Bolivia

Background Information:

Type of Experience: Community health; small primary care clinic (observation, community outreach opportunities); participation in work of CUBE (an advocacy, treatment and education center for victims of sexual violence)

Is a Temporary Medical License Required? No, as the rotation is not clinical in nature. 

Can a VISA be acquired upon arrival? Yes but preferable to obtain prior to arriving

Primary Language Spoken: Spanish 

Are language skills required in the primary spoken language: Yes. It is essential to be able to function independently in Spanish without need for an interpreter. 

Housing: provided by site; small apartment which may or may not be shared with other guests/volunteers.  A kitchen, bathroom, bedroom is included in the apartment. The bedroom would be private with a door, which locks with a key; the bathroom and kitchen are shared if other guests are present. 

The apartments are located in the “compound” owned by FUBE, the parent organization of CUBE. Fundacion Una Brisa de Esperanza.  Other Bolivian staff live there, as well as long-term non-Bolivian guests. It is enclosed with a gate and quite safe. It is located in the community of Chilimarca, a ‘suburb’ of Cochabamba. It is not encouraged to go walking around the neighborhood alone (especially for women), but safe to do so in pairs or with a small group. Culturally in that part of the city, running for exercise is unusual, so resident volunteers are encouraged to obtain a gym membership to the nearby gym and go there for exercise needs such as running. 

If other groups are staying on the FUBE property, there may be communal meals provided in the kitchen and dining area also in the compound. Otherwise, resident volunteers are expected to procure and prepare their own meals. Several local grocery stores and markets are accessible and local staff can help guide you there. 

Dress code: business-casual for clinic experiences, modest dress required for women (i.e. no short shorts for running/exercise; pants or longer skirts/dresses are fine for clinic and community outings), similar to US for men. 

Travel Medicines: see CDC for Bolivia for up to date information, take all prescription medicines in the prescription bottle

Required Vaccines: see CDC for Bolivia for up to date information, consider rabies vaccine

Brief Background/History:

The relationship with Jose Miguel de Angulo MD, MPH, his family (including his daughter Brisa de Angulo, MS, JD and founder of A Breeze of Hope Foundation/CUBE/FUBE) is over 10 years old and began through connections of Dr. Cindy Howard, Pediatrician and Director of the Division of Global Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota.  

Global Pediatrics has been fortunate to have this long-term partnership over the last decade, which has allowed residents to rotate in Chilimarca to observe and take part in the various facets of health-related work happening there. This has taken different shapes over the last years, as programs through MAP (Medical Assistance Program, with whom Jose Miguel and his wife Luz Stella are staff and country leaders) have shifted, and work with FUBE/CUBE has grown. 

A recent major step of growth in the work done by CUBE in Cochabamba and more nationally in Bolivia was the hosting of the first “Congreso” (conference) on best practices for attending to victims of sexual violence, co-hosted and sponsored with the Otto Bremer Center for Safe and Health Children in Minneapolis, MN. This partnership is another manifestation of the long relationship between FUBE/CUBE, the de Angulo family, and the University of Minnesota’s Global Pediatric division. The conference was a huge success, drawing international attendees from around South and Central America, as well as Bolivia, and with attendees numbering >400 and representing legal, social work, forensics, psychology and child advocacy professions.  Guest presenters from Minnesota and California joined the team from CUBE in presenting the Best Practices over 4 days in June 2018.