Volunteer, Learn Spanish, & Explore Guatemala

It is never too late to make a difference in a child's life. Volunteers who join this programme have the unique opportunity of being immersed in one of several indigenous communities situated near Antigua. Surrounded by volcanoes and mountain lakes, this old Spanish Colonial town allows volunteers to learn or improve their Spanish, while travelling to nearby rural areas to teach children who otherwise would not get an education or who need educational reinforcement.

Volunteers will assist other volunteers for the first few days before taking the class themselves. Each class size can range from 10-20 children, depending on the collective ability or the attention needed by the children. Lessons range from basic literacy and numbers to educational reinforcement, maths, help with homework, English, games, art, sports and other activities. 40 hours of one on one Spanish lessons can be added for a small cost and are highly recommended for those volunteers with no previous Spanish experience or those who want to brush up on their Spanish language.

You will live with a local family in comfortable but basic accommodation which allows for an enriching cultural experience and the valuable opportunity to practice Spanish! All accommodation provided is private, has washing facilities and includes three meals a day. Early on in your stay, you can opt for, at a small cost, to spend a weekend with other volunteers mountain biking to Lake Atitlan, a beautiful volcanic lake. Once there you will hike, kayak and stay in a majestic lakeside hotel. Volunteers work on their project from Monday to Friday. Days start early eating breakfast with your host family before meeting up with the other volunteers to catch the bus to school. There is a break mid-morning for a fruit snack for the children; classes then continue to 12.30pm, when you will eat with a local family in the community and enjoy authentic Guatemalan food, plan lessons and relax. Classes then restart with new children at 2pm with the fruit break mid-afternoon and finish at around 4pm.

No formal teacher-training is required as you will be supported by project managers, interns or existing volunteers for the first few days. Teaching manuals, resource books, the Guatemalan curriculum and many other teacher resource books are available for your use. A weekly meeting is held in the communities with the village elders to discuss structure, swap ideas and to work on the following week’s classes. Full records are kept of each child’s progress on a weekly basis, to facilitate the Volunteer changeover and allow continuity of the child’s education process. A BBQ is also held each week for everyone to get together and unwind before the weekend!