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Winter Specials
Want to do international volunteer work and make a difference, but don’t think you have enough time? Why not take advantage of your winter break or January term and join us on one of our winter specials? You will be with a small group of fellow volunteers immersed in another culture. It’s the perfect way to gain some experience, help out, and have fun while contributing significantly to the local community as well as your own personal growth.
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Special Projects for January
Culture & Community In Jamaica
Monday, January 5th 2009 - Wednesday, February 4th 2009
The idea for this project work came from Wendy Tisdell, a previous volunteer in Jamaica who runs a pumping solutions company, Primepump. They are experts in pumping and water infrastructure in the mining and industrial sector. While volunteering with us in Jamaica, she decided to use the expertise of her firm to help the needs of an orphanage and school in Mandeville. They are now going to complete two separate water-related infrastructure projects, one at New Hope Orphanage and one at McIntosh Primary School.
Primepump will provide the on the ground expertise and funding while Projects Abroad will provide the volunteer workers.
The project at New Hope Orphanage is to refurbish an existing water tank. We will install a solar powered hot water heating system to supply hot water for the children. We will also build a garden including fencing and irrigation. New Hope is an extremely poor orphanage with very basic facilities. It is based in a residential area of Mandeville. Our Care volunteers here help to look after 30 orphans aged between 1 month and 5 years old. This part of the project will run for the first two weeks.
The second two weeks of the project will focus on McIntosh Primary School. This school has severe water issues. The project is to build a water storage system with an electric pump to carry the water to the ablution block. We will also refurbish the ablution block. McIntosh Primary is a government school with 923 students, even though the official capacity is 400!
For a full project description, please visit our Community Building in Jamaica page. The price for this project is the same as one month of Care in Jamaica.
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Culture & Community in Bolivia
Sunday December 28 2008 - Saturday January 10 2009
Your first day will be a tour of the city of Cochabamba and a general introduction to the Bolivian culture. The next morning, you will be introduced to one of the sites of our care and community projects. Working in a small group made up of volunteers and local staff, you will tackle the large task of renovating parts of the orphanage that are in dire need. Volunteers in the past have built greenhouses and compost areas, worked on building renovation, and helped restore outdoor and indoor play areas. Volunteers can stay with host families by themselves, in single sex pairs, or there is also the option to stay in a separate room in one of the orphanages you are working on. During the weekend, you will visit Totora, a colonial pueblo near Cochabamba known for its beautiful colonial buildings and the traditional lifestyle of its inhabitants.
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Conservation & Environment In Thailand
Sunday December 28 2008 - Saturday January 10 2009
When you arrive in Thailand, we will show you Krabi by day and night and give you a general insight into Thai culture. Not only will you be thrilled by the great food and wonderful people, you will be actively involved in scuba diving, mangrove reforestation, and other conservation work. You complete a four-day NAUI Open Water course to qualify you to dive. You will learn how to breathe, clear your mask and equalize pressure, as well as become familiar with the buddy system and underwater sign language. Once you have qualified, your efforts will be rewarded as you descend to a stunningly clear underwater world of tropical fish, turtles, sea urchins and corals that you never knew existed.
Observing and recording reef damage and fish populations, you will play a part in conserving this precious ecosystem off the coast of South East Thailand. After your two or three weeks, you will return home with universally recognized dive qualifications and a wealth of diving experience while knowing that you’ve made useful contributions to the preservation of a wonderful marine ecosystem. On top of all that, you’ll have some great memories of Thailand!
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Culture & Community In Ghana
Sunday December 28 2008 - Saturday January 10 2009
You can make a real difference in people’s lives by getting involved in our community project based in the Akuapem Hills, North of Accra in Ghana. You will live alongside a few of your fellow volunteers with a local host family, which gives you a real chance to immerse yourself in the great community atmosphere in the Akuapem Hills. You will work on a housing project, helping build a new classroom for the village school and housing poor families. You will be making mud cement, pressing bricks and leaving them to dry before building with them.
There’s also a need for landscaping the surroundings and painting completed buildings. During the weekend, we’ll take you to Cape Coast to visit Kakum Rainforest Reserve where you can hike through the jungle and experience the canopy walkway high in the trees. You’ll also have the chance to visit Cape Coast’s slave castle and stop off at one of Ghana’s palm fringed beaches for some well deserved rest and relaxation.
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