We can offer you different kind of projects in the health area at various clinics and hospitals that provide a free medical consultation service and sell medicine at a low cost. They receive about 25 to 35 patients per day (children, youths and adults). There are 10 clinics around Antigua and each one has a Doctor, a nurse and a pharmacy. These projects are only available to volunteers with a background in medicine such as: Nurses, Doctors or Medical Students.
Volunteer tasks are to help the nurses, to receive the patients and take their vital signs, measurements, weight and temperature, to work in the pharmacy, and to assist the doctors.
Specific assignments will be made according to the skills and interests of the volunteers, as well as his or her Spanish language ability. An intermediate level of Spanish is required for this placement.
We can offer you one project in the construction area. This projects aims to provide adequate housing for families of limited resources by building a new house or improving the home in which they are already living.
Volunteers are required to help with the construction of the house under the supervision of local workers. Volunteers will also be helping with different kind of tasks, depending on their abilities.
Mundo Spanish School has contact with several organizations which you can help as a volunteer. Depending on the project, a good level of Spanish could be necessary in order to accomplish your goals. You will not only be sharing time and experience but you will be getting lots of job satisfaction and volunteering allows you to experience how rewarding this can be.
The volunteer program is open all year round and to all ages (minimum 18 years old or accompanied by an adult) and all nationalities.
Depending on the project, some additional cost could be necessary.
We can offer you different kind of education based projects in different schools around Antigua. These schools receive poor children of different ages. They provide teaching programs, activity programs, breakfast/snacks programs and hygiene/medical programs.
Volunteer tasks can involve working as assistant teacher, assisting the children with their homework and helping with recreational activities. Depending on the Spanish skills of the volunteers, tasks can include more responsibilities, such as teaching.
We can offer you a range of projects which involve working with animals.
Animal Rescue Center
This project is an animal rescue and rehabilitation center for wild animals from the Mayan Biosphere Reserve. There is an animal hospital on the premises for sick or injured animals. They try to reintroduce all the animals back into the Mayan Biosphere Reserve.
Volunteer tasks are to clean the cages and to prepare and to monitor the health of the animals. Volunteers will often be asked to perform extra duties such as constructing cages or extra buildings, trail maintenance, gathering wild food for the animals and research into the wild diets of the animals.
Sea Turtle Conservation
This project involves the research and conservation of sea turtles. The conservation and research center is located in the Hawaii area. One of its main objectives is to counteract threats to leatherback and olive ridley turtle populations from over-harvesting by local egg collectors. Despite their endangered status, virtually all sea turtle nests in Guatemala are poached and the eggs are sold as a supposed aphrodisiac; clearly not necessary given a population growth rate of nearly 3%.
As part of its conservation program, this project is home to one of the most productive of the 21 egg hatcheries in Guatemala. It recovers sea turtle eggs from local collectors, reburies the eggs in the hatchery and after an incubation period of roughly 50 days, the hatchlings are released into the sea.
Volunteers are needed most during the egg-laying season. Tasks include spending nights walking the beach in search of nesting turtles, collecting the eggs and bringing them back to the hatchery. Once the eggs begin hatching, volunteers assist in releasing the baby sea turtles back into the Pacific Ocean.
Dog and Cat Rescue Center
This project takes care of over 200 dogs and nearly 100 cats. The primary goal is to rescue and rehabilitate domestic animals that are being mistreated in the home or have been abandoned on the streets. They have a permanent spay/neuter clinic on site and give free environmental education to local children.
Volunteer tasks are to build dog-runs, to put up fences, to clean animals, to provide some human company and to help with educational programs. From time to time volunteers may be required to help with spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics, garage sales and other fund-raising events.
