 The
Spanish language school offers students the option to participate
in one of our selected volunteer activities. We have visited each
of the sites located in the city of Oaxaca to meet the administrators
of the programs and to know the sites personally. Following is
a list of the programs we have selected:
Please note
that additional info (prices, activities, etc) are found to the
right of this pages. 
OAXACA, OAXACA
1. Patronato Pro
Casa
Description: An orphanage for abandoned or mistreated boys between
the ages of 5 and 16. Patronato Pro Casa provides schooling, lodging,
clothing and meals to these youngsters. As they meet with a psychologist
in the mornings and attend school from 2pm to 6pm, the schedule
when the orphanage most needs our help is from 11am to 12:30pm
and from 6pm to 9:30pm for a total of 5 hours each day.
Activities:
Organize and help with art classes (Mondays and Wednesdays) and
Physical Education classes (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays) from
11am to 12:30pm. Help with homework, organize games and activities
and help out with the nighttime meal. The orphanage is also in
need of a great deal of maintenance and organization.
2. Milpas de Oaxaca
Description: A non-governmental agency that works with rural and
indigenous youth to offer positive and educational activities,
encouraging participation between youth and adults in their communities.
Activities:
Volunteers would assist in organizing and presenting workshops
on topics such as the following: agriculture, health, sports,
education, ecology, reforestation, conservation of natural resources,
human rights, carpentry, nursing, medicine, art, cooking, recycling,
politics or social organizations. Milpas is also restructuring
its website, so those volunteers who know about graphic design
or web design may prefer to help in that area.
3. CANICA (Centro
de Apoyo al Niño de la Calle de Oaxaca)
CANICA is a large organization and offers many activities for
volunteers. Each activity has a different set of requirements
(professional requirements or minimum time limits) for the volunteers.
Except in the case of workshops, any activity in which the volunteer
is in direct contact with the youth has a minimum time requirement.
As many of these children have been abandoned by their families
or taken from their families due to abuse, CANICA does not want
the children to feel emotions of abandonment by changing volunteer
workers any more than necessary; however, they are very excited
to receive volunteers and will do their best to find a role acceptable
to both parties. Please contact us, giving a description of how
you would like to help and how long you will be able to volunteer,
and we will tell you what activities are available through CANICA.
4. Patronato Estancia
Fraternidad
Description: A home shelter for families of those who are ill
and being treated in the General Hospital of Oaxaca. The shelter
receives an average of 110 people each day and provides food and
lodging to all in need.
Activities:
This home provides food and lodging for up to 150 people, so there
is always cooking, cleaning and distribution of food to be done.
However, as many of those lodged here are suffering from depression,
Patronato Estancia Fraternidad tries to create activities–games,
songs, dance, arts and crafts, etc for them. These volunteers
would need to be self-motivators to come up with activities to
lift the spirits of those suffering. It is probably better that
the volunteers work in pairs to create activities.
5. Mundo Nuevo
Description: A non-governmental, non-profit organization that
promotes environmental conservation. Mundo Nuevo finds the most
adequate ways to treat all types of pollution (pollution of the
water, air pollution, trash, etc). The organization's only form
of income is by selling the paper it recycles.
Activities:
Volunteers would collect and separate the products to be recycled;
actually recycle paper goods, market and sell the recycled paper;
and explore other uses for aluminum, plastics, glass and organic
goods. Those who have experience with computer programming or
graphic design can also help with the website.
6. Tierraventura
Description: A small, ecological tour company providing trips
throughout the state of Oaxaca. Their goal is to show visitors
the "real" Oaxaca, and create a sustainable tourism
by helping the communities. They specialize in tours in the mountains,
along the pacific coast, the Sierra Mixteca and the northern and
southern Sierra, and take a maximum of six people, so they are
able to personalize trips and gear them more to their client's
needs.
Activities:
Volunteers will help with the organization and promotion of the
tours, join the guides on several tours until they feel comfortable
beginning to give tours on their own. Tierraventura works with
some of the larger ecological companies, such as Bioplanet, so
the volunteer will also do some administrative and sales work
with these companies.
PUERTO ESCONDIDO, OAXACA ( Six Hours from
Oaxaca City)
1. Casa Hogar
Nueva Vida
Description:
An orphanage for children living on the streets between the ages
of 1 and 18. They provide lodging, meals, clothing, medical services
and education. The children attend school in the mornings, so
the volunteers are needed in the afternoon hours.
Activities:
Help with homework, organize games and sports activities, read
to and with the children (they can not watch television on school
nights), help prepare the nighttime meal and clean up afterwards.
|
