Description:
Costa Rica, a travelers paradise, is a fantastic choice for your volunteer or internship project. In the heart of Latin America, it is a country of contrasts and a varied mix of landscapes and cultures. Its wide range of attractions includes volcanoes, tropical rainforests, magnificent waterfalls and beautiful sandy beaches. Known as an environmental wonderland, Costa Rica is renowned for its biodiversity and many national parks, and boasts an array of wildlife from crocodiles and monkeys to whales and dolphins.
Our projects are available for anyone interested in volunteering in the developing world, including those on a college summer break, gap year, career break or volunteer vacation.
Volunteering on a Placement Overseas in Costa Rica
Projects Abroad has volunteering opportunities in Teaching, Care, Sports and Learning Spanish. These projects are based in or near the town of Liberia, in north-western Costa Rica. Conservation & Environment volunteers are based in a number of national parks throughout the country.
In Liberia youll be based with a local host family, who will make sure you have a great experience in their home town. Life in this quiet town centers on a large main plaza and a pedestrian area, fringed with coconut palms. You will be just four hours from the cosmopolitan capital of Costa Rica, San José; under two hours from the Nicaraguan border and less than an hour from an enviable choice of Pacific beaches.
Volunteering on a placement in Costa Rica
Learn Spanish - With 60 hours of instruction per month, you'll learn quickly and can practice what you've learned with your host family each day! Lessons are with a private tutor and tailored to your ability. Whether you are a complete beginner or have been learning Spanish for years, being surrounded by the language every day will help your skills progress by leaps and bounds. After your lessons you will have plenty of time to complete your homework and explore the area with other volunteers.
Conservation - Poaching and a decline in suitable nesting sites has led to a significant decrease in the number of sea turtles, which are now globally listed as an endangered species. At the research station, you will be involved in every aspect of the job helping to protect the turtles and their environment. Much of the work is done at night when you will be out on patrol, recording any sightings of nesting turtles. In the mornings, you may be out on foot marking the nests and helping release hatchlings on their perilous journey to the sea.
The amount of turtles nesting on the beaches varies within each month. Most months there is a period known as an 'arribada' or arrival, where hundreds and sometimes thousands of turtles nest on the same nights. During this time you will be very busy helping with shifts that run 24 hours a day! This is balanced out by the quieter times when only a few turtles per night may lay their eggs, but there are always beach patrols to carry out and routine camp maintenance work to assist with.
Care Work - Our care placement in Costa Rica works specifically with people who have mental and physical conditions such as Downs Syndrome, autism, delayed learning and blindness. Here you will assist with their rehabilitation and prepare them for life beyond school. The ages at the center range from babies to adults, so there is a wide group of people you can interact with.
Upon your arrival, you will discuss with your supervisor your interests and skills to better place you within the center. The rehabilitation program takes on several forms, including physical therapy and workshops. You can work with older children and adults on their musical skills and in making handicrafts to sell later on. With the younger children and babies, one of the most useful activities is to simply spend time with them. Reading books, playing games and helping them with their daily activities are ways to give the children individual attention that they would otherwise not receive.
Teaching English - Our teaching projects are based in the high schools of Liberia in Northwestern Costa Rica. Depending on the school you're placed in, you could be teaching children as young as 4 or as old as 17. The size of the classes ranges from 10 to 45. Although you will be given your own unique timetable, work generally begins at around 8.30am - although some schools start earlier - and runs until about mid-afternoon.
Sometimes you will be supporting a teacher in a full-sized class or you could take some of the students with you to give them more individual attention during a private lesson. There may also be occasions where you will teach your own class independently or with a fellow volunteer. It is always worth talking to your supervisors about any ideas you may have for the students. If you have a passion for sports, drama or music you could have the opportunity to organize some extra-curricular activities as well.
Coaching Sports - You will join one of the many teams competing in the Little League for schools in Liberia (a district in the north west of the country), as part of our soccer project in Costa Rica. There are over 400 children in this league aged five to eleven years old who mainly come from low income families.
Everyone gets involved: teachers, volunteers, parents and coaches. As a soccer coach in Costa Rica, you will be responsible for the development of young soccer players' basic skills and techniques. You will co-ordinate and plan coaching sessions to develop - for example - ball control, accurate passing, keeping possession and moving into space. The age of the children means they are at an ideal stage to be taught the basics and to learn the foundations for their future. However, at the same time, it's really important that playing soccer is about enjoyment and participation. This makes your role easier as these children all have a real passion for sports and are eager to be involved. Your job, with the help of your supervisor, is to make sure the fun and the desire both continue.
Journalism - On our Journalism placements in Costa Rica you will get not only an insider's view of how a television station is run, but also the chance to put together an impressive portfolio of work. Your résumé will be greatly enhanced by the practical skills that you gain during your journalism placement and your experience of living and working in a different country will act as proof of your courage and adaptability.
Our journalism placements are based at Canal 36 Community Television station in Liberia. You will be given a real opportunity to get involved, but the more enthusiasm and effort you put into the project the more you will get out of it. You will start off shadowing local journalists who will show you how things work while passing on their knowledge, expertise and contacts.
Volunteers will regularly help to compile the daily lunchtime and evening news bulletins. This may involve translating and writing news items taken from international cable news channels, helping with scripts, editing and even presenting.
If you can demonstrate enthusiasm and creativity, you will also be offered plenty of opportunities to get involved in different programs and projects, including sports, culture and music shows. Please let the local staff know if you have any specific areas of interest or experience.
Highlights:
For your accommodation, you'll live with a Spanish speaking host-family, which is a great environment for developing and improving your language skills. All the families involved are extremely supportive of the placements carried out by Projects Abroad and are eager to experience an inter-cultural exchange and learn about the lives of volunteers.
Costa Rica is Central America's jewel. It's an oasis of calm among its turbulent neighbors and an ecotourism heaven, making it one of the best places to experience the tropics with minimal impact. It's also mostly coastline, both Caribbean and Pacific, which means great surfing, beaches galore and a climate built for laziness.
This project offers the opportunity to become fully immersed in the culture in a manner which even the most hardened of backpackers could never hope to do.
Qualifications / Skills Needed:
None.
Languages:
English
and Spanish
Cost in US$: From US$ 1,595 up
Cost Includes:
Food,
Housing,
In-country orientation/Training,
In-country staff support,
Medical insurance,
Medical services,
Pre-departure orientation/Training,
Registration fees,
Travel while in host country,
Written materials abroad
and Written materials pre-departure
The price of each placement includes all your food and accommodation, transfers to and from the airport, full travel and medical insurance plus support and 24 hour back-up from our staff based around the world.
Experience Required: no
Typical Volunteer Projects:
athletics,
childcare/children,
community centers,
community development,
consciousness-raising,
conservation,
culture,
eco-tourism,
English teaching,
health,
orphans,
sports,
volunteering,
wildlife surveying,
youth
and youth development
Typical Volunteer: Open-minded with a desire to travel.
Age Range: 16-80
This Program is open to
World Wide
Participants.
This Program is also open to
Couples and Individuals.
Typical Living Arrangement:
Home-stays
Participants Travel to Costa Rica
Independently
Or
in Groups
Typically Participants Work
Independently
Or
in Groups
Application Process Involves:
- Letters of Reference
- Written Application
Typically The Application Process Time Is 10 days
Post Services Include:
- Alumni Network
- Exit DebriefingAbroad
- Re-Entry Debriefing at Home
Projects Abroad's Mission Statement: As part of the global economy, Projects Abroad helps create local employment wherever we send volunteers. Employing local staff overseas and using their talents and knowledge is important to us. This local knowledge and support enables the organization to channel the skills of the volunteers from more affluent countries to regions around the world where they are needed. Volunteers also learn from their placements and the people they meet, and they gain experience in a chosen field. In the 21st century, we believe this mutual respect is what cultural exchange is all about.
Year Founded: 1992