Women's Empowerment Program in Costa Rica
Contribute to long-term social enterprise initiatives for women in Quepos, Costa Rica
Our Impact
Location
Volunteer in Manuel Antonio
Program Information
- Overview
- Project Life
- Project Details
- Our Ethics
- What's Included?
- Exploration
- The Team
- Dates & Costs
- Parent Info
Overview
Join a team of like-minded volunteers on this women’s empowerment project, living and working in the beautiful coastal area of Quepos in Costa Rica, helping to start this project and empowering local women.By supporting women in society, teaching them basic entrepreneurial and social enterprise skills, you enable them to have access to equal opportunities and a brighter future. Your efforts can help women get better income sources and ownership of their development. We also aim to facilitate and encourage dialogues between empowered women, helping them to share positive stories of change and increasing the opportunity for them to become more involved in key community issues.
Highlights
Contribute to impactful and sustainable women’s empowerment initiatives; explore Quepos and all its natural beauty; immerse yourself into a fascinating culture; experience Costa Rica alongside the friendly locals; enjoy life in one of the world’s most tropical countries and make a serious difference in the lives of girls and women in the local community.
Program Details
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Project Life
Upon your arrival, you will receive an introductory orientation by the staff covering health and safety and some initial training to prepare you as much as possible for life on the project.From Monday to Friday you will be working at your volunteer placement in the local community. Volunteers can expect to be involved in numerous facets of our women’s empowerment programme depending on the needs of the projects at that given time and as such, should be prepared to be flexible and adapt to changes in the field. From providing one-on- one educational lessons to hosting alternative income or social enterprise workshops around the community or working in local educational centres, all your time and effort will be geared towards uplifting the women of Costa Rica and providing long-term support. The weekend is your time to explore the beautiful country you find yourself in!
Field Conditions
Your accommodation will be shared with other GVI volunteers, like-minded individuals who will share the same desire to help and make a difference. The task of cooking and cleaning is shared among all volunteers and as meals are prepared and taken as a group you will develop strong friendships with your fellow volunteers. The volunteer house is small but comfortable in the centre of the typically Costa Rican town of Quepos.
Project Details
Volunteers on this project will have the opportunity to help empower disadvantaged local women in the following ways:- Providing access to education on literacy, rights and life skills
- Hosting alternative income generation skills and social enterprise workshops
Quepos' short, mid, and long-term objectives:
All of our programs have short, mid and long-term objectives that fit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This enables us to report on our collaborative impact across the world in a streamlined manner, measuring which UN SDGs we are making a substantial contribution to.
Furthermore, this will help our local partners and communities measure and visualize their contribution to the UN SDGs. Upon arrival to base, you will be educated about the history of the UN SDGs. You will learn about the specific goals of your location, the long-, mid- and short-term objectives, and also clarification of how your personal, shorter-term involvement contributes to these goals on a global level.
Our aim is to educate you on local and global issues, so that you continue to act as active global citizens after your program, helping to fulfil our mission of building a global network of people united by their passion to make a difference.
Learn about the long-term objectives you will be contributing to in Quepos:
1. Improve access to education and wellness to El Cocal community
2. Increase environmental awareness in the local community
3. Improve English literacy levels in Quepos community and surrounded areas
4. Ensure that GVI Quepos base provides volunteers and interns unique, safe, responsible travel experiences, exceptional training and career development opportunities, and
facilitate the ability to make a real difference
Our Ethics
Below is a list of core ethics and best practices we believe are essential to the operation of high quality, ethical volunteer and sustainable development programs. We believe that all responsible volunteer and sustainable development operations should focus upon these principles. If you are considering volunteering, these are some of the key considerations you should question, to ensure that your time and money contributes towards positive change.
Our 10 Ethical Commitments
Locally Driven, Collaborative Projects
We aim to design all our projects in collaboration with local organizations and communities and ensure that they are locally driven.
Clear Objectives & Sustainable Outcomes
We aim to clearly define short-, mid-, and long-term objectives with sustainable outcomes for all our projects.
Impact Reporting
We aim to track, record, and publish the impact of each of our projects.
Working Against Dependency
We aim to build in-country capacity by assisting local organizations in becoming self-sustaining.
Responsible Exit Strategies
For each local organization we work with, we aim to have a plan in place for withdrawing support responsibly.
Clear Roles & Specialized Training
We aim to ensure that ever participant is assigned a clear role and that they are fully trained and supported to carry out their work by specialized staff.
Respect for all
In all our actions we aim to respect the skills and efforts of all and seek to protect the rights, culture and dignity of everyone who engages with GVI.
Local Ownership
We work to ensure that credit for the results of any project, along with any data collected, research conduct, or Intellectual Property developed, remains the property of local organizations.
Transitioning from the Orphanage Model
We do not condone and aim to withdraw support of orphanages and residential care centers.
Child and Vulnerable adult policies
We will live by our Child Protection and Vulnerable Adult policies.
Continual Development
As an organization, GVI is committed to striving toward best practice, and to educating both our potential participants, our partners, and the world at large about them. Both the volunteering and sustainable development sectors are increasingly, and rightly, under scrutiny. Many recent local and global articles highlight poor practices and questionable ethics GVI is widely recognized for striving to apply global best practice in the volunteering, education and sustainable development sectors throughout our operations by reputable organizations such as ChildSafe.
However, global best practice is always evolving and we dedicate both time and resources to engage with internationally respected experts and learn from the latest research to ensure our programs both fulfil their potential to create maximum positive impact, and minimise their potential to create unintentional negative impact. Along with and as part of the sustainable development and volunteering community, we are constantly learning and applying this learning to practice. We do not always get everything right, but we seek feedback from our community members, partners, participants and our staff, and react accordingly. We know are already doing a great job, and feedback we have received confirms this, but we aim to do even better and are continuously refining our operations to improve upon our already excellent reputation.
What's Included
- 24-hour emergency phone
- 24-hour in-country support
- Access to Alumni Services and Discounts
- Airport pick-up (unless otherwise stated)
- All necessary project equipment and materials
- All necessary project training by experienced staff
- Location orientation
- Long term experienced staff
- Meals while on project (except on work placements for long term internships)
- Safe and basic accommodations (usually shared)
- Welcome meeting
What's Not Included
- Additional drinks and gratuities
- Extra local excursions
- Flights
- International and domestic airport taxes
- Medical and travel insurance
- Personal items and toiletries
- Police or background check
- Visa costs (where necessary)
Exploration
Our long-term field staff are a great source of advice and are here to help you make the most of your time abroad. Our Quepos field teams have helped us put together the following information on trips and travel options in Costa Rica!The volunteer house is located in the centre of the town of Quepos. You are given free time in the evenings after project and during the weekends to enjoy the local area. Quepos is also a fifteen- minute bus ride from the beautiful beach town of Manuel Antonio. During the weekends, you’re free to explore the beautiful surrounding areas.
Some volunteers have even visited the famous areas of La Fortuna or Monte Verde. Our experienced field staff on base are great at giving recommendations on good places to go when you have down time.
The Team
Hannah Watson
Education Officer
Hannah also has other impressive experience working abroad. "I worked in Spain for a year as a language assistant in a primary school. I then went to Colombia and I ran a conversation club in a University. When I returned from Colombia I got a job with World Challeng. In between all this I have nnterrailed around Europe, spent a summer volunteering in a hostel in Barcelona, helped to lead an expedition to Morocco, cycled around Cuba, hiked in Peru, rocked around the Galapagos and Ecuador, spied on Orangutans in Borneo and chased Penguins in the Falkland Islands!"
Luis Jimenez
Logistics Manager
The chance to contribute to community development and help shape the children’s futures is what first attracted Luis to GVI. He loves getting to know and work with all the volunteers from around the world!
Eunice Jimenez
Base Manager
Her internship as a Environmental Educator was what set her career into motion and now, years later, she is still pursuing her passion for the environment and teaching. She loves working for GVI as it gives her the opportunity to make a difference and to work with people from all around the world!
Shayle Havemann
Director of Programs
She is well-practiced in facilitating meaningful and effective intercultural engagement and this makes her the perfect person for overseeing our operations in the multicultural country of South Africa.
When not attending meetings or planning her next endeavour, Shayle can be found spending time with her family or taking part in some or other exciting outdoors activity!
Cynthia Arochi Zendejas
Costa Rica Country Director
Cynthia is a certified Veterinarian, an EFR Instructor and holds a Master’s degree in International environmental Science. She is also a member of the Mesoamerican Society for Biology and Conservation, chapter Costa Rica.
The most interesting things she’s experienced during life in the field? “Watching the turtles hatching! Also finding jaguar tracks and being able to participate in community tours.” Apart from those, Cynthia also loves arranging and participating in the fun Charity Challenges with volunteers.
What does Cynthia think volunteers bring to the projects? Since our goal is to provide support to local organisations which don’t have the human or economic resources to achieve their conservation or sustainable development objectives, our volunteers play a key role by being the hands needed, or helping to fund raise for those projects.”
Parent Info
‘If only every student could do this. It changes your life in all the right ways,’ says Chris Heritage, parent of Luke Herritage, one of our teen volunteers who has participated on two GVI programs, one in Costa Rica and another in South Africa.
We are a parent-run organisation that is incredibly serious about health and safety, and increasing the impact, as well as the long-term career benefits of our programs. Our programs help young people develop the skills to select a career path that is personally fulfilling, and live a life aligned to the well-being of our planet and the global community.
Ken and Linda Jeffrey, whose son Sam volunteered with GVI in Thailand, talk about how the experience affected Sam. He also went on to volunteer with GVI again in South Africa. ‘I know it sounds like a cliche but in a sense, he did go away as a boy and he came back as a young man. Both of us could recommend GVI without any hesitation to any other parent thinking about exploring an opportunity for their children to explore the world and to see different parts of it.’
Parent Info Pack
Download the Parent Pack and learn more about:
Our staff: All our projects are run by staff, selected, vetted, trained, and managed by our central office.
Health and safety: Our safety practices include a child and vulnerable adult protection policy.
Staying in touch: See what’s happening on base, by following a hub’s dedicated Facebook page.
Free parent consultations: We would love to talk to you about exciting opportunities available for your child.
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Contact Us
Global Vision International
1 Emperor Way, Exeter Business Park
Exeter, Devon, EX1 3QS, UK
Learning Provider Number (LPN): 10002692
Centre Number: 17067