The United Nation’s World Humanitarian Day reminds us all to #ShareHumanity. How do you give back to your community?
While teaching is a go-to experience for many who want to volunteer while traveling, the opportunities to giving back in Costa Rica are endless. So get out, get going, get involved! Become engaged in your community, and learn how changing lives can change your own.
Here is just a short list of ideas for how you can volunteer in Costa Rica.
Connect with Former Street Kids and Prisoners
The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation (CRHF) started working with street kids at the beginning of the year 2000. Several have now returned to their home or are living on their own. All those who the Foundation helped are now off the streets and living a much more stable lifestyle. (CRHF)
Volunteers will be provided with transportation to and from the airport, host homes, work preparation and weekly travel discounts.
Practice Medicine
Are you medically trained or currently in training? Prepared to share your skills and knowledge? Do you feel inspired to help the most vulnerable Costa Ricans stay healthy? Volunteers work in a medical setting, such as an ambulance service or a hospital. (Global Volunteer Network)
Apply as a student, a nurse, or a licensed profession to help in areas of education, occupational therapy or hands on care.
Save the Turtles
Turtle poaching is a very serious problem here along the Caribbean. The illegal egg market poses a threat to their populations everywhere. What many don’t realize, however, is that responsible harvesting can sustain an entire town while actually promoting growth in the turtle population. Asociación de Desarrollo Integral de Ostional (ADIO) is a conservation organization that is able to employ and provide health and education services to members of the surrounding community.
ADIO offers all-inclusive packages for long-term and weekend volunteers alike. Individuals who choose to help either of these organizations out have the opportunity to walk along the beach at night, guarding the turtles. (ISA Student Blog)
Become a True Coffee Lover
Are you a coffee connoisseur? A java junkie? Then join our Coffee cooperative program, where volunteers will assist with the sustainable production of coffee in a rural farming community, in the mountainous region of Costa Rica. Volunteers will assist with coffee-picking in the fields, roasting the beans and packaging the final product, alongside wider agricultural activities. As well as the agricultural side of things, volunteers can also get involved in marketing the coffee product to the market and get involved with the wider community. So sign up now and go get caffeinated! (Global Volunteer Network)
Donate!
There are so many great organizations hard at work here in Costa Rica for you to donate your time or money. Charity Vault has an extensive database organized by location and category to help you get started.
[quote_center]“It’s impossible to be involved in all situations, but there’s no excuse not to be involved in something, somewhere, somehow, with someone. Make an ounce of difference.” — Richelle E. Goodrich, author of Smile Anyway [/quote_center]