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#1
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South America Volunteering
Hi,
I am planning to head to South America in July 2007 for around a month. I am planning on heading on my own as no one i know has the courage to head off for a month. What i would like to do is get involved in some sort of volunteer course where i would get to meet the locals and still get the see some of the sites of South America, i also think that this would be a good way to meet fellow travellers like myself. I have two questions to ask, Firstly does anyone know of any websits or organisations that i could get in touch with to organise a volunteering trip?? and secondly does anyone have any recommendations on where the best places in South America to volunteer would be. I would consider myself to be quite open-minded, however, i would still like to come back in one piece so i would prefer a safe enough spot! thanks for you help Cian |
#2
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South America Volunteering
A good choice is to work as a "volontario" in Ecuador. The language school
"Atahualpa" in Quito offers a combination of studies in spanish an whith work in a "fundacion". Minimum time is one month stay. Visit their website at www.atahualpa.com/en/ skrev i meddelandet ups.com... Hi, I am planning to head to South America in July 2007 for around a month. I am planning on heading on my own as no one i know has the courage to head off for a month. What i would like to do is get involved in some sort of volunteer course where i would get to meet the locals and still get the see some of the sites of South America, i also think that this would be a good way to meet fellow travellers like myself. I have two questions to ask, Firstly does anyone know of any websits or organisations that i could get in touch with to organise a volunteering trip?? and secondly does anyone have any recommendations on where the best places in South America to volunteer would be. I would consider myself to be quite open-minded, however, i would still like to come back in one piece so i would prefer a safe enough spot! thanks for you help Cian |
#3
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South America Volunteering
Jerry wrote:
A good choice is to work as a "volontario" in Ecuador. The language school "Atahualpa" in Quito offers a combination of studies in spanish an whith work in a "fundacion". Minimum time is one month stay. Visit their website at www.atahualpa.com/en/ $420 for 28 days? I've seen worse, but my opinion (so far) is that if your contribution is valued, they should be willing to provide a roof over your head, feed you, and provide a modest night or two on the town. ("they" doesn't necessarily have to be local people.) I don't have a problem with paying for my own plane flight. -- Bob Broughton http://broughton.ca/ Vancouver, BC, Canada "It should be legal for a private maternity ward to permit smoking." - Chuck Wright, May 22, 2006 |
#4
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South America Volunteering
Robert Broughton wrote :
Jerry wrote: A good choice is to work as a "volontario" in Ecuador. The language school "Atahualpa" in Quito offers a combination of studies in spanish an whith work in a "fundacion". Minimum time is one month stay. Visit their website at www.atahualpa.com/en/ $420 for 28 days? I've seen worse, but my opinion (so far) is that if your contribution is valued, they should be willing to provide a roof over your head, feed you, and provide a modest night or two on the town. ("they" doesn't necessarily have to be local people.) I don't have a problem with paying for my own plane flight. -- Bob Broughton http://broughton.ca/ Vancouver, BC, Canada A few reasons people have to pay to volunteer: - The organisation for which you volonteer receives no outside funding or grants, and is largely supported by participant fees. - The process of preparing, training, transporting, housing, feeding, and supervising volunteers is not cheap. Additional services such as health care, re-entry assistance, travel medical insurance, and more, all add to the expenses of a program. - The costs of recruiting volunteers, producing literature, answering the phones, sending mailings, developing a website, and interviewing potential volunteers are significant. Viviane |
#5
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South America Volunteering
Viviane wrote:
- The process of preparing, training, transporting, housing, feeding, and supervising volunteers is not cheap. Additional services such as health care, re-entry assistance, travel medical insurance, and more, all add to the expenses of a program. - The costs of recruiting volunteers, producing literature, answering the phones, sending mailings, developing a website, and interviewing potential volunteers are significant. So the main question becomes, are the volunteers actually a net benefit? -- Bob Broughton http://broughton.ca/ Vancouver, BC, Canada "It should be legal for a private maternity ward to permit smoking." - Chuck Wright, May 22, 2006 |
#6
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South America Volunteering
Robert Broughton wrote :
Viviane wrote: - The process of preparing, training, transporting, housing, feeding, and supervising volunteers is not cheap. Additional services such as health care, re-entry assistance, travel medical insurance, and more, all add to the expenses of a program. - The costs of recruiting volunteers, producing literature, answering the phones, sending mailings, developing a website, and interviewing potential volunteers are significant. So the main question becomes, are the volunteers actually a net benefit? I guess there are as many answers to that question as there are volunteering opportunities. But it is a fact that in many cases where volunteers come and go, there seems to be no apparent regard for the importance of long-term, sustainable development with regards to a specific project. Actually, sometimes volunteers are more a burden than an asset because of their lack of technical knowledge, language skills, and cultural sensitivity. But nonetheless it is said that, generally-speaking, volunteering in a country other than you own promotes positive values, enriches lives, and increases international mutual understanding. Viviane |
#7
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Very nice said! I'm actually also thinking about volunteering in Ecuador but the comments doesn't really answer the original questions: Is it better to find a local volunteering organization directly or do it through a placement organization? My Spanish is unfortunately not so good and probably I'll take some Spanish lessons first.
I just read a good article about volunteering in Ecuador: http://blog.ailolaquito.com/2014/05/...ng-in-ecuador/ I would really love to work with children. Mary |
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