Opportunities in Costa Rica

The Costa Rica volunteer program constantly changes with the needs of the community and with the requests of the students. Current positions include opportunities in social services, business, environment, teaching, child- care, women's issues and the construction of housing for the poor through the programs of Habitat for Humanity (see below). Volunteer programs are limited to students (minimum of two weeks) of certain of our language programs (CPI, Intercultura, ILISA & COSI). Please note that most volunteer placements require a minimum commitment of 3 weeks. The following is a list of current volunteer opportunities in Costa Rica

Heredia, Monteverde (Must be a CPI Student)

In Monteverde, there are 3 primary areas in which you may volunteer your time:

Teaching (Monteverde)

English: CPI has an English as a Foreign Language program. Classes are held from February to November. There is a 2 month time commitment. Former teaching experience is not necessary. You may teach English as a Second Language at the local primary school or high school. The school term is from February until the end of November.

Children: The Quaker School is a bilingual school. The Creative Learning Center is a bilingual elementary school that emphasizes ecological awareness and creative arts. Volunteer opportunities range from teaching and working with children to helping maintain the facilities through manual labor.

Volunteering in Nature (Monteverde)

The Monteverde Cloud Forest

The Reserve, which is a 45 minute walk from CPI Monteverde, needs volunteers to work on trail maintenance, the forest patrol, provide orientation to visiting tourists or if your profession is related to ecology or biology, you may work in the area of environmental education. The position is full time, Monday through Saturday, from 7am to 3pm. Volunteers are provided with a place to stay in the Reserve with the other volunteers. In general, it is necessary to apply at least one month in advance; however, with some projects, you may join when you arrive.

The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve

This reserve was created 5 years ago. Volunteers are needed for project design, translation of documentation and brochures, administrative support, writing, computer work, organization and management, biological research, trail maintenance, and manual labor.

The Butterfly Farm

The primary positions are maintenance and care of the butterflies and for guides. They offer room and board for your help; the minimum time commitment is 3 months.

Local Non-Profit Associations (Monteverde)

The Monteverde Institute

The Institute designs and administers programs in tropical ecology, environmental education, and agro-ecology in collaboration with foreign and Costa Rican institutions and groups. As a local institution deeply rooted in and committed to the Monteverde community and area, the Institute also provides local educational, cultural, and social programs. The Institute has a Volunteer Center and they help prospective volunteers find local organizations that need assistance in a variety of areas.

Recent volunteers have planted trees in a reforestation program, helped to maintain the park trails in the Santa Elena Reserve and the Monteverde Cloud Forest, taught English as a second language in the local public and private schools, and worked with the woman’s group, Vida, in issues of domestic violence, empowerment and income generation. There is a 2 week commitment.

The Monteverde Conservation League

The league is a non-profit association dedicated to the preservation of the surrounding forest areas through environmental education, reforestation, and numerous other forms of environmental protectionism. The League is comprised of members of committed Costa Rican and North American biologists and landowners. One of the League’s most well known projects is the International Children’s Rainforest; this project encourages school children raise funds in order to purchase sections of rain forest, which is then incorporated into the aforementioned protected reserve.

Habitat for Humanity:

Currently has two regional affiliates. They have constructed 144 houses, with 35 currently under construction in the San Ramon affiliate, and 9 in Peninsula Nicoya. After finishing their studies at CPI students may choose any one of the building locations to participate in the construction of housing for low- income families.

The Humanitarian Foundation

A non-profit organization established in 1990, works to create opportunities for marginalized and underserved populations with the goal of breaking the cycle of oppression and poverty.

Volunteers work in a variety of grass roots, community focused projects, such as assistance in: building pre-kinder classrooms in rural towns, renovation of local playgrounds, the establishment of a summer camp for abused children and children from low income families, organization/logistics of a women's empowerment seminar, English classes and recreation for girls in a pregnant teens home, cooking and art therapy classes for developmentally delayed young adults, working with street children, literacy projects for illiterate adults, painting a mural on the main wall of a home for children with cerebral palsy, creating rainy day boxes for children, distribution of basic food baskets to low income and indigenous families and business counseling for the start up of micro-business (in the areas of tourism and baking).

Students may participate in any of the current projects of the Humanitarian Foundation at the termination of classes. Volunteers stay on an average of 3 weeks to 3 months. Due to its non-profit status the Humanitarian Foundation requests that all volunteers make an initial donation of $200 and subsequent monthly donations of $100, these funds, in turn, help to finance the project in which the volunteer chooses to work.

The Humanitarian Foundation can also set up one- day projects for groups (the cost is $10 per person). Such an activity provides an excellent opportunity to not only assist those less fortunate but to expand the mind and unite cultures.

San Pedro Area (Must be an ILISA student)

Volunteering with Children/Medicine

Children’s Hospital
They only accept volunteers with medical experience. There are usually several volunteers already at this particular hospital.
Requirements: a resume that covers your experience and present position to submit to the hospital.

San Jose (Must be a COSI student)

Volunteering with Children

Monterrey School
This is an elementary and high school that needs volunteers to teach English to children who need some tutoring.

PANI
This is a government organization that takes care of abandoned and abused children. PANI has different shelters throughout the country. Volunteers help in educational and recreational activities that build the child´s self-esteem. Some of these children are waiting to be adopted and some might go back to their parent’s home if the situation changes.

Aldeas SOS
This is a small community of 7 houses that belongs to PANI, which also works with abandoned and abused children. They are located in Santa Ana, a town about half an hour from San José. Volunteers help with educational and recreational activies according to their skills.

Volunteering in Medicine

Hellen Keller organization
They work with deaf and blind people, both adults and children. Volunteers help in their education by reading or recording books and participating in recreational activities.

Hospital Carit
This is a maternity hospital. There is a project with teenage mothers. This work requires people with studies in medicine since they need to help the nurses.

Volunteering with Nature

San José Zoo
It is a small zoo located very close to downtown San José with exhibits of some of Costa Rica's animals and a few exotic ones. They need volunteers to take care of the zoo animals and to help the personnel in the administrative activities.

National parks
Volunteers are needed to work for a minimum of 45 days in three different national parks. Volunteers have to pay $15 a day for meals and lodging. According to their needs, the national park office proposes some of the parks from which volunteers may choose.

Volunteers live with park rangers in ranger stations and help them in all the activities such as orienting the tourists, maintaining trails and buildings, information signs, protecting flora and fauna, office works or surveys.

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