Recovery Community
Bolivia
Transformative Community
Novō’s community in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, opened its doors in November 2016, to help men find healing, wholeness, and hope. Today, the work runs effectively under local leadership and has a measurable impact.
Bolivia is an incredible country, with breathtaking scenery, engaging people, and amazing natural and human diversity. It is also one of the poorest countries in Latin America. And, one of the most unequal countries in the world.
As one of the world’s largest growers of the coca leaf – the raw ingredient of cocaine and crack – Bolivia is a centre for drug production.
Quinta Totaices, our home in Santa Cruz, is a sizeable, colonial-style property on the edge of the city with space for up to 20 men in recovery. It is the ideal location for delivering our two treatment programmes:
On our 24-week Therapeutic programme, residents address the past and prepare for the future, staying mainly within the security of the Novō community.
On our 12-week Transition programme, residents focus on ‘putting into practice’ learning and growth from the recovery programme, and establishing healthy relationships in the wider community.
Both programmes involve: 1-1 counselling, recovery groups, opportunities to explore the Christian faith, vocational work, training, and the benefits of living in community.
Since 2021, Novō has developed a relationship with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) in Bolivia. The UNODC considers Novō a centre of excellence and a model programme.
Become a Novō Padrino
Novo’s funding comes from both regular giving and one-off donations. Both are vital to our work. Supporters who give regularly are affectionately known as Padrinos. They are our Godparents – caring for our community.
In Latino culture, Padrinos (or Godparents) are much more than honorific titles. Padrinos are involved in the lives of their godchildren in meaningful ways. By supporting Novō financially, you become a Novō Padrino, providing our residents with the precious opportunity to find freedom from addiction and new life in Christ.
Learn about being a PadrinoStories of Impact
Meet Ronald
Ronald arrived at our home in Santa Cruz after a long battling with drug and alcohol addiction. He found a family at Quinta Totaices and attributes his successful rehabilitation to the structure he experienced and the care he received.
Meet Pepe
For 15 years, Pepe was lost in alcoholism. He lived in Argentina, but this alcohol addiction led me to lose everything, before then finding Novō Communities in Bolivia.
Meet Benigno
Since Benigno was 7 years old, he has lived on the streets of Santa Cruz. When he was 11 years old, he went to a dining room for street kids where some of the kids introduced him to clefa (glue). He became addicted.