Volunteer in Guatemala

  Guatemala

Antigua

Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: 1st & 3rd Friday of each month

Description: Our volunteer program in Guatemala provides participants the chance to contribute their skills and knowledge in significant ways. Participants are given the chance to make a difference in the world they live in by supporting an environmental cause, improving impoverished communities, or educating our children and youth. We offer a variety of projects throughout Guatemala, where participants will have many opportunities to both explore the country and experience the life and culture of the Guatemalan people.

AIDE believes that cultural exchange develops tolerance and understanding for circumstances and societies that are different from our own. Our aim is to build a worldwide community of global citizens who will be part of an ongoing intercultural conversation. Welcome aboard, and we hope that you enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Highlights:
Accommodations:
During their volunteer projects, participants will live with a Guatemalan family either by themselves or with a small group of other interns volunteering in their city. Participants will be provided with 3 meals per day. Even though some host families may be able to launder participants clothes, participants should plan to spend around $3.00 USD per week on laundry.

** A handful of volunteer projects offer on-site living, instead of home stay accommodations.

Language Classes:
For those who need them, optional language classes are available in Antigua. Classes are held prior to participants volunteer projects, and participants will be placed in a small group to receive lessons. These classes include home stay accommodations and 2 meals per day. Language classes are a great way to be introduced to a new country and to improve proficiency in the Spanish language.

Volunteer Projects:
Below is a brief sample of the kinds of projects we work with in Guatemala, and a few sample itineraries for groups. If participants are interested in volunteering in an area they dont see below, they are welcome to consult with an AIDE Program Manager. We do our best to accommodate all requests.

Community/ Education Projects
Provide support to children, community residents, the elderly and disabled

AIDE works with a variety of community centers, non-governmental organizations, and day care centers that provide assistance to local communities that need help with anything from providing English lessons and help with homework, to free health care, sports activities for children, and workshops and daycare for children who come from single parent families. For example, participants may help a local community center in Antigua that has been operating for 10 years, offering child care services to single mothers while the mothers work in nearby markets.

Other popular projects include assisting a multi-service facility in Antigua that provides a home and loving care for elderly and orphaned Guatemalans, and to citizens with mental disabilities and chronic disorders. The patients in this facility range in age from newborn babies to elderly citizens in their nineties. Most of the residents have chronic disorders such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, mental retardation, Alzheimer's, polio paralysis, deafness, blindness, and senile dementia. Participants are needed to help with a variety of duties, not the least of which is to provide love, care, and affection to these individuals, who have often been abandoned by society and/or their families.

Provide English lessons
AIDE works with several projects in the towns outside Antigua, which provide English lessons and other educational services to local children. Participants will have a variety of tasks to perform, including providing assistance and support to the local public school, a free medical clinic, a library, a dental clinic, and a food distribution program.

Construction

Building Homes for Guatemalan People
The main goal of this project is to offer simple houses to families living in extreme poverty, so that their health and living conditions can be improved. The families can acquire a newly-constructed house, made of concrete blocks, a corrugated iron roof and concrete floor, for a small amount of money. The families can choose among different types of houses, depending on the contribution they can afford. This is an excellent project for a large group, as the local organization prefers to receive large groups of participants to work on a house for two to three weeks at a time.

Conservation/ Animal Rescue

Jungle Wildlife Rescue Center
The main mission of this project is to help feed, care for, and rehabilitate jungle animals such as parrots, spider monkeys, macaws, turtles and howler monkeys that have been injured or illegally trafficked. The rescue center is located near Lake Petén, near the town of Flores, which allows participants a very easy and short journey to the world-famous Mayan archaeological site of Tikal. Participants will stay on-site, in basic accommodations provided by the rescue center.

Beach Wildlife Rescue Center
Participants of this project may help out sea turtle, caiman, and mangrove conservation efforts near the town of Hawaii on Guatemalas coast. The sea turtle and caiman projects focus on a breeding program for the turtles and caimans. Participants assist in conducting nightly patrols of area beaches in search of nesting sea turtles, along with the collection, research, and burial of eggs in the hatchery.

Participants are also needed to help with the mangrove reforestation project, and other educational activities in the nearby schools. The best time of year to volunteer with this project is from October through February, as this is turtle season. Participants will stay on-site, in basic accommodations provided by the rescue center.

Also Included:
* Pre-departure orientation
* Volunteer placement
* Travel Medical Insurance
* Visa assistance (if needed)
* Airport pick-up
* Arrival orientation
* One way transportation to the city of your project
* Accommodations and meals
* Full-time local representative in Guatemala
* 24/7 personal support
* Certificate of completion (upon request)

Qualifications:
* Participants must be at least 18 years old
* Participants must be able to speak intermediate Spanish
* Participants must be eligible to receive a tourist visa to Guatemala

2 Week Individual Program: USD1,700/person
Additional Week(s): USD275

Language Classes Fees
1 week: USD400
2 weeks: USD800
3 weeks: USD1,200

AIDE is a non-profit organization. Donations contributed in excess of the fair market value of the services you receive from AIDE may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax adviser for more information.

Experience Required: no

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

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Phone Interview
• Resume

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network

AIDE 's Mission Statement: Through education and the exchange of ideas and people across borders, AIDE will build a worldwide community of global citizens who will be part of an ongoing intercultural conversation. AIDE will be a catalyst for change in the world by building bridges between individuals from diverse cultures.

Year Founded: 1992