Social Work

At the moment many Bolivian families are going through a socio-economic crisis, because of the social changes occuring in Bolivia. A lot of Bolivian families live in subhuman conditions. The consequences of this include family breakdown, which is the source of many of the social and psychological problems that the NATs suffer.

Few institutions or social groups work to help the NATs, but Ñanta offers unconditional support to tackle their problems. The social work department offers a solution to the NATs' psychosocial problems and conflicts, giving them all the attention they need to improve their quality of life in this respect.

Los problemas que atiende el área de apoyo social son:

Family problems

• Family breakdown
• Abandonment
• Physical abuse
• Psychological abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Homelessness

Problems that the NATs regularly encounter

• Alcoholism
• Substance abuse (solvents, gasoline etc.)
• Involvement in dangerous groups or gangs
• Precocious sexual relationships

NATs and their environment

• In their work (physical maltreatment, psychological maltreatment, excessive working hours, low or nonexistent pay, lack of medical insurance, accidents etc.)
• Lack of identification documents (birth certificate, process of examination, identity card etc.)

These problems can be resolved in part with regular visits to their homes and places of work together with the parents of the family or tutors (although many live with their brothers or sisters, godparents or in another family), by following through individual cases and work coordinated between Ñanta and other organisations which defend children’s rights: SEDEGES, SEDES, The Juana Azurduy Centre and the police being among the most important.

We also organise workshops for the prevention of these problems, which deal with different themes, like violence, drugs, alcoholism, sexual education, and training (including self- esteem, leadership and workers' rights).