of a partner organization, The Orphaned Starfish, at the Sundance Film Festival. I was excited for the opportunity to visit another organization during my time in Bolivia. After spending a weekend in La Paz, we took a night bus down to Cochabamba where we would be spending a few days in the community of Ushpa Ushpa helping with Proyecto Horizonte.

Proyecto Horizonte – Ushpa Ushpa was founded in 2004 to build a day care center for children. The project grew to include a health care center and a school. Today there are 150 children between the ages of 1 to 6 years attending the 5 levels of the “Education Initial,” and a daycare program. A recently inaugurated school has 600 children between the ages of 6 to 14 years in attendance. During the evening hours, a school program for adults is also provided.

On top of the school, daycare center, and medical center, Proyecto Horizonte collaborates with The Orphaned Starfish, who built a computer center at the school, and also with Save The Children, who provides the curriculum for the computer classes and the training of the teachers.

Our time in Ushpa Ushpa was short, but we were able to help in a big way! The daycare center was in dire need of a plumbing system to provide running water to the bathroom sinks. I’m no stranger to water projects after working with Global Water Brigades in Honduras and was up for the challenge.

Gareth and I got to work cutting PVC pipes and fitting the pipe maze together to create a functioning system for sink faucets in the children’s bathrooms. On our third and last day with Proyecto Horizonte, we had completed both sink faucet systems in the girls and boys restrooms and helped start a new project to build a water purification system.

It was incredible how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together with the collaboration of so many organizations to bridge the gap between education, healthcare, and community development. A true Poyecto Horizonte!

Get involved with Proyecto Horizonte and donate or volunteer! Visit their website at http://www.ushpa-ushpa.com/