Overview
Volunteer Tour to Teach in Central and South America

This volunteer tour gives volunteers the opportunity to work, live in and explore six Latin American countries for six months. you will spend time volunteering and travelling in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, before moving on to Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Volunteers will teach on GVI-run projects, which are dedicated to teaching literacy and numeracy to underprivileged indigenous and impoverished communities.

Volunteers also have plenty of opportunity to experience the gems these Latin American countries have to offer on the many side trips that are included in the program. 40 hours of one on one Spanish lessons and group Portuguese classes are also included, as well as all transport between countires, whether by air or overland.

View Film Footage, images, blogs, stories from the field, video diaries and more at the programs media centre

To be able to experience six different cultures in six different countries, and being able to make such a difference to each, really impressed how diverse Latin America is.

Emily Brown, Volunteer

What Difference Does This Project Make?

Volunteers will be working in GVI's Programs, which provide educational reinforcement and first-time education, funded through volunteer contributions. We also run a food program. Without these projects, education would not exist for most of our children in Guatemala and Nicaragua and the children in Honduras, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil would not have access to primary reinforcement in the understaffed schools or secondary education. Also, the energy-efficient stove you will build in one of the countries has both environmental and health benefits.

Highlights

Teaching in indigenous communities; taking one-on-one Spanish lessons and group Portuguese lessons and practicing on the friendly locals; building an energy efficient stove; enjoying multiple side trips to do a variety of things in a range of locations, such as traveling to Lake Atitlán, hiking through Colca Canyon and trekking the Inca Trail to reach the spectacular Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru. Travelling and experiencing six different Latin American countries.

Location

In Guatemala volunteers live in Antigua and project work is carried out in communities approx one hour journey away.

In Honduras, volunteers live in Copan Ruinas, a tiny colonial town close to the famous Ruins. Project work will be undertaken approx 30 mins from town.

In Nicaragua, volunteers live in Estelí, a typical Nicaraguan town in the North. Project work is about 30 minutes from here.

In Ecuador, Otavalo is our base town and our projects are situated an hour away up in the mountains.

In Perú, You will be based in Arequipa, Peru’s second most important city. It is located just over an hour’s flight, or 13 hours by bus, south of Peru’s capital city Lima, between the desert and the Peruvian Andes. You will study (if learning Spanish) and live in Arequipa whilst travelling to nearby communities, or ‘pueblos jovenes’, to undertake the teaching projects.

Field Conditions

Living with local families in comfortable but basic accommodation allows for an enriching cultural experience and the valuable opportunity to practice Spanish! All accommodation provided is private, has washing facilities and includes three meals a day; lunch is eaten in the communities.