NPH Bolivia is located in San Ignacio de Sara, near the community of Portachuelo, some 80 kilometers northwest of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the capital of the department of Santa Cruz.
With an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers, the country of Bolivia is about the size of Texas and California combined, or twice the size of Spain. It has a multiethnic and multicultural population of 10.4 million people, of whom more than 4 million are between the ages of zero and 18. The first official language is Spanish, but also there are 36 officially recognized indigenous languages.
Although Bolivia lies entirely within tropical latitudes, climatic conditions vary widely from tropical in the lowlands to polar in the highest parts of the Andes. In the lowland in the department of Santa Cruz, the weather is hot, humid, and rainy. During winter, temperatures are often very cool, but with some rain.
NPH Bolivia was founded in April 2005, with previous accommodations in a rented house outside Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Because of the rapid growth of our family, in January 2008, we moved to our permanent home site, “Casa Padre William B. Wasson,” in San Ignacio de Sara.
Construction continues and since our relocation, two more homes have been built to receive new members of our family. Today our eight, family-style homes house 86 children and youths, four volunteers and 28 employees. Future plans include building two more houses to accommodate new children, a volunteer’s house, clinic and school.
