Choosing to work with children you can teach English, math or science or assist at the music school or arts at the cultural center. More manual work involves carpentry and building. There is also the possibility to work in the theatre and storytelling or sports.

Instead of directly working with kids you can also help out at the nature program. This involves helping to construct an ecological playground, renovation of rooms and gardens and taking care of horses.

To work at our projects we are looking for people that are enthusiast, willing to learn, dedicated, patient, friendly and love nature. Volunteers work 5 days a week for 5-7 hours a day. During your volunteer work, you will stay at a Volunteer House.

Spanish
For this project your Spanish doesn’t have to be fluent. Included in the program are up to 10 hours of Spanish group classes a week. The classes are meant to immerse in the Spanish language and focuses on conversational skills. The aim is to quickly enable volunteers to start practicing their Spanish skills while working in our volunteer programs and in contact with locals. The classes have between 2 and 6 participants.

Santa Elena
Santa Elena is located at an altitude of 900m  – 1000m with a nearly perfect climate (16°-28°C).  It is surrounded by breathtaking scenery and a wealth of nature. The region is the oldest geological site on the planet where prehistoric flat topped mountains are like ecological islands with endemic species such as carnivorous plants and lots of natural treasures.

If you are a nature lover, you can eat your heart out in Santa Elena and its surroundings. There are tropical forests, spectacular mountains, rivers and waterfalls. There are many
National Parks in the surrounding areas that you can visit and because the city borders
Brazil, you can also take a trip to the Amazon.

Hikes into the virgin rain forest can be an exciting adventure and there are trails which lead to a 360 degree sightseeing spot on top of a nearby mountain. You may also like to go horseback riding and discover the savannah or enjoy an excursion to a nearby indigenous village with refreshing rivers, amazing waterfalls or discover an ancient cave nearby. Mountain bikes are available and can be freely used by volunteers.

For more information about Volunteer options in Venezuela, visit our website.

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There are three possible age groups to work with. Kids from 0-6 years (Early Childhood), from 6-13 years (Working Children) and Young People in the age of 13-20 years. Your activities will depend on the group that you will be working with. At the moment, volunteers are especially needed in the area’s Working Children and Young People.

San Cristóbal – located in a beautiful highland Valley – is a very popular destination. This medium sized city has a very pleasant atmosphere and is a popular travellers hub with beautiful cobbled streets and local markets.  There is an infrastructure for travelers such as cafes, bars, restaurants, hostels and others.

To participate doing volunteer work in Mexico in any of the projects mentioned above you should be at least 18 years old and the project prefer people interested in Mexican indigenous culture and in human rights in general. You should also have experience in working with (young) children. A background/ study in education, social work, pedagogy, human sciences or psychology is preferred. Wherever you decide to volunteer, pick something that you really want to do. Your enthusiasm and initiative will be much appreciated. Flexibility, patience and a good work spirit are characteristics that are mandatory. The organization requires a minimum volunteer period of 3 months.

Volunteers need to have a (low) intermediate level of Spanish as they work directly with the children and local staff members. Generally speaking, the better your Spanish, the more rewarding your volunteer experience will be. It is advisable to take Spanish classes before or during your volunteer project. We can help you arrange classes at the local Spanish school in San Cristóbal.

Taking classes involves having an interview on the first day to determine your Spanish level. Together with other students of the same level you follow 15 sessions of group classes a week. Apart from studying Spanish and doing homework, the school offers lot of fun activities after school; there are game- and movie nights. At the end of all your hard work you will receive a Final Certificate.

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In my first week I really had to get used to a lot of things that came together with my work: to the circumstances where the people live in (way more basic than what I’m used to in the Netherlands), to speaking Spanish 24/7 (and to, because of that, not being able to express everything I want to say) and to the ‘abnormal’ behavior’ of the patients. But I got used to all of this so quickly, especially because the patients themselves are very happy and grateful to have the opportunity to be treated there. Also my ability to communicate in Spanish improved quickly, because I talked a lot to the patients and the employees.

Sometimes it was really annoying to notice that the work speed and work efficiency was remarkably lower compared to what I’m used to. Also, I had to wait for the psychologist very often, because the staff was preparing activities or working on the medical histories of the patients, in which I couldn’t participate most of the time. So I actually spent a lot of time waiting. After a few days with a lot of waiting, I started to think of activities I could do with the patients myself. I started to give English lessons to a patient that always wanted to learn English.

A few days later, I organized a tournament with games and I created a group dynamic-session. The psychologist didn’t give me assignments, but, he certainly welcomed all ideas! I think they don’t want to give the volunteers a lot of orders, because they think it’s very special that you are working there voluntarily. So to get the most out of this volunteer experience in Peru, it’s very important and I recommend you come up with your own ideas and let the employees know that you do want to participate in a very active way. Because of my pro-active attitude, I even had the opportunity to participate in test-diagnostics and individual interviews with the patients. For me, organizing some activities on my own prevented me for feeling dispensable and made my time at the clinic in Cusco very challenging.

It was very interesting to work with psychiatric patients and to talk with them about their lives. All the patients were very nice to me and accepted me and the fact that my Spanish wasn’t perfect did not seem to bother them at all. I learned so much about different psychiatric disorders and how those affect the life of the patient. Furthermore, I learned a lot about the organization of health care in Peru and how happy we have to be with our facilities in more ‘developed’ countries. I really liked that the psychologists gave me the trust to organize activities on my own.

Although this volunteer work Cusco sometimes made me feel a little insecure, it was a very valuable, interesting, fun , positive, and challenging life experience. I’m very glad I had the opportunity to do this. Thanks Volunteer Latin America!

Natasha Mathias, 23

The post My story Volunteering at a psychiatric hospital in Cusco Peru appeared first on Blog - Volunteer Work Latinamerica.

The rehabilitation center in Nicaragua started about 15 years ago and has now received over 7000 animals. More than half of them, around 4000, have been set free. Most of the animals are former pets that were brought to the center by the owners who could no longer take care of them. Others were captured by the police because of illegal trade. The center nurses all kinds of animals. Among them jaguars, puma’s, wildcats, crocodiles, nose bears, monkeys, parrots, toucans and hawks. Ideally, the animals are returned to the wild after having recuperated at the center.

Volunteers that would like to help out at the center will spend their first week studying Spanish in Granada, a the oldest colonial city in Western Nicaragua. Granada is beautiful, one of Nicaragua’s most important cities with a rich colonial heritage. After your Spanish course, you should commit to a period of at least 3 weeks of volunteering. It will be much appreciated if you are a responsible person that is prepared to take initiative and is not afraid of getting dirty hands. Also you should respect and love animals and have good communication skills. If you can tick off all these requirements and you are really interested, continue reading.

As a volunteer at the zoo you will help out with a variety of jobs, always accompanied by a staff member. Working hours are from 7 am till 4 pm. Among your tasks will be preparing food for the animals (fruit, vegetables, meat and seeds), feeding, and also cleaning their cages and general areas. Apart from all the wildlife there is a butterfly garden that could use some volunteer hands. Also there is always maintenance work to do such as weeding the orchard and painting cages. Sometimes, volunteers with a special interest or background in natural environments of animals and the environment in general, can help in the rehabilitation center feeding the animals, help setting free animals, join a team when picking up new animals and help new arrivals to adjust to their new habitat.

Can’t wait to start at this volunteer project in Nicaragua? For bookings or more information go to: Contact us

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Emma tells about her experiences and the impact the project and the volunteers have on the local community in Bolivia and how volunteers are needed here.

Can you describe what your overall experience is with volunteers?

We notice that the first week can often be overwhelming for the new volunteers. The children are all asking for your attention and almost no one of the local people speaks English . After two weeks or so, the volunteers are feeling more at home, they understand how everything works, the routines and activities. What also gives them a positive feeling is that they start to realize that the volunteer work they are doing is very helpful. For us it is important that they stay at least one month or longer, because too many change of faces will not have a good effect on the children. But, many of our volunteers decide to extend their stay. We are very often inspired and moved by our volunteers, and we really appreciate it that they are willing to share their time and talents with us. Their presence really creates true benefits for us and also for them. They do great work in our childcare center and they can improve their Spanish language skills while volunteering here in Bolivia.

How do you see the future of the project? Is there an ultimate goal you are aiming to reach?

Our ultimate goal is to give the children the chance to reach their potential in their community, and promote and support them in their rights to do get and keep this potential. We would really like our nursery to grow and also start after-school activities. This would be for the children of 5 year and older, who are going to school instead of our center. They still have the same risks as the other children, because school finishes at midday and for some children there is still an empty home waiting for them when they come home after school. Also, they do not get help with their school work. A risk for our center is the fact that the work in the center is very exhausting for the local women, because they work with many children every day. If they getting sick or becoming exhausted, we will not have other teachers to replace them. This is why we are aiming to create more activities and excursions outside the classrooms. This is good for the children but also for the mothers, teachers and volunteers. These activities include for example yoga, art classes and dance or aerobics lessons. Also volunteers take a part of the pressure these women feel of taking care of so many children.

What can you say about the social implications of volunteering in Bolivia, for example to explain this to a irresolute volunteer?

Volunteering gives you a completely different perspective of getting to know a country, you can get an insight in the real country, in this case the real Bolivia. Tourists almost never get to see this side. During the years, many volunteers, from all over the world, came to discover and learn more about their world, their belonging in society and maybe also about themselves. We have welcomed them into our community and family. During the time they spend in their volunteer work, they were growing sense of belonging and enjoying their discovery of the country at the same time. This is what Bolivia has taught us, a concept from the heart of the Andean culture, namely ‘’reciprocidad’’. This word, reciprocity in English, is about enriching both the giving and receiving person; it is all about giving back. Volunteering is all about this concept too, it can truly create positive impacts on the lives of local people, and can give the volunteers unforgettable memories and learning moments in return.

Here at Dos Manos Travel, of which Volunteer Work Latin America is a brand, can truly recommend volunteering at this project. It is a leading example of a social service that serves as a solution to the problems of poverty and oppression of the indigenous inhabitants in Bolivia, and doing this in a sustainable and charitable method. It has one of the best empowerment and service excellence and is not just practicing an outside-in solution for the previous mentioned problems. Since the opening of the center, the municipal government evaluated the centre two times. The nursery scored really high, and it obtained even one of the best scores of all childcare centers in La Paz. The centre was evaluated by the quality of security, participation of parent committees, the nutritional status of the children, education and hygiene. In 2004 the score was 90 out of 100 points and in 2005 the score was 98 out of 100 points.

The post Volunteer at children’s center in Bolivia (part II) appeared first on Blog - Volunteer Work Latinamerica.

Now, I have been working for four weeks at an Hogar for girls between 10 and 20. It was very challenging work and I enjoyed it a lot. I would have liked to stay longer. Just when you feel that the girls are starting to trust you it is time to say goodbye. There are about 20 girls living at the hogar for various reasons. Some do not know their parents because they left them behind when they were little and some have parents that cannot or do not want to take care of them. Also, some were abused and some lived on the street before coming to the hogar. There are also some of them who are mentally disabled. A few girls had just arrived and others had been there for several years.

The first day was a bit difficult to be honest. Everything is new!Most of the girls were very quiet and suspicious. To see how the girls live and what problems they have had to face in their pasts is really moving. A tip: In Argentina you give everyone a kiss every time you come and every time you leave. I really like this custom because it helps to develop closeness from the beginning.

I had planned a few things to do with the girls – however it is very hard to motivate them. But I think that sometimes it is only important that somebody actually cares about them. I really liked them a lot! Of course there are cohabitants, psychologists and social workers working there but to give each girl sufficient attention is almost impossible and I think this is where volunteers can actually make a difference. Together with other volunteers we painted the walls in the courtyard with the girls and we made a little path in the garden.

We also did some shopping and I also played a lot of cards with them – UNO – some of them started to like it so much that they always wanted to play it. It was great to see that some girls that at first could not play the game without help really learned it well. I also painted with them, played memory, studied English, watched television, watched them dance, made a picnic, made friendship bracelets, ate ice cream, talked about boys and just spent time with them. All in all I really enjoyed the work with the girls and I hope you will too!

The post My Volunteer Experience with teenage girls in Buenos Aires, Argentina appeared first on Blog - Volunteer Work Latinamerica.

We spoke with Dutch coordinator Ed Veldhuisen about the inspiration behind this project, the challenges that it has faced and the impact that it has had on the lives of so many of the young people in this city.

What was the inspiration behind this project?

I came to Medellin to volunteer with children on the street and instantly realized the difference you can make to their lives.

The activities I organized quickly became very popular with the kids and I did not want to just abandon what was proving to be such a success!

How is the project run at present?

We are working with children from several institutes who participate voluntarily in the activities we organize.

We run an array of activities including regular football matches, ´Cooperation & Communication´ workshops, music lessons, performances and recordings, and even produce a regular newspaper written for and by the children of the shelters.

Which activities are most popular with the kids?

Our soccer practices have been a great triumph. We have two teams with an official league, which has given the kids a lot of focus. They work so hard for the Saturday games!

We also have an annual outing for all the children and volunteers. It is a tradition of the project that really establishes the sense of us all as one big family.

Why do you need volunteers?

All our activities are becoming increasingly popular with the children and this is great – our main aim is to encourage children living on the streets to participate in activities that will eventually inspire them to leave the street behind.

However with the increasing interest comes increasing responsibility! We need all the help that we can get in implementing the all the activities that the children need and deserve.

For example, we are hoping to start our own football competition, within which many of our boys will take leading roles as coordinators and referees. They will receive some money to thank them for their efforts which will be invested in their future studies. However this will not be possible without the valuable work of volunteers.

The kids also develop great bonds with the volunteers which is great for improving their social and interpersonal skills.

What are the key challenges facing the project?

The main aim of the project is to encourage children living on the streets to participate in activities that will eventually inspire them to leave the street behind. However this is not always an easy task. It takes a lot of regular encouragement and positive reinforcement to keep them on track. This is where volunteers come in. They really play a key role in inspiring these children to believe in working for a better future.

Where do you see the project going in the future? Is there an ultimate aim?

We have a lot of dreams to help better our children. We know that they have the potential to go far. We are working on improving the content and range of activities so as to get more children involved. What more could you wish than to give children from the streets the life that they deserve? And thanks to the work of our wonderful volunteers this dream is becoming a reality.

If you would like to become part of this fantastic project visit here

The post Soccer success for Colombian street kids thanks to volunteers: Interview with Ed Veldhuisen appeared first on Blog - Volunteer Work Latinamerica.