What is volunteer mean for you?
Volunteering, voluntary, and volunteer are common words that would let one person to think of helping people who needs help. Indeed, it is correct. However, if you were ask why you would want to volunteer what
would be your answer? Probably you will have the same common answers with the others. To help people in need, to experience how self fulfilling the feeling is or you want to experience being independent from your parents especially if you volunteer abroad. Yet all of these you could experience when you indulge yourself to volunteer. And the others answer why they wanted to volunteer abroad because they wanted to know another country, to meet new people and to know another culture and walks of life.
On the other hand, before you decide to spend volunteering abroad think of the two aspects: where exactly you wanted to volunteer (country) and what issue you would want to volunteer. From these two aspects you will have a proper direction what to do and where to go. When choosing a cause, think of your skills that you can share to the place where you volunteer. And when you choose a place think of it wisely because the people would depend on you, remember that volunteering is a commitment therefore, you have to be sincerely committed to the people living in that particular country.
Being a volunteer you should have to have the flexibility characteristic. The work of the volunteers is not easy. There are so much hard works that you will do and if you do not have enough patience and flexibility you will end up nothing and decided to just go home. But if you condition yourself about the possible circumstances abroad it would not be hard for you to deal with it. Another characteristic that you should develop when you volunteer is understanding and humility. If you have these characteristics you will reach the point of being the true and sincere volunteer.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
I wanted to list a volunteer or internship opportunity, we do not charge volunteer fees.
Volunteers are the life of La Esperanza Granada and the time given by those who are willing to help us in our aims to improve the quality of life in the villages where we work is greatly appreciated.
There are no fees charged to volunteer with La Esperanza Granada. You will have to pay your own cost of living and your own transport. You are not required to do fund raising or contribute financially to the organization in any way (though of course it is welcomed when volunteers do help, whether by brining along some school supplies, or organizing a fund raiser when they are home.
We ask that you have at least an intermediate level of Spanish. All of our work in the schools and the villages is conducted in Spanish and in fact there is very little English spoken in Nicaragua. We will often accept beginners in Spanish providing that they intend to study while they are here and are staying long-term.
The minimum time of commitment varies according to language skills and time of the year, but usually is 8 weeks. There is no maximum limit. The average length of stay is two to three months.
There are usually 20 – 40 volunteers from all over the world. They work in teams, whether they are working as kindergarten assistants, tutoring the small children in primary schools, teaching English in the schools, mentoring children in high school, in community research, with children’s activity groups,coaching baseball etc. Volunteers are never sent out into the community on their own and you will always have others to share the problems/joys and experiences with.
By far the majority of volunteers are working in the schools, many of the other activities are part time additional things that volunteers do by choice, or during times that the schools are closed.
By reading our ‘Volunteer experiences’ you will see that for many it is a very special part of their life to have spent time helping the wonderful people of this fascinating country. The poverty that exists does not dampen the spirit of the Nicaraguan people. There is a wonderful contrast of life lived at a slower pace, and yet bursting with activity, music, crowds of people, and always the unexpected. There is an abundance of parades, processions, fireworks, etc., and lots of opportunities to discover something new.
In addition to the experience of being steeped in the culture of Nicaragua you are also side by side with your fellow volunteers with cultures as diverse and as contrasting as the local culture is to newcomers.
An average volunteer day would consist of approximately 5 hours of work in the school/community, an hour of traveling to and from the villages, and additional time spent with your fellow volunteers planning for the coming days, discussing the day that has passed, etc. There is one evening meeting to attend where we all get together. Otherwise evenings and weekends are free to enjoy. There are also lots of long weekends here in Nicaragua when most volunteers travel to see other parts of the country.
We have some volunteer housing available (thanks to one of our donors making this available to us). Accommodation in the volunteer houses costs $20 per week in a shared room, and $35 – $40 per week in a single room (plus some rooms for couples which are $40 per week). Have a look at our FAQ page which will give you more information about the cost of living in Nicaragua. Also feel free to e-mail any of those volunteers who have given their e-mail addresses, we have a list of recent volunteers at the bottom of the FAQ page.
There is no obligation to stay in the volunteer housing, some people choose to stay in a homestay, (usually $70 to $80 per week) or some who are here long term may rent a small house. One thing we do ask however, is that volunteers do not stay with families in the villages where we work. We feel aside from the cultural impact on the villagers and potential social problems, that this can also lead to an unsustainable dependence on income gained from volunteers, so does not fit with the ethics of our organization.
If you are interested in volunteering with La Esperanza Granada follow this link to download a copy of our Volunteer/Internship Enquiry form. Please fill in the Volunteer Enquiry Form and email it to us. We will be happy to hear from you and will reply as quickly as possible.
We are happy also to work with your college should you wish to complete an internship with La Esperanza Granada, and many students of International Relations, Languages, etc. have done so. We have hosted many successful internships.
For any other questions please e-mail us at: la_esperanza_granada@yahoo.com
and we will answer you promptly.