Social Care in Costa Rica with Projects Abroad

  Costa Rica

Liberia

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: All year round

Description: Volunteer Care work with children overseas in Costa Rica

A placement on one of our voluntary Care Projects in Costa Rica will be a challenge but you will see the positive impact you make will be very obvious from the moment you arrive. You do not require any qualifications to volunteer and you do not need to have had previous experience. If you have energy, enthusiasm and compassion then it does not matter whether you are 17 or 76. Gap year students, career breakers or retired volunteers are all welcome.

Costa Rica is a relatively prosperous Central American country with a developing tourist industry and a reasonably good standard of living, it is a country with huge potential for economic growth. However, there is always a need for extra assistance at the many kindergartens, day-care centres and special needs centres.

Voluntary Special Needs work with Projects Abroad

Our Care placements are based in and around the city of Liberia, in the north west of Costa Rica. The placements are spread throughout the town and are normally within walking distance or a short bus ride of your host family.

We work with disabled and special-needs children and adults, in centres where our volunteers can really help to make a difference and in kindergartens with children aged from about 2 to 6 years old.

You could be working alongside local staff in a special education centre for babies, children and adults with disabilities like Downs Syndrome. The working day usually runs from 7 or 8am to early in the afternoon, but your specific time-table will be decided with your supervisor when you arrive.

Volunteering abroad on a Care Project in Costa Rica

There is a great deal you can do to contribute to the much needed care and support of children on your voluntary Care placement. You can help with day-to-day practical tasks and important life-skills, ensuring that the young children have been washed and fed, as well as helping them with reading, writing and arithmetic.

With older children and adults, you can make a real difference just by offering your friendship. This is also the perfect opportunity to put any skills you have to good use. Suggestions for various games and activities will always be well received. From finger painting to football, the time you dedicate will help to add fun and enjoyment to people's lives. Anyone with skills in art or music could put these to use by suggesting activities to the staff who will be glad to make room for your ideas. The options available are limited only by your imagination!

In the kindergartens volunteers focus on basic education and help to teach numbers and the alphabet. Songs, games and sports are also popular activities to help with. The children will also welcome any new ideas that you may have for drama activities, putting on a concert or arranging a sports day.

The majority of the care centres and kindergartens in Costa Rica have a holiday from mid December to mid February, with a shorter holiday in July. Volunteers are able to travel or enjoy the festivities with their host family over the Christmas period, then from the second week of January we organise a variety of holiday programmes. These may include painting a care centre, sports coaching or working with a smaller number of children at the care centres who still attend during the holiday period.

Highlights: For your accommodation, you'll live with a Spanish speaking host-family, which is great environment for developing and improving your language skills. All the families involved are extremely supportive of the projects carried out by Projects Abroad and are eager to experience an inter-cultural exchange and learn about the lives of volunteers.

Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbors and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact. It's also mostly coastline, both Caribbean and Pacific, which means great surfing, beaches galore and a climate built for laziness.

This program offers you the opportunity to become fully immersed in the culture in a manner which even the most hardened of backpackers could never hope to do.

Qualifications: none

Cost in US$: From USD 2,345 and up

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: open minded with a desire to travel

Age Range: 16-80

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Costa Rica Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Projects Abroad's Mission Statement: As part of the global economy, Projects Abroad helps create local employment wherever we send volunteers. Employing local staff overseas and using their talents and knowledge is important to us. This local knowledge and support enables the organization to channel the skills of the volunteers from more affluent countries to regions around the world where they are needed. Volunteers also learn from their placements and the people they meet, and they gain experience in a chosen field. In the 21st century, we believe this mutual respect is what cultural exchange is all about.

Year Founded: 1992