At a young age, Avel Contreras Condori was orphaned by his mother and alcoholic father and admitted to the Philadelphia Children’s Home in Samaipata, Bolivia where he stayed for a few years with his two sisters. However, as a teenager he ran away from the children’s home and lived on the street where he joined gangs and began using different hallucinogenic substances. Avel was diagnosed with a mental and behavioral disorder due to the substance abuse.
Avel committed a crime to a minor, but there wasn’t any trial due to his mental disability. Instead, the Judge of the Municipality of Samaipata requested that he be put into the AMeBolivia 2 Shelter. From the moment Avel entered the shelter on May 9, 2020, he responded well to the psychiatric treatment medication. In fact, visitors to the shelter frequently confused him as a volunteer as he is quite cooperative in doing the household chores around the shelter.
A group of young people from an evangelical church visit the shelter each month. In 2023 Avel was given permission to join them in the services at the church. He wants to reintegrate into society, but neither of his sisters wants to take responsibility to ensure that he continues with the psychiatric treatment that he will need for the rest of his life.
At the beginning of 2024 Avel, now 25 years old, enrolled in night classes to work towards completing his Bachelor’s degree. He enjoys being a student and works hard at his studies and receives good grades. One of the volunteers at AMe Bolivia Shelter 2 has been giving Avel a cell phone so that he can do research on the internet for his studies.
Three times a week Avel also volunteers at a nearby daycare. We, at AMe Bolivia, are hopeful that Avel will be able to achieve his goals. We want to be able to support him in his intellectual growth and other areas of his life.
AMe Bolivia is grateful for the support that they have received in so many ways for the AMeBolivia Project, which has indirectly helped Avel.
