Resources > Volunteering and Working in Latin America

Volunteer and Internship Opportunities

American Friends Service Committee Mexico Summer Community Service--Youth for Peace and Sustainable Community is an annual seven-week program in Mexico. It provides a place for youth from the Americas, Europe, and indigenous Mexican communities to work together on community projects, share from their diverse cultures and experiences, and learn creative ways to address the political, ecological, social, and economic challenges of their present and future. From mid-June to late July, approximately sixty volunteers participate in four or five community service units in separate villages of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí. Volunteers partner with two local NGOs to perform projects of appropriate technology for development, and engage in cultural and recreational exchanges with local youth.

American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 241-7000
Fax: 215.241.7275
mexsummer@afsc.org

American University's World Capitals Program offers semester study programs with internships in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the UK. Study areas include business, communications, economics, history, journalism, political science, and the social sciences.

Amigos de las Americas is an international development organization that promotes the improvement of public health throughout Latin America, including community sanitation, dental hygiene and vaccination programs. Volunteers spend 4-8 weeks during the summer in rural communities in Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Paraguay. Volunteers must pay a fee to participate but costs are deferred through fund-raising efforts.

Amigos de las Americas
5618 Star Lane
Houston, TX 77057
(800) 231-7796
Fax: .713.782/9267

Amizade is a non-profit organization that provides opportunities for individuals and groups to partake in service projects with educational, environmental, and health emphases around the world. Volunteers are not required to have any specific technical skills.

Amizade
1334 Dartmouth Lane
Deerfield, IL 60015
(847) 945-9402
Fax: 247.945.5676

Annunciation House sponsors hospitality houses in El Paso, Texas and Juaréz, México for the homeless, particularly Central America refugees. Placements include emergency and homeless shelter staff, immigration/refugee services, health care and social services. Volunteers serve for a minimum of one year, although a 10-week summer internship is available. Staff are provided room and board, and transportation home after one year of service.

Annunciation House
1003 East San Antonio Ave.
El Paso, TX 79901
(915) 545-4509
Fax: 915.533.4675

Association of Volunteers in Protected Areas hosts a program in which volunteers live and work with the national park guards in the mountainous and coastal protected areas of Costa Rica for two months. Participants must be at least 18 years of age. Fluency in Spanish is essential. Volunteers pay a basic fee that covers transport, food, accommodation and materials.

Association of Volunteers in Protected Areas
10104-100 San Jose
Costa Rica, Central America

Boston University offers semester and summer study/internship programs in Australia, China, Ecuador, France, Russia, Spain, and the UK that consist of an academic and cultural acclimation period, and an eight- or nine-week internship with a major corporation, or governmental or social agency. Placements are made according to the student's abilities and interests.

Casa de Español Xelaju is home to Project La Pedrera, which offers students and non-students a variety of internship and volunteer opportunities with an underserved, indigenous community in Guatemala.

Center for Interim Programs matches clients' interests with a database of over 5200 nonacademic but structured opportunities worldwide, many of which provide room and board.

The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is a non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1991 by a group of prominent human rights defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. CEJIL's principle objective is to achieve the full implementation of international human rights norms in the member States of the Organization of American States (OAS) through the use of the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL’s mandate is fulfilled through work in three program areas: the Legal Defense Program, the Training and Dissemination Program, and the Campaign to Strengthen the Inter-American System. CEJIL has unpaid internships available at the Washington, DC office and at regional offices in Costa Rica and Brazil. Similar positions are also offered in their representative's office in Argentina.

Center for World Indigenous Studies provides individuals interested in Fourth World Studies an opportunity to work with a diverse group of world leaders, scholars, and activists.

Cerro Golondrinas is a development organization that offers training to local farmers to protect forested areas in Ecuador. Volunteers engage in reforestation, construction, farm engineering and permaculture programs.

Cerro Golondrinas
Marla Ruzicka Piet Sabbe
Calle Isabel La Catolica NR 1559
Quito, Ecuador
(5932) 22 66 02
Fax: 5932.56.60.76

Child Family Health International offers volunteer and internship opportunities for those wishing to assist in medical missions to Ecuador, Mexico, and India. Most volunteer positions are based at the organization's offices in San Francisco, but medical students can apply to visit countries directly.

Child Family Health International
953 Mission Street, Suite 220
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 957-9000
415.840.0486
General email: feedback@cfhi.org
Student email: students@cfhi.org

Costa Rica Conservation Trust (CRCT) is a non-profit, socially responsible conservation organization dedicated to protecting biodiversity, advancing sustainable development and promoting ecological, cultural, and educational programs that advance respectful relationships with the Earth in ways that safeguard local cultural heritage. We offer a volunteer program for travelers, students, families, and groups (including youth groups) , who are looking for a cultural immersion experience and wish to leave a positive social and ecological footprint while visiting this country. CRCT's volunteer program directly supports Costa Rican community groups and local youth in their own grassroots efforts to protect their environment and raise ecological and global awareness. In addition, the numerous Tico families that host volunteers receive the resources and incentive necessary to start converting to sustainable lifestyle, income and agricultural practices. Volunteer opportunities are available year-round and the length of stay is flexible. Internship opportunities are also available both in Costa Rica and at our San Francisco, CA office.

Costa Rica Conservation Trust
2030 22nd Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 215-4933
General inquiries: info@conservecostarica.org
Volunteer Program or Internships: volunteer@conservecostarica.org

Cross-Cultural Solutions is a non-profit organization that sends volunteers abroad to provide humanitarian assistance with our Volunteer Work Programs in China, Ghana, India, Peru and Russia.

Cross-Cultural Solutions
47 Potter Avenue
New Rochelle, NY 10801 USA
1-800-380-4777
(914) 632-0022
Fax: 914.632.8494

Fénix Language Institute is one of Mexico's oldest and most respected Spanish language and Latin American Studies institutes. Three different campuses offer volunteers a choice of urban and rural settings. Approximately 240 volunteers participate annually in a variety of activities ranging in nature from administrative to medical. Knowledge of the Spanish language is the only qualification. Placements are generally for a month at any time of the year; and although accommodation is provided, no other expenses are paid.

Fenix Language Institute
Hidalgo 204
Chalchihuites Zac. 99260, Mexico

Foundation for Sustainable Development is a U.S. based nonprofit that promotes grassroots development initiatives in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, Uganda, and Tanzania. FSD offers short-term volunteer programs, long-term internships and service learning/study tours in these areas, including community service projects, homestays, and travel opportunities.

Foundation for Sustainable Development
870 Market St, Suite 321
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 283-4873

Genesis II Cloud Forest is an ecology-oriented organization responsible for the preservation of a cloud forest in Costa Rica, which provides opportunities for bird-watching, recreation, and academic research. Volunteers assist in trail maintenance, gardening, reforestation, transplanting and fence construction. Five volunteers are needed annually for a minimum one-month period. Interested participants must pay a small donation to the cloud forest project. Spanish is useful, with preference given to people experienced in construction or ecological work.

Genesis II Cloud Forest
Apdo 351-1007
San Jose, Costa Rica Central America
381-0739
551.0070

Global Volunteers is a private nonprofit organization with one- to three-week volunteer/work/learning programs in communities in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, Eastern and Southern Europe, and North America. Minimum age of 18; participants are responsible for their own expenses.

Global Volunteers
375 East Little Canada Road
Saint Paul, MN 55117
(800) 487-1074
email@globalvlntrs.org

The Global Volunteer Network is a non-profit organization that places volunteers in community projects across the world to participate in educational, environmental, and community aid programs. One of their programs is a partnership with an ecological preservation foundation in Ecuador.

Institute for Central American Studies provides a limited number of internship positions with Mesoamerica, a monthly magazine that promotes international understanding of the realities of Central America. Interns must work in San Jose for a minimum of six months, and must have a working knowledge of Spanish.

Inter-American Dialogue offers full- and part-time volunteer internships in the fall, spring, and summer semesters for students interested in the dynamics of inter-American relations. The Dialogue is a forum for sustained exchange among leaders of the Western Hemisphere and an independent, nonpartisan center for policy analysis on economic and political relations in the Americas.

The International Volunteer Program is a new Habitat for Humanity International program which has been designed to engage people globally in our mission of eliminating poverty housing. Currently special project volunteers can work on projects and programs for a minimum of 6 months at Habitat offices ranging from finance, specialized construction, communications and resource development to training, volunteer coordination and a variety of other areas. By visiting the website one may find opportunities in the following Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and El Salvador. Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. The purpose and goal of Habitat for Humanity International is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses in partnership with families in need.

International Voluntary Services provides technical assistance to small-scale rural development projects in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Volunteers serve a minimum of two years, usually in agriculture, public health, technology, small business and cooperative development. Participants must have a degree in a relevant field and two years of related practical experience. Room, board, and travel expenses are provided.

International Voluntary Services
1424 16th Street, NW, Suite 504
Washington, D.C. 20016
(202) 387-5533
Fax: 202.387.4234

Internships International offers internships in Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The placements are professional, full-time, non-paying positions and are open to recent college graduates and current graduate students in all fields.

i-to-i is one of the world's fastest growing, unique adventure travel organizations, specialising in TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) training and volunteer placements overseas.

i-to-i USA
8E 1st Avenue Suite 104
Denver, CO
(800) 985 4864
(303) 765 5325
Fax: 303.765.5327

Los Niños--Helping Children at the Border provides community development services in areas of teaching, nutrition, and agriculture to the Mexican border cities of Mexicali, Tecate, and Tijuana. Terms vary widely from a weekend to a year. Short-term volunteers are not required to have special skills; long-term volunteers should have experience in teaching, nutrition, and/or agriculture. Participants must be at least 18 years of age and possess conversational Spanish proficiency. Short-term volunteers pay a fee that covers room and board; while staff who serve one year or more receive free room and board.

Los Niños
287 G Street
Chula Vista, CA. 92073
(619) 426-9110
Fax: 619.426.6664
losninos@electriciti.com

NABUUR is a global aid organization that matches online volunteers with local communities in need of information and help. It is supported by His Royal Highness Prince Bernhard and by organizations like the Dutch Ministry of Housing and the Environment, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and HIVOS.

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, supported by Friends of the Orphans: NPH provides homes for orphaned and abandoned children in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Bolivia. Volunteers are needed for year-long terms to assist in all areas of raising the children. Volunteers receive free room and board and a small stipend.

Friends of the Orphans International Volunteer Program
1607 116th Ave NE
Suite 105
Bellevue, WA 98008
volunteers@friendsus.org
425.646.3935

Peace Brigades International is an international development organization that promotes nonviolence worldwide. In Latin America, volunteers spend from two weeks to a year in Guatemala, shielding the relatives of the disappeared from threats and attacks by Guatemalan security forces. Through educational and public speaking opportunities, returned volunteers promote awareness about the human rights situation in Guatemala.

Peace Brigades International
4722 Baltimore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 727-0989

Peace Corps is a federal government program established by John F. Kennedy in 1965 that sends volunteers to provide technical assistance to developing nations worldwide. Latin American countries include Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica (including a youth development program in San José), Paraguay, Bolivia and others. Sites vary according to urban and rural placements, but communities must request volunteer assignment. Project plans may include sustainable agriculture practices, water/sanitation, community health/ HIV education, small business development, natural resources/environmental education/forest conservation, but secondary projects of your choosing are encouraged. Volunteers must be U.S. citizens of at least 18. Knowledge of foreign languages and specialized technical skills are suggested. Participants receive a monthly living allowance, medical coverage, transportation to and from the country of service, and a minimal vacation allowance. Terms are 2 years with an additional three-month in-country training for area studies, language proficiency, and technical training. Benefits for Return Peace Corps Volunteers include forgiveness of particular loans, a non-competitive eligibility status for federal employment, and a fellows program offering scholarships or reduced tuition for continuing academic study. Academic credit can be awarded for fieldwork and many graduate programs offer master's degrees in accordance with Peace Corps Service.

Peace Corps
1990 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20526
1 (800) 424-8580 ext. 293

Plenty USA sponsors a limited number of volunteers who work on community-based development projects in areas of food production, health care, construction, and integrated village technology in Central America and Africa.

Plenty USA
P.O. Box 90
Summertown, TN 38483
(615) 964-3992

Projects Abroad sends volunteers abroad to 20 countries to do over 100 different internships and service projects. In Latin America, Projects Abroad works in Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Projects include: teaching English, working with orphanages, working in hospitals, journalism internships, environmental conservation, animal care and Archaeology. Volunteers stay with host families in most cases and can also take Spanish classes during their time there, if they wish. Since being founded in 1992, Projects Abroad has grown to a team of 140 people around the world that sends over 2000 volunteers annually. Volunteers can go at any time, for as long as they wish. There are no set start dates and no formal requirements as each placement is tailored to individual needs and interests.

Projects Abroad
347 W 36th Street
Suite 901
New York NY 10018
1 888 839 3535
info@projects-abroad.org

RíoArte internships in the south of Costa Rica offer much to students of the environment. Local people are looking to promote and finance a thorough study of the region's rivers, establish open and inclusive dialogue about how water should be used, and support fragile new initiatives to help this region transition to more sustainable ways of earning a living.

RíoArte interns live in the town of Volcán de Buenos Aires. RíoArte works with students, one by one, to craft internships which utilize the talents and passions and experience of each. RíoArte is looking for students who are creative, and willing to experiment with mixing disciplines and specialties. While it's most decidedly useful to be able to speak Spanish, if you don't speak it, but are open, intuitive, giving - you'll learn it, and find innovative ways to make yourself understood and to listen.

Two articles have come out about this area. One appears in Sierra Magazine. And the other, El Tesoro de Volcán: Water-Based Community Organizing in Costa Rica, in the Winter 2005 edition of Harvard's Latin American Studies magazine, ReVista.

RíoArte
2834 E. Croyden St.
Tucson, AZ 85716
(520) 881-1531
mkiser@dakotacom.net

Sea Turtle Restoration Project provides hands-on sea turtle conservation programs along the Pacific Coast beaches of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Summer, fall, and winter opportunities. No experience required. Fee covers food, lodging, and local transportation.

Sea Turtle Restoration Project
P.O. Box 400
Forest Knolls, CA 94933
(415) 788-3666
1 (800) 859-SAVE

Rancho San Juan Bosco is dedicated to providing a loving home and vocational training center to the abandoned, abused, neglected, or troubled youth of Northern Mexico. Volunteers serve in Tecate, Mexico for a summer to two years and must be at least 21 years of age. Room and board are provided.

Rancho San Juan Bosco
P.O. Box 177
Tecate, CA 91980
011-526-654-2313

Teatro Bolívar Foundation is a fully constituted non-profit organization located in the historical center of Quito, Ecuador's capital city. The Teatro Bolívar, which was severely damaged in a fire in 1999, is one of the most important venues for the arts and culture in Quito. Since the fire, the Teatro Bolívar Foundation has worked to restore the theatre, as well as continue to promote cultural and educational programming. Through a combination of volunteer and internship opportunities, the Bolivar Theatre Foundation offers students the chance to contribute to international development activities and the rehabilitation of the theatre. For more information, please email international@teatrobolivar.org

Voluntarios Solidarios is a U.S. volunteer placement program focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. Placements are from three months to two years. Participants must be at least 21 years of age and are responsible for their own expenses.

FOR Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean
515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Tel: (408) 423-1626
Fax: 408.423.8716

Volunteers for Peace International Workcamps provides an opportunity for collaborative 2-3 week projects in over 800 camps in 36 countries worldwide. Volunteers work in construction, agriculture, and cooperative work.

Volunteers for Peace International Work Camps
Tiffany Road
Belmont, VT 05730
(802) 259-2759

Volunteer South America is a non-commercial website that promotes free and low-cost volunteer work programs in South and Central America. The site was created to show that free, grassroots, volunteer work can be found in South America and, secondly, to promote some of the excellent volunteer organisations that exist in the region.

Volunteer South America
Steve McElhinney
London, UK
stevem@141.com

WorldTeach, Inc. is a non-profit program based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Volunteers spend one year teaching at schools in Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Kenya, China, Thailand, and other developing countries. No teaching experience or specific skills are required, but volunteers must be graduating seniors or college graduates. Participants pay a fee that covers basis expenses.

Worldteach, Inc.
Harvard Institute for International Development
One Eliot Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-5705
(617) 495-5527
Fax: 617.495.1239