Yapay Bolivia provides holistic care for orphaned and vulnerable children—nourishing their bodies, supporting their education, and helping them heal and grow.
An orphanage of hope in Cochabamba, Bolivia
In Bolivia, more than 350 children have been orphaned by femicide—
… left without protection, stability, or access to the psychological care needed for healing. Vida Nueva provides the comprehensive support they need to heal, grow, and rebuild their futures.
Many of these children witnessed extreme violence, lost both parents in a single moment, and now face severe trauma, poverty, and disrupted education. With no government safety net, they are at heightened risk for exploitation, hunger, and continued cycles of violence. Vida Nueva exists to fill this critical gap by providing holistic support for children living in the Ciudad de la Bondad children’s home and for those living with extended family in poverty. Through structured family environments, monthly scholarships, educational assistance, trauma therapy, caregiver training, legal support, healthcare, and nutritional aid, the program ensures each child receives safety, consistency, and the tools to rebuild their future.
Vida Nueva’s multidisciplinary team—including psychologists, social workers, and seven trained surrogate mothers—provides continuous monitoring and in-home therapy, delivering school supplies, food, hygiene kits, and emotional support during each visit. For external orphans, families receive monthly training on violence prevention and parenting, as well as literacy support for grandparents caring for children. Beds, mattresses, sewage access, and other basic needs are also supplied to improve living conditions. By promoting education, vocational skills, emotional recovery, and personal development, Vida Nueva breaks cycles of poverty and violence, offering children not only stability today but a pathway to a hopeful, empowered future.
Safe after school care for children in rural Sucre, Bolivia
40% of children in rural Bolivia suffer from chronic malnutrition.
A group of local Bolivian women are trying to change that. Musuq Sunqu, Quechua for “New Heart,” is a non-profit day care and after-school care center in Sucre serving poverty-stricken families who have recently emigrated from underdeveloped areas of the Bolivian countryside. Musuq Sunqu children, ranging in age from 3 to 14, receive help with their schoolwork (including learning Spanish, which for many of the children is a second language), and also are fed three square meals and a snack every day.
Ana María Cardoso, Musuq Sunqu’s director, was concerned about the adolescent children served by Musuq Sunqu who are tempted to join local gangs. In order to assist Ana Maria’s labor of love, Yapay Bolivia provided funding for an additional staff member and kindergarten class teacher, Silvia, in 2018 to enhance the capacity of Ana Maria’s team and to ensure the children of Musuq Sunqu stay on track toward a healthy and successful life
An orphanage of hope in Cochabamba, Bolivia
Over 200,000 Bolivian children live in extreme poverty. We wanted to combat that in a direct way.
The Ciudad de la Bondad (translated as “City of Kindness”) exists to provide a refuge for orphan children suffering from abuse or abandonment. The organization is run and staffed entirely by women (known on the site as “mothers”), including an on-site therapist.
These women care for the children, offer them regular medical care, and teach them life skills based on a self-sufficiency model. Most of the children in the home are trauma victims, however because of the love, structure, and programs at Ciudad de la Bondad, they are happy and progressing.
The Ciudad, in its desires to expand its capacity, expressed the need to finish construction on one of three on-site residential buildings. In 2018, with the help of a large group of volunteers, funds were donated, and the final residential building was completed.
Additionally, home appliances were purchased using donated funds, including a refrigerator, washer, blender, six-burner stove, cookware, dishwasher, sinks and fixtures, all drastically increasing the Ciudad’s ability to house and care for more children in need. Because of the rural setting of the Ciudad de la Bondad, kidnappings and security of the site were a problem. Thanks to generous financial donors in 2017, the Yapay Bolivia Foundation oversaw the construction a security fence, offering protection and peace of mind to the children and staff.
Chicken coops and chickens were also provided, aiding the Ciudad to continue its self-sufficiency model. Yapay Bolivia is proud of the progress many of the children at Ciudad de la Bondad have made and hope to continue support the Ciudad in the future.
