Currently, our funds go to a daycare center for working children in Surcre, Bolivia, called CIMET. CIMET is the Spanish acronym for Centro Integral para Menores Trabajadores (integrative center for working children and youth). In Bolivia, most children grow up in precarious conditions. To support their families financially, many children must work in addition to school. CIMET offers these children a second home, where they can relax and simply be children. Currently, around 80 children get a hot meals there, get support with homework or psychological and socio-educational support but can also take part in leisure activities, like gardening, music, or theatre classes. Additionally, CIMET offers a scholarship program for secondary education.

CIMET receives its funding through donations collected by the ecumenical community Lorenzer Laden in Nuremberg, Germany. The funding is forwarded to the sponsor and operator of the project on site, the Trinitarian Order in Sucre. This is also the way our donations reach CIMET.

In Bolivia, the structurally unequal power relations between men and women, the patriarchal system, is still very strong. In Latin America Bolivia has the highest rates of physical and sexual violence against women. That is the reason, why our donations to CIMET are specifically dedicated to foster education and promote respect and equality between women and men. We want to raise awareness among the children at CIMET, both girls and boys, so that they as part of the following generation, can hopefully make a difference in their lives. Our funding is for example used for workshops to educate the children in human rights and prevention of sexual and domestic violence or discussion rounds with Bolivian female role models. Additionally, we fund scholarships for secondary schools.

Find more information about CIMET here.