Volunteering Program
We are very proud of our Volunteer program as it gives our students a wonderful opportunity to study and help local disadvantaged children, women in need, the elderly and the environment. We work very closely with various charity programs and only use well-established and reputable locally-run organizations.
About the program
This program gives you up to 25 hours of Volunteering each week. There are a number of different options and students can pick and choose which appeals most to them and how they feel they can best help.
Working with Children
We offer our students the opportunity to help with the children’s program. This superb centre runs an afternoon after-school program, assisting with the educational needs of local disadvantaged children as well as providing activities designed to teach life skills and have fun along the way.
Working with Nature
We work closely with a local Orchid house as well as the Botanical gardens. In both these places students can work on a variety of activities including the preservation and maintenance of the plants and their nature trails.
We have also had students contributing in the administration of the gardens, helping out with the press, advertising and communication.
All of these activities provide a great opportunity to interact with locals, use the Spanish our students are covering in their morning classes as well as spending time in a beautiful and relaxing environment.
Working with the Elderly
Students can also help with the care of the elderly in another part of the city. This program works closely with local Colombians providing a safe and caring environment for residents who, for a variety of reasons, have been abandoned by their families and left unable to care for themselves.
Living at the Volunteer Center
Students taking the Volunteering program also have the option to live at the volunteer house. This gives you a chance to experience the full volunteer experience as you live in shared accommodation with the other volunteers and living in the same neighborhood as the people who attend the centers.
Availability and Price
This activity is only available to students in our City Setting (Ibagué) and has an extra fee of $US 60 per week.
Student reading to some children
Students volunteering with children
Student with some children
Student helps in Art and Crafts activities
Osnat (Israel)
I fell in love with the children in about 4 minutes flat. They were so keen to talk to me and to welcome me into their lives. After the class I would often walk some of the children home and meet their families. There is no way you can beat that sort of cultural interaction.
Kareem (USA)
Working with the children and adults was possibly the best thing I could have done to improve my Spanish. It also gave me material and questions to ask my teachers the next day in class. We planned a lot of lessons around things that I wanted to say and do when I was volunteering.
Simran (Canada)
I had never been a volunteer before but after this experience here I really want to do it again. The program really works hard to help these children by giving them meals and exposing them to different opportunities they have in their lives.
We are proud to have locally run Let's Go Volunteer as our Volunteering partner