Connecting you to free and low fee Volunteer Abroad Opportunities

Come Volunteer with us in Nicaragua!

February 21, 2012 by

Waves of Hope is a small community development project working in the beautiful surf side town on El Manzano Uno in northern Nicaragua. Waves of Hope was developed by the founders and friends of El Coco Loco Resort (www.elcocolocoresort.com) and is our way of giving back to the community.

We are currently looking for TWO interns to come and work with us mid-April to mid-June. Interns are asked to contribute about twenty-five hours a week to our various projects, which include:

- Child and youth English classes – Kids Camp (sports, arts&crafts, yoga) – Boys & Girls Clubs

- Teaching support for our local elementary school

-Designing and building community enhancements, such as composting toilets and school renovations

We are looking for dedicated, hard-working and motivated individuals. An intermediate level of Spanish IS MANDATORY as is a kind and passionate heart and a love for children. We also ask that our interns fundraise $500- $1,000 USD to help cover costs and to contribute to the community.

Volunteers will be participating in a Homestay Program and will be living together with a family in our local community. Volunteers will have access to El Coco Loco Resort for programming purposes and for social activities. The majority of the stay will be occcuring with the family.

We ask for a minimum commitment of 3 months.

Waves of Hope is an ongoing initiative and we are always in need of great volunteers, so please do not hesitate contact us if you would like to get involved but the suggested time frame does not work for you.

For more information on our initiatives and volunteering please visit our website at www.waves-of-hope.org.

To apply, please send your resume and available start dates to wavesofhope@elcocolocoresort.com.

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Volunteer Abroad and Vaccination

August 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

“Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism.” – Samuel Butler. No one likes to fall ill when travelling, be it for volunteer work, but more so if you are taking a trip as a tourist. The risk for catching disease is increased when travelling to another continent. It is therefore advisable when you are travelling to any country for you to make sure you have all your immunization shots. Immunization schedules are usual personalized according to an individual immunization history, the countries to be visited, the duration of travel and the amount of time available before departure. Here is a brief overview.

First of all for those travelling with infants then the primary vaccination series with diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTaP-IPV-Hib) and pneumococcal conjugate can be started as young as 6 weeks of age.

The most common disease that requires vaccination from most countries, especially as a regulation from the world health organization is yellow fever. Yellow fever is a virus infection, which cause a serious hepatitis. Getting a vaccine will provide protection for 10 years after a single injection. Countries where yellow fever is present are entitled to request a valid certificate documenting a vaccination against yellow fever at least 10 days before entry. The certificate is a stamp in the WHO yellow book. If travelling to Africa, it is mandatory for you to get vaccination in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and Togo. There are some countries within Africa where yellow fever is not very much a threat, however in such countries you are required to have a certificate of vaccination if you are coming from countries where yellow fever is endemic. These countries include Algeria, Burundi, Egypt, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Typhoid vaccine is recommended for travellers who will have prolonged exposure i.e. more than four weeks, to potentially contaminated food and water. However, getting a vaccination against typhoid is recommended in all countries in Africa, as much as it is not a requirement for entry to most. The same goes for tetanus and polio.

Diphtheria is a serious throat infection, which infects from person-to-person through the air. The vaccination should be less than 10 years old otherwise a booster is needed. The diphtheria vaccine is recommended for all African countries, especially for people planning to stay for a long period of time, that being three months or more.

Lastly we take a look at hepatitis. Infectious hepatitis infects through contaminated food and water. Vaccination consists of two injections about 12 months apart, which protects for up to 25 years. The hepatitis A vaccine can be combined with hepatitis B. Travelers, who will be residing in areas with high levels of endemic hepatitis B or working in health care facilities, are most recommended to take this vaccine. Hepatitis B vaccines are recommended for all countries in Africa, where a person plans to stay for three months or more. Also note that since hepatitis B carrier rates are much higher in developing countries, every effort should be made to arrange full hepatitis B immunization for children of any age.

For more free information and low cost volunteer abroad programs in south America visit http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org/ecuador.aspx

 

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Volunteer Abroad Packing Tips

July 31, 2011 by Leave a Comment

“I’m very strict with my packing and have everything in its right place. I never change a rule. I hardly use anything in the hotel room. I wheel my own wardrobe in and that’s it.” - Charlie Watts. How you pack when you leave home for volunteer work, will determine how you get off to work on your project. Many volunteers, especially first time travelers, have a problem in knowing what to carry with them abroad, and how best to do their packing. Add to that the hustles of the airport and being in foreign land where you may not have someone to help you get started. Then, you may end up very confused, during the first few days of your volunteer work. Here is a brief overview off what to pack and how best to do so.

The golden rule is to pack light. The best advice is to bring out everything you would like to bring along with you on your trip, and then divide it in half. Once this is done then you need to pick the lightest suitcase you can find. When packing your suitcase, make sure to put the heavier things on the bottom while the lighter ones go on top, however if you are using a bag pack then you need to put the lighter things at the bottom and the heavier on top, this will aid you in making your luggage lighter to carry around with you, especially soon after arrival.

When packing, put plastic bags at the bottom as well as using them as layers, this will help you to reduce wrinkling, another way to make your packing convenient is to put different clothing in different clear bags with a zip lock, this way it’s easier to identify different bags with different clothing when unpacking, it may also come in handy at customs if you need to open up your luggage.

Roll your cloths tightly when packing them into a bag pack; it often carries more this way. Make sure you have any necessary medication and essential documents with you on your carryon bag. Along with these, carry a change of clothes with you on your carryon luggage, just in case you need to freshen up after your flight. If you are travelling with a group then you can split up your clothes with other people. This way if any of you lose their luggage while travelling, then you will have a change of clothes for the first few days while efforts are being made to locate your luggage.

When doing your actual packing, remember you are packing for comfort, not glamour. The less jewelry you carry with you the better, it will make you less of a target for opportunistic criminals. When it comes to footwear, its best to choose waterproof or oiled footwear. It is not a bad idea to carry sandals or open shoes they may come in handy especially in households where shoes are not allowed. It is better for you to carry clothes that you can hand wash and carry with you some dark or neutral colored clothing.

Use small colorless bottles to carry toiletries around, it is better to refill than carry big bottles with you, put socks inside shoes and put the shoes in a plastic bag to avoid any messes. Make sure you carry a hat with you, woolen hats for cold weather and a baseball cap for sunny weather. For the ladies, expect to bring along at least one dress or skirt for going out to restaurants or other occasions, pants may not be commonly allowed in some communities, especially at certain events.

Some other things that you may need to carry with you are a small first aid kit, an electrical converter if you plan to carry a laptop or any electronics, raincoat or umbrella for the rain, a flash light with batteries. Also carry with you a money belt or a neck wallet to keep with you at all times, where you may keep your important travel documents, including your passport, money and credit cards.

For more free information and low cost volunteer abroad programs in south America visit http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org/ecuador.aspx

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Gestures To Be Aware Of While Volunteering Abroad

July 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

“Words represent your intellect. The sound, gesture and movement represent your feelings.” – Patricia Fripp. Many people consider the spoken word as the main mode of communication around the world. We forget that non verbal communication also forms a large part of what we are saying to the person we are communicating with. Different gestures mean different things across the world, what is acceptable in your home country like for instance handing someone an item using your left hand, may be considered a gesture showing disrespect in some parts of Africa. You therefore need to know how different symbols and gestures affect people.

There a great number of gestures widely used all around the world, all with their different meanings. We start off with the thumbs up thumbs down sign. This is accepted around the world as a positive sign if the thumb is facing up, and a negative sign if the thumb is facing down. The thumbs up sign in Iraq is a great insult, especially if the hand is thrust forward toward whoever the gesture is intended. The thumbs down sign may also mean execution in some parts of the world.

Another popular hand gesture around the world is the two fingers V sign. It’s most common uses are to indicate two; it may be used as the sign for peace, or even to mean victory. However in many parts of the world this sign may have some negative connotations. For instance if the palm is facing the person making the sign then it can be an insult in some parts around the world like Ireland, the united kingdom, new Zealand and south Africa, it basically means mind your own business. So be careful especially not to use it when asking for service for example to mean two of whatever you are ordering, in these countries.

People commonly use the  A -ok sign, mostly made popular by divers, it is done by making a circular sign with your thumb and index finger while the other three fingers stay stretched out. The sign is used mainly to say that everything is fine especially during a meal or in restaurants. In some parts of Europe however, this symbol may mean that the person they are talking to is zero. In some parts of South America, the symbol might mean that you are calling the person an anus. In some countries including Germany the symbol might mean that you are calling someone a homosexual.

Some signs that people may carry out sub consciously are like the “Moutza”, this is basically stretching out your fingers to emphasize a point during conversation. It may look harmless especially to westerners. But in Greece, doing so with your fingers stretched out may be interpreted as an insult and basically just leave you alone.

Finally we will look at the subconscious gesture mostly used as a sign of seduction in western countries, this is where a person uses their index finger to indicate ‘come here’, and this is done with the rest of the fingers folded into the palm as the index finger folds inwards. In Philippines it is considered a dog call, and is used for strictly that, calling dogs. Using this gesture to call someone towards you there, may mean that you are calling them a dog. So wherever you are planning to do your volunteer work, make sure you understand the hand gestures, to ensure you do not insult anyone.

For more free information and low cost volunteer abroad programs visit http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org

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Tips For Your First Volunteer Abroad Trip

July 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There is a first time for everything, most people are nervous the first time they leave their home towns or cities for a different country. You have to leave your support system behind, which includes your family and friends. Instead you are headed to a destination that shares possibly a totally different culture than you are used to, and maybe just a few people that you are familiar with. In addition you are not a very well travelled person then you start to be more nervous as your date of departure draws closer. Here are some tips on how you can make your first travel experience easier on yourself, and consequently more memorable and enjoyable.

To begin with, let’s start with what you need to be aware of while at the airport. The golden rule here is always arriving at the airport early for check in, and make sure you have all your travel documents in order and with you. You also need to ensure that all your volunteer paper work is in order, so that when you land there are no surprises waiting to meet you, especially with the authorities.  There are a number of new security procedures nowadays at most airports, and it will be harder for you as a first time traveler as you may not be really aware of some of them. The golden rule here is to try and get to the airport at least 2 hours before your scheduled departure time. This way you will have time to relax before your flight leaves.

To help you on your journey, try and eat before you get to the airport. The home meal will be healthier and at the same time cheaper than whatever food you may find at airport restaurants. Also remember to take plenty of fluids and if possible avoid alcoholic beverages, this will help you to avoid jetlag, sleep is also your friend in this regard, so if necessary take some sleeping pills, especially if it’s a long international flight.

The first time you are travelling to a foreign country it is important to you to pack light and only what you need in your trip. A small bag will be less hectic to check out when you arrive and will also be of less hustle when you are making your way around once you reach your destination. A good approach is to carry with you only what you need while travelling and buying new things you feel you need at your destination country.

Once you arrive get yourself enough of the local currency to cover your time in the country, if you plan to volunteer for a long while, then make sure before you leave that you credit card is accepted in the country you are headed to, if not then ensure you carry enough cash with you for the duration of your volunteer work.

Remember you are in a foreign country, so you need to respect the cultures of the locals, try and learn them. Also try not to draw too much attention to yourself through fancy clothing and jewelry; this is how people become victims of criminals. Make sure you check in to wherever you are going to be staying during your visit, as soon as you leave the airport, and once there keep your documents in a safe place, but have copies of them with you, to walk around with.

For more free information and low cost volunteer abroad programs in south America visit http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org/ecuador.aspx

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