AMISTAD MISSION

Mission:
To manifest Christ's love for the poor by helping Bolivian children and families in need.

For the past 33 years, Amistad has been combating the root causes of poverty in Bolivia and finding lasting ways of improving the lives of children and their families through the following programs:

Children's Village: Amistad provides a loving, Christian community to 60 abandoned, abused and orphaned Bolivian children living in one of seven “casas," homes. At Amistad, God's children experience reliable relationships, develop a personal friendship with Christ and receive the support they need to recover from their traumatic past.

Youth Houses: Amistad has two youth houses—one for teenage boys and another for teenage girls—that serve as transitional residences while these adolescents complete high school and technical school.

Independent Life: Following 1-2 years in the youth house, the young adults at Amistad transition to live independently in a rented room or apartment in the city. This transition occurs when youth are beginning their university or technical school studies. Often, a pair of youth move together to share a living space and facilitate an easier transition.

Amistad for Families: We work with families who are in danger of abandoning their children to orphanages and help to strengthen them to care for their children independently. Through daily nutritious meals, counseling, tutoring, parenting classes, home visits, spiritual formation, microloans, and family development plans, Amistad for Families combats the root causes of abuse and abandonment.

Amistad Mission is the only organization in Cochabamba that offers early spiritual formation in Levels 1 and 2 of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program.

Amistad Mission is the only organization in Cochabamba that raises large sibling groups in a Christian family environment from infancy to independent adulthood.

Amistad Mission is the only organization in Cochabamba that works comprehensively with families at risk of abandoning their children to orphanages by including every family member in the intervention program.

Amistad Mission provides lifelong bonds among and between friends in the U.S. and God's children in Bolivia.

The higher education program at Amistad has seen great success. All of the university students who we have supported and do support grew up at Amistad from a very young age. Each of the university and technical school students inspire younger generations at Amistad to pursue higher education. In some cases, these children literally see the success of older biological siblings and are motivated to follow this example. We believe that an emphasis on education is an essential component of self-sufficiency and a tool to equip these future leaders in the community.

Similarly, Amistad for Families has transformed the lives of many parents and children, who were once in danger of abandoning their children to orphanages. By strengthening families to keep them together, Amistad works to stop the cycle of abandonment before it begins.