Hello! My name is Nikhil Vyas, I am currently a student at the University of Nottingham and on the 1st of July 2013 I will be flying out to Bolivia for 3 months with the International Service to lend my services to the communities and people there who need it most. I decided to take part in such a unique programme due to the opportunity to provide help to a country that needs volunteers in specific places. Rather than pursue a challenge to simply raise money for a charity I wanted to get involved on a more personal level.

Bolivia itself is the poorest country in Latin America, ranking 117th out of 177 countries on the United Nation's Development Programme's Human Development Index. To give you an idea of the scale of such a ranking; the UK is positioned 16th. 

There are numerous problems in Bolivia, and I cannot hope to help alleviate all of them, such as a rise in the agricultural demands of the country leading to a food shortage, or the high infant mortality rates in poor rural areas, not forgetting inherent problems with diseases like Polio and German measles - diseases that are preventable in countries such as here in the UK.

The work I will be doing however focuses on supporting the youth and disabled people in the region. My chosen charity International Service itself works alongside some of the partners in the country, such as Save the Children, which focuses on securing the rights of children in the country to access primary education, health services, food and nutrition.

Amongst many others, there is also Ayninakuna ("we help ourselves" in the Quechaua language), which helps over 80 children with physical, mental or sensory disabilities. Because of the lack of understanding surrounding disability in Bolivia, Ayninakuna's goal is to help disabled people integrate into society and raise local awareness.

Although there are many, the last partner I'd like to talk about is Aywiña, ("walking among many") which supports children, young people and adults with Downs Syndrome, not only helping them personally to develop and grow but also to try and influence public policies on health, education and work to fully integrate them into society. 

The aforementioned partners, only a few out of many that International Service work with in Bolivia, will hopefully give you an idea of what work I will be doing, not only supporting those programmes but also conducting work solely on the International Service's behalf, who have been working in Bolivia for 20 years now achieving great results.

Any money you can donate thus goes towards a variety of good causes, though if you have any questions about either my work in Bolivia or the current situation in the country don't hesitate to ask me personally!

You can contact me through my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/nsvyas

Remember: Any amount you can donate will help!

Thanks again for looking through my page, I'll endeavour to keep this updated as and when I make progress towards the trip!

-Nikhil