That, however, is exactly what one Dronfield woman has done, with the aim of using her skills and experience to improve the lives of rural residents in Bolivia.

Helen Beighton looks at how she is making a difference . . .


When someone says 'South America', images of Brazil's Copacabana beach, the sprawling Amazon rainforest or the lost Inca city Machu Picchu spring to mind.

But following three different periods volunteering in Bolivia, vet Linda Bethell was left with a picture of the difficult conditions its citizens live in and an urge to help.

Linda (35),from Dronfield decided to use her skills to help Bolivian farmers learn how to become more self-sufficient by improving their animal husbandry, helping introduce new sources of food and teaching them more effective agricultural methods.

After training at the All Nations Christian College in Hertfordshire – where she met husband, agriculturalist Pete Lugtigheid (37) – the two went out to work with Bolivian farmers on a Christian Veterinary Mission project in Yapacani near Santa Cruz in 2002.

Linda's mum Jill – a doctor in Dronfield – said: "They went out to communities to teach them how to do better with their animals by TB testing their cows, teaching them beekeeping for honey, how to care for chickens, how to keep goats to produce milk and cheese and how to grow different crops.

"They felt they taught the Bolivian farmers to be independent and enabled them to do it for themselves."

After three years the couple returned home briefly before embarking on a new project in the small town of Apolo – population 3,000 – when they were invited to work there by its Baptist and Lutheran churches.

In Apolo they are teaching farmers in the 40 small villages in its surrounding area the same sustainable farming methods of good land management and animal care to enable them to feed their families and make a living for themselves.

Jill said: "They both offer this wonderful expertise.

"Since they have been in Apolo they have found four very able Bolivian people who they have taught the ways of helping with the animals and the agriculture and taught them how to teach everyone else.

"They have also paid for a nursery teacher and trained six other nursery teachers to run a nursery school for pre-school children."

In addition to setting up the pre-school, the couple – who have two children of their own, three-year-old Finian and 18-month-old Aiden, plus another baby due in December – have started a range of after-school clubs for Apolo's youngsters.

Before there was nothing to keep teenagers amused after their half-days at school or to stop them leaving the settlement for a big city as soon as they were old enough.

But now there are different activities put on every evening and at weekends to entertain the youngsters and teach them there is more to life than wanting to leave Apolo.

Jill said: "Linda and Pete feel that their work is very worthwhile and greatly enjoy being there. They have no plans for their work there to end."

She added: "They are greatly valued and appreciated by the people they work with and have many friends there. We are extremely proud of them."