Foundation Totai
Foundation Totai is a Scottish charity (No. SC037260) which supports the work of Fundación Totaí, a non-governmental organisation based in Trinidad-Beni, Bolivia. Fundación Totaí provides free or low-cost services in healthcare, sports and education as a proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Please review the website and get to know more about us, who we are and what we do.
This vital work of Fundación Totaí depends greatly on the generosity of financial supporters around the world. If you are interested in supporting FT in this way, please make a donation.
Latest News.....
April 2025
Caity Matthews recently graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in modern languages. Following her time on the Latin Link Stride programme in 2024, Caity will be returning to Trinidad this month for a further 14 months. She will be serving with Fundacíon Totaí looking to reach the local community with the gospel of Christ through meeting practical needs. She will also be serving at the local church, El Jireh, in the children’s and women’s ministries.
Caity is looking forward to going back to Fundacíon Totaí, and seeing how God will use her time on Stride for his glory.
Please pray:
- for a smooth transition for Caity as she settles back into life in Bolivia.
- for the various areas of ministry she will be involved in, and that through them, she will be able to reflect Christ’s love, and that the gospel would be clearly communicated.
- for Caity as she teaches English at Fundación Totaí and serves at El Jireh church.
March 2025
The FT-UK directors recently met with Simon Howling to discuss his work at FT in Trinidad, Bolivia. He is enjoying his new role as Director of Sport for FT and actively involved in El Jireh Church. The meeting was a real encouragement to us and it was good to hear first hand how the ministry there is growing. Simon regularly keeps supporters updated with his latest news via a web blog. Click HERE to read the latest news. On 16 March 2025, he gave a very interesting talk at Beeches Baptist Church, Carsholton. This provides a good insight into the FT ministry. You can view the 30min presentation HERE
December 2024
We recently held a specialised optometry campaign to make quality eye care more accessible to our community. Participants received professional eye exams, including prescriptions if needed, at just a fraction of the usual cost—at least 1/5th of what they’d pay elsewhere! But it didn’t stop there. Attendees also had the opportunity to choose from a range of stylish frames at deeply discounted prices, ensuring they could leave not only with better vision but also with confidence and comfort. We’re thrilled to see how this initiative is already making a difference, and we’re so grateful to everyone who participated and supported the campaign.
When the rainy season flooded our pitch, our futsal kids didn’t let it dampen their spirits! With determination and servant hearts, they cleaned up a local neighborhood cement pitch overrun with weeds and garbage, making it usable for training. We see God’s hand at work in their unity, perseverance, and commitment to stewarding what’s available. This temporary pitch will be their training ground until the rains subside and our field is ready again.
Please join us in prayer:
– Pray for strength and safety for the kids as they train on the cement pitch.
– Pray for God’s provision to sustain this program and bless these young athletes.
– Pray for the rains to recede so that our field can be restored.
We’re grateful for these moments to witness His faithfulness, even in challenges.
May 2024
We have just completed a visual health campaign, which allowed us to provide free vision measurement services, benefiting numerous individuals in our community. In addition to this service, participants also had the opportunity to purchase spectacles at a more affordable cost. This achievement was made possible thanks to the support of Aclara tu Visión Opticians, a company based in the city of Santa Cruz that joined us in contributing to the visual well-being of our population.
February/March 2024
We recently celebrated Children’s Day here in Bolivia! Thanks to the efforts of San and Simon, a delightful celebration was organised for the youngsters in our football program. Our event overflowed with laughter, excitement and unity as we engaged in games, spirited sports competitions, and a heartfelt devotional. The enjoyment continued with indulgences in soda, nachos, and hot dogs, crafting cherished memories destined to stick with us for years to come.
January 2024
An ENT surgical campaign was carried out. 7 patients were scheduled but one had an infection so she couldn’t be operated on. She was very greatful to the staff for caring enough about her to postpone her operation. All other operations went well. Most of these patients in no way would have been able to afford this surgery anywhere else. The clinic is indeed a ministry to many helpless and hurting people. In fact, now directly connected to the church, it’s probably one of the most effective areas of ministry reaching into the community. The staff were also extremely pleased with the “new” way of doing things. The surgeons engaged for this campaign, who live in La Paz were also pleased with the experience and are interested in continuing to work with us going forward.
December 2023
Fundación Totaí (in Bolivia) undertook a process of fundamental review and improvement. The exercise was not undertaken lightly and was approached with much thoughtfulness and prayer. It involved significant changes to processes and administration as well as staff and volunteers. We are confident the outcome has brought renewed focus on the mission and witness of the project to the glory of God. The changes have brought about a more joined-up approach between FT, the local church (El-Jireh), and the local community. We pray that these and other ongoing developments will be a real blessing to everyone who has contact locally in Trinidad, Bolivia as well as partners and friends in the UK.
November 2023
Our activities in the community area now close until the new year. We have the joy and satisfaction of having had a good year supporting this group of children with their schoolwork and learning. On our last day this year we spent a happy afternoon with games, lots of fun and a delicious snack. We pray that God allows us to continue with this good activity in 2024.
With great enthusiasm, we visited the nursery of our friends from Red Roots Inc. Our children learned how to plant and care for plants. We thank our friends Ruddy and Carlos who taught us and also gave us different seedlings to plant in our homes.
October 2023
Promoting this new specialty in the Foundation, we carried out the endocrinology campaign with great success. It is aimed at prevalent diseases in our area such as diabetes, obesity and thyroid. The beneficiaries were mainly the elderly, this specialty does not normally exist in our region. We thank Dr. Rocios Llanos – Endocrinologist, who was part of our medical staff.
Continuing our training programme, our medical staff received training in ocular emergencies for primary case care. Thanks to Dr. David Goldsmith – British Ophthalmologist member of the Andean Medical Mission Foundation.
The school support that the foundation gives is very important for our children and young people. Thanks to teacher Carla Camader, our children were able to do school presentation work in their schools, and we were also able to update them on their schoolwork. Without a doubt, the enthusiasm of our students spreads the desire to continue supporting them.
In order to promote the service of this new specialty in our institution, we carried out a urology campaign very successfully, with a super economical cost for the population. This campaign included medical care, clinical laboratory analysis and medications to initiate treatment. We thank Dr. Luis Aguilar – Urologist for all his collaboration and for being part of our medical staff.
We continue to encourage our children to do crafts, promoting their skills and creativity. Also, a nice time to talk about the word of God.
Recognition from the Autonomous Municipal Government of Trinidad, through the Social Management Unit to the Totaí Foundation, for the contribution and collaboration that our institution provided in the International Week of the Deaf. This included the provision of free hearing and audiological tests for the general population, thus demonstrating our commitment and service to this group of vulnerable people.
September 2023
With great commitment and enthusiasm we participated with our health team in the productive fair organized by the Autonomous Municipal Government of Trinidad in commemoration of the “international week of the deaf person”; performing free ear checks, raising awareness and informing the general population of the importance of prevention and early detection of hearing impairments.
Every Monday, we gather together for a time where we reflect on our values, encourage our colleagues, and strengthen our teamwork. During this session, we study Bible passages led by Ruddy.
We are making progress in improving and equipping our library with the goal of providing a place where students in the community can complete their homework, conduct research, and take courses to acquire new skills. Currently, we have available space, adequate furniture and free internet access. We hope to continue advancing this project. We have also initiated a personalised reading and writing support program aimed at 12-year-old children who have not yet acquired these fundamental skills. This effort has revealed the significant deficiencies in our educational system and has highlighted the urgent need for intervention. The program is being coordinated by Simón.
Observing the growing need to promote the inclusion of deaf people in our city, we have implemented the Bolivian Sign Language programme. This project has benefited the church, the local community and the Foundation staff. We want to express our deep gratitude to Professor Iracema and Daniela, who are enthusiastically in charge of teaching these courses.
We have launched our children’s music development programme. We teach them to play a variety of instruments, including the guitar, electric guitar, bass, keyboard, ukulele and cajon. We are delighted with the results obtained so far. Ruddy is in charge of this activity.
We are preparing the land located next to the building to begin the grading and construction of our soccer field. This facility will be essential for our soccer programme, as it will provide us with more accessible tools to improve its performance. We have also started the implementation of our marketing plan to attract more patients to the clinic. This includes conducting photo shoots and creating content for our social networks. We especially appreciate the volunteer support of Melinda, Georgette, Romon and Ruddy in this process.
We expanded our services to better protect the health of our community, we incorporated the specialty of UROLOGY by an excellent professional, Dr. Luis Aguilar Ledezma, this professional comes to fill a void in this specialty in our city.
August 2023
Our community classes have moved to a new, more comfortable environment, with technology and very nice decoration made by the young volunteers who came. We thank God for their help and kindness.
In order to preserve the health of our workers and patients, all personnel have been trained in the “Management of Residues and Infectious Waste in Health Centers” by the Departmental Health Services (SEDES). We also formed a new Biosafety Committee. It is important to our work that all workers will comply to minimise the risk to health and the environment due to toxic or biological agents.
With the purpose of improving the therapies for children in the Phoniatric Area, we have acquired new interesting educational toys for the development of communication therapies, learning difficulties and language development. We also want to thank Rachel Peebles for the donation of other didactic toys for the area of speech therapy that will be very helpful.
We were very happy with the visit of Rachel Peebles, one of the FT UK Directors. We thank God for her presence in our family and for the pleasant moments we lived. Her stay was very important for her to know the reality of our institution and the activities we develop for the good of the community. We wish her a happy return home.
July 2023
In order to improve the fabric of our building some of our workers painted the rooms. It is important to share these moments and express our commitment to FT.
We have entered into a process of institutional reorganisation and adjustment to face the difficult economic and social situation of the institution. We place all our plans in God’s hands. We also thank Ruddy Arauz, who is voluntarily doing work that will help us get ahead.
With great enthusiasm we carried out the 5-day Vacation Club for our children in the community. More than 100 children came and exceeded our expectations. We had a very good time sharing the word of God. We also had games, crafts and recreational activities. We appreciate the trust that parents place in the people who work at the Foundation to send their children and also all the volunteers who helped us in this activity.
June 2023
Dr. Lorena Chavez – otolaryngologist, began working with us again for 4 months, after returning from Buenos Aires – Argentina. We are grateful to her for making our institution her home of work. We thank God for her skills and commitment and the ability to expand the provision of our services to the community.
These guys (Tim, James, Kakob, Izzy, Nathalie, Katherine and Rossie) came to Trinidad from the UK and we were delighted to host them! They have been here almost 2 months helping with the El Jireh church, the clinic, community projects and other activities that the coordinators set up. We are very happy and grateful to God for this time that they are sharing with us.
May 2023
All the health institutions in the city participated in the futsal championships. Futsal is the FIFA-recognised form of small-sided indoor football (the word is a contraction of the Spanish ‘fútbol sala’). It is played between two teams who each have five players on the pitch at any one time, with rolling substitutes and a smaller ball than soccer that is harder and less bouncy. We are pleased to say FT obtained third place in the competition. We thank God for the beautiful time that was had with the health personnel of the other institutions.
On May 20, the new board of FT directors 2023-2025 was sworn in. Positions: Dr. Miguel Arauz – President, Dr. Pitias Suarez – Vice President, Prof. Porfidia Prado – Treasurer, Ms. Elizabeth Vaca – Recording Secretary and Prof. Iracema Barboza – Member. We wish everyone successes and blessings in all that they do for FT and beyond.
Thanks to Prof. Carla Camader and Claudia Arauz, who created a very productive afternoon when we taught the community girls how to make delicious cheese empanadas. The girls were very happy to learn and taste these rich and delicious products.
Thanks to Lic. Andrea Callisaya, Speech Therapist, we were able to give information talks to the teachers of the educational unit “La Palmera” in our city. She talked about speech problems in children and adolescents of the unit. The teachers were very grateful for the information and training.
April 2023
The mothers of our community prepared their handicraft items for display and sale at the fair held in the main square of our city. This enabled them to have some resources to take to their families. We are very happy to be able to contribute to the development of their creativity and skills and for them to generate some financial resources.
Celebrating Bolivian Children’s Day, we entertained our community children with a fun afternoon of games and also a delicious snack. We thank God for allowing us to meet and fill the lives of all the children who attend our institution with joy.
March 2023
We support the students of the Nueva Trinidad Educational Unit, with our virtual classroom to search for information and prepare exhibition topics. The students were very grateful for this important support for them.
In commemoration of Bolivian Father’s Day March 19, our children developed their creativity by making beautiful works to give their parents on their day. We appreciate the work of Professor Carla Camader for the initiative carried out.
Thanks to Lic. Andrea Callisaya – Phonoaudiologist, we offered a socialisation workshop on risk sign detection instruments in school education for teachers in the regular classroom of the School for the Deaf in our city. The educators were very grateful for this workshop since it will allow them to do a better job in the teaching-learning process of people with disabilities.
With great enthusiasm we started our craft classes for our girls in the community, they are making products to be able to sell them to society, generating economic resources to help their families.
Sign language classes for our children began. The aims include breaking down communication barriers and to enable them to participate in society in a more inclusive way.
We began the month with the expansion of our health services. The following personnel were added to our number: Dr. Carmen Selva Skandar – Rheumatologist, Dr. Leslie Robles – Dermatologist, Dr. Elvis Villegas Gomez – Cardiologist, Dr. Isrrael Crespo Segovia – Sonographer – all specialties at the service of the population at affordable cost.
February 2023
At this time of the year our region suffered the inclemencies of the rains; As a result of this, we have suffered the flooding of our facilities that harmed us in the normal care of our patients and some equipment suffered failures.
The joy of our athletes was not long in coming when they started training at the soccer school. We are participating in the municipal championship in the categories 6, 8 and 10 years.
January 2023
Our 2023 management and community activities began with great enthusiasm, with our school support classes and bible lessons. This year we will place greater emphasis on our children learning to handle technological devices and information.
