Overview
Volunteer Teaching and Travel in Central and South America

This volunteer program gives volunteers the opportunity to work, live in and explore five Latin American countries for six months to a year. Volunteers will spend time teaching and travelling in the highlands of Guatemala, the jungles of Honduras, the Andes of Ecuador and the highlands of Peru, and building a stove in Northern Nicaragua. Volunteers will teach on GVI-run projects, which are dedicated to teaching literacy and numeracy to underprivileged indigenous communities. Throughout your travels you will gain 40 hours of one-on-one Spanish lessons and have plenty of time to practice at home stays throughout your journey. This combination program also contains a huge number of exciting adventure and cultural trips letting you discover the best of Central and South America.

View Film Footage, images, blogs, stories from the field, video diaries and more at the programs media centre

To be able to experience five different cultures in five different countries, and being able to make such a difference to each, really impressed how diverse Latin America is.

Jason Bond, 2008 Volunteer

What Difference Does This Project Make?

Volunteers will be working in GVI's Programs, which provide educational reinforcement and first-time education, funded through volunteer contributions. We also run a food program. Without these projects, education would not exist for most of our children in Guatemala and the children in Honduras, Ecuador and Peru would not have access to primary reinforcement in the understaffed schools. Also, the energy-efficient stove you will build in Nicaragua has both environmental and health benefits.

Highlights

Teaching in indigenous communities; taking one-on-one Spanish lessons and practicing on the friendly locals; building an energy efficient stove; enjoying multiple side trips to do a variety of things in a range of locations, such as traveling to Lake Atitlán, hiking through Colca Canyon and trekking the Inca Trail to reach the spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru.

Location

In Guatemala volunteers live in Antigua and project work is carried out in communities approx one hour journey away.

In Honduras, volunteers live in Copan Ruinas, a tiny colonial town close to the famous Ruins. Project work will be undertaken approx 30 mins from town.

In Nicaragua, volunteers live in Estelí, a typical Nicaraguan town in the North. Project work is about 30 minutes from here.

In Ecuador, Otavalo is our base town and our projects are situated an hour away up in the mountains.

In Perú, volunteers are based in Chivay, near the Colca Canyon in the Peruvian Andes. You will travel to nearby communities for work.

Field Conditions

Living with local families in comfortable but basic accommodation allows for an enriching cultural experience and the valuable opportunity to practice Spanish! All accommodation provided is private, has washing facilities and includes three meals a day; lunch is eaten in the communities. In Perú, you will be living in a family-run hotel in Chivay.