Become a volunteer!
There are many ways you can contribute to Performing Life. It doesn’t matter where you are, what skills you have, or how much time or money you can spare. We have lots of ways you can help! Performing Life’s volunteer opportunities are designed to allow national and international volunteers and interns to use their skills to help children and families who either live and/or work in the streets of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The current services and projects available at Performing Life have been developed and/or supported by past volunteers from all over the world.
We are always in search of new volunteers. Performing Life is a welcoming organization that gives volunteers the opportunity to bring their own ideas to the table, develop existing projects or create new ones, and make a real impact on youth and their families. We are a small organization, so any help is welcome!
We seek volunteers who are independent, free-thinking, and self-sufficient. Due to our limited staff and budget, many programs are primarily volunteer-run; therefore, volunteers must be responsible, goal oriented, hardworking individuals. Volunteering with Performing Life can be a highly rewarding experience for the volunteer, the youth, and organization.
Experiences from volunteers
Joséphine Maury, May – July 2016
France
I worked with the kids for two months teaching music. It wasn’t always easy to keep their attention, but it was worth the effort to see them enjoying the music that they are playing, both in the studio and in shows.
Danielle Elliott, August 2015
EE.UU
I started volunteering with Performing Life for two months through a Northwestern University and Foundation for Sustainable Development program. What started out as just a summer abroad turned into the best experience of my life.
Peter Chung, August 2015
EE.UU
I had the pleasure of volunteering with Performing Life for 8 weeks as a part of an international study abroad course at my university. The experience was unforgettable, and I learned so many things from these amazingly talented children.
Jorge Buendia, August 2015
EE.UU
In the Summer of 2015, I had the opportunity to visit Bolivia and volunteer with Performing Life. I had no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Clara Bernet, July 2015
Spain
I was a volunteer with Performing Life for two incredible months. Those months I will never forget. I have started with Circus in 2010 and since then I have not stopped.
Sopan (Sofi) Mohnot
EE.UU
”I briefly worked with Performing Life – only four weeks – but in that short time I could see how the program helps the participants a lot. I was working with the Circus Arts instructor in Quillacollo, helping kids get ready for their presentations. They are very talented and very easy to work with. The kids are even interested in painting! When I went to a presentation, I understood more clearly what the program does for the guys. All the acts they do require a lot of confidence and a great deal of practice. The program teachers both teaches them new abilities and helps them take on new responsibilities – for themselves, for their futures – and these are things they do not learn in school. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be part of your wonderful program!”
Naikel Blazquez
Spain
“Here in Spain I remember the days I spent among you with great longing. From my trip to Bolivia, the days I spent with you, no doubt, were the best part of my trip.
I was thinking of going as a volunteer to teach an acrobatics workshop for children, but in the end it was much more than that. For me it was a constant learning experience about the meaning of effort, struggle, achievement, motivation, and mutual aid. I learned that with enthusiasm and motivation you can create something great to help those most in need: children. I saw them taking responsibility for their homework, teaching their peers, and motivating themselves to achieve what they wanted to achieve…
During the performance in the main square, I saw the result of my effort to convey what I knew, and I could not hold back my tears because I knew that a part of me would stay with this amazing project, these wonderful children, and this community.
I hope I have contributed something through my workshop: I gave you my enthusiasm to create something, to keep fighting for change, to help the rest with my best smile. Thanks to everyone at Performing Life, and from across the pond, I am sending you the energy to continue.”
Anneleen Ophoff
Belgium
“During my travels in Bolivia I made a visit to Cochabamba. While there I met John Connell, and soon after I found myself asking for a volunteer job. Working with the Performing Life crew was probably one of the most interesting things that ever happened to me.
Because I studied film and photography, they asked me to direct a music video for the latest song, “Bajo el Puente,” produced by the youth in the Music Program. I studied the song’s lyrics and brainstormed with the others involved, and we later shot footage with Favio, the singer, and several street children who appear on the track. As I got to know each one of them, I learned about their lives: their drug abuse, the discrimination and violence they face, the fear and loneliness of life on the street. The days and nights I spent with them where simply unforgettable.
The respect, friendship and gratitude you get from the youth in the program is something I’ll carry in my heart forever. Having to leave Cochabamba to start my further studies back home was hard. But I hope to go back and be able to help out more children and more families working to create better lives for themselves.”
