Volunteer Opportunities in Central America
Volunteering in Central America presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness everything from unspoilt natural landscapes to charming towns with Spanish-influenced architecture. Even in the era of rapid urbanization, Central America remains raw and unique. Most local communities remain rooted in their culture and way of life. A continent of raging volcanos, tropical coasts, vibrant markets,and majestic Mayan ruins, joining volunteer projects abroad in Central America can leave travellers with a lifetime of memories. Right from economic and social welfare initiatives to conservation efforts, there are plenty of volunteer jobs to choose from!
Volunteer Abroad with Local Non-Profits
Featured Non-Profits
Maya Pedal is a grass-roots NGO based in San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala. We work with local communities to create long-lasting sustainable solutions to local problems, predominantly through ‘bici-maquinas’; pedal-powered machines made from donated and disused bikes. Right now, we are focused on a project to bring safe drinking water to a rural community and improve the working lives of farming families living there by installing water filters and appropriate pedal-powered machines. Key to this project is training local young women and girls in WASH and the building and maintenance of concrete bio-sand filters, so that they can pass this knowledge on to their community and make the positive impact sustainable for the long-term. It will also give the young women and girls transferable skills for them to be empowered to have better and brighter futures.
Huellas que Trascienden combats poverty by turning the talents of the indigenous women of Chiapas into income for their households in an innovative and integral way.
7 ReviewsHow to Volunteer in Central America
How to find volunteer opportunities in Central America
Connecting Colombia and Mexico, the countries of Belize, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica collectively form Central America. Having faced civil wars and political unrests, Central American communities need the help of volunteers who can come in and lend their support to local initiatives. Among the many opportunities, volunteers can choose to support medical care, child care, conservation, education and women empowerment programs. Options truly are limitless. One popular volunteer work in conversation is to save endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica. All Central American countries , especially Guatemala and Honduras, are in urgent need of childcare volunteers.
Best time to volunteer in Central America
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to avoid the rainy seasons when visiting Central America. In Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama, the dry season is usually from January to March. The dry season in Costa Rica is from mid-December to April. When visiting during the wet seasons, people are urged to travel in the morning because most Central American countries experience afternoon showers. On a positive note, there are hardly any tourists during the rainy seasons, which means less crowded tourist spots and cheaper accommodation rates.
Essential information about Central America
Travellers need to make sure to get the right paperwork when planning their volunteering trip abroad. Right now citizens of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a few other nations can enter any Central American country without getting pre-arrival visas. Travellers should read about the visa regulations of the countries they are visiting. With more than 32 million speakers, Spanish is the predominantly understood language in Central America. The cost of living over there is generally cheaper than most developed nations. Places such as Panama City in Panama, as well as San Jose in Costa Rica are some of the cheapest cities in Central America in terms of food and accommodation. Managua in Nicaragua and Guatemala City in Guatemala are comparatively more affordable.