Volunteering in Central America

Love Volunteers is seeking energetic volunteers to help local communities throughout Costa Rica. Opportunities are available precisely where the local population’s needs are greatest, and where volunteers can assist those affected by poverty.

Volunteering opportunities are available in teaching, childcare, renovation and construction, environmental, animal conservation and community based projects. The program locations are varied and include popular Jaco Beach and Santa Barbara de Heredia just outside San Jose, among others. Costa Rica is a multi-faceted Central American country known for its breathtaking Pacific coastline and nature-laden jungles - unforgettable locations for a life-changing volunteer placement!

Volunteering overseas - particularly in a challenging environment - is an experience volunteers will look back on with pride. It will bring a greater understanding of, and compassion for, humanity. With volunteers in Costa Rica coming from many walks of life and generations, it is often a way of forging new and lasting friendships.

Volunteers from all backgrounds have the opportunity to make a great contribution in Costa Rica. By volunteering, one gets to savour a different culture and to form bonds with people who genuinely need help and support. Volunteering in Costa Rica, besides being culturally stimulating, also provides an excellent opportunity to improve one’s Spanish.

Working in close partnership with our team in the Central American country of Honduras, we are delighted to offer a range of programs for volunteers in the spheres of community-based educational enrichment and well-being.  Programs in Honduras are based in the seaside town of El Porvenir, in the north coast Atlántida region of Honduras. These placements provide the chance to live in a vibrant and friendly Caribbean town. 

With the goal of providing children with greater life opportunities through access to education and essential life skills the programs in El Porvenir rely on a dedicated team of local and international volunteers working together. Here in particular volunteers really get to immerse themselves in the community and culture. These are ideal placements for individuals with some background in the caring professions. Anyone with the willingness to throw themselves into directly helping members of the local community can enrol, whether as a replacement for a more conventional holiday, as part of a gap year or sabbatical or to broaden professional experience. 

As with most Central American nations, Honduras presents the newcomer with challenges as well as rewards. Political problems and poverty mean that this rapidly changing country is troubled in part. Children from disadvantaged homes, youngsters with learning difficulties, sufferers from HIV and casualties of poverty in general form the groups in need, and helping them is what volunteering is about.

Love Volunteers have opportunities to work in various fields in Guatemala, all aimed at improving people’s lives. The programs include teaching, working with disadvantaged children in a number of facilities, healthcare and medical work, construction, as well as environmental protection. The efforts of volunteers directly impact the lives of people affected by political instability, poverty and poor health.

Whether a gap-year student, a new graduate or on a career break, what makes volunteering such a worthwhile experience, is the chance to be immersed in an unfamiliar culture where the services that volunteers provide are urgently needed and greatly appreciated. Guatemala presents stimulating challenges, and work needs to be done to bring relief to individuals and families affected by poverty and limited prospects.

In addition to this, volunteering adds a dimension to one's life experience, challenging assumptions and allowing them to experience first-hand the struggles of others. We have found that individuals grow as a person as a result of their time as a volunteer in Guatemala.

Guatemala borders Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Belize. Guatemala is a country of volcanoes, mountains, and beaches. It has coasts both on the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean and is proud of its Mayan history, evidence of which still remains. This small country is marked by contrasts. Guatemalan people are known for their friendliness and you will be a welcome guest.

Programs in Nicaragua are currently on hold

Situated on the Central American isthmus, between Honduras and Costa Rica, Nicaragua's natural wonders are quite simply incredible. With calm, clear Caribbean waters on one side and surfer-paradise Pacific coasts on the other, joined by an impressive volcanic interior, Nicaragua offers visitors a paradise of outdoor activities. Not withstanding the cultural richness and colonial architecture that has fascinated visitors for centuries, particularly prevalent in the old town of Granada, where Love Volunteers programs are based.

As is the case with many idyllic locations, Nicaragua has been the scene of political and economic unrest resulting in inequality and poor standards of living for much of the population. Volunteers have the privilege of helping across a variety of areas from childcare and teaching to the empowerment of women and gender equality and assisting with rural medical outreaches.