Program Reviews

I became homesick the first ten minutes of being in community but after that I was fine. The community members were extremely open and had fun asking all kinds of questions. The Spanish speaking part was one of the most difficult challenges I had because native speakers talk so much fast than your average Spanish teachers do. I picked up quick. Through out my experience as an Amigo volunteer I grew up alot and I became so much more confident. AMIGOS really changed the way I view life.

I settled in quickly to my community in Juan Hambron. Everyone was kind and supportive. I really liked my partner and the staff who came to check on us were cool. We renovated the kitchen in the local school and thankfully the head of the PTA was a contractor. The project went very well. I had a great time on the beaches and i had fun at the half-way break and a conference we attended. I still keep i touch with friends I meant there and I am hoping to go back soon. The only downside was being eaten alive by mosquitoes!

I thoroughly enjoyed the eight weeks i spent with AMIGOS as a volunteer of the San Juan Project. I lived with a host family in a rural community and taught children's rights as well as facilitated a community and youth based initiative to institute a trash collection system. I learned so much about the culture, learning to dance, cook, and play dominoes and I made amazing friends. This was one of the best experiences of my life, I have gained greater self-confidence as well as cultural insight. My host community was incredibly safe; however, the weather was quite hot. Overall, I would strongly recommend this program.

Over the summer, I was a volunteer in Costa Rica with the organization Amigos de las Americas. After the seven week project, I have learned so much about the world, a different culture, and myself. Being immersed in a unique culture enabled me to meet the most inspiring people, relish in delicious cuisines, develop a more understanding perspective, be more appreciative and grateful for everything I have, and live my life to the absolute fullest.

My Amigos volunteer experience in Costa Rica was amazing. Amigos provided unsurpassable training in health, safety, and cultural sensitivity preceding the in-country project. I felt prepared and inspired to promote change and support community development. The training meetings and retreats were fun and informative because previous volunteers were incorporated into the training staff; their knowledge, trustworthy advice, and unending support eased the sometimes overwhelming tasks of packing and mentally preparing for this life-changing journey.

Volunteers have in-country briefing for a few days, before they are partnered and assigned a community. Volunteers live with a host-family in primarily underdeveloped regions. Project Supervisors are assigned partnerships, and these multiple partnerships form a route. Project supervisors are always extremely friendly, supportive, and caring. They spend one night a week in each of their communities. During this period, they do an evaluation with members of the partnership, where they assess the health, safety, and goals of the individual. The ambitious project staff are always willing to meet the needs of the volunteer and the community; they are approachable for advice, questions, and discussions. They are experts at inspiring youth leadership, while providing a foundation for safety and security.

The CALM Plan (Contact, Assist, Lift, Medical) and twenty-four hour on-call hotline ensure the safety and well being of every volunteer. Additionally, the project staff is willing to address specific needs, such as altering living arrangements or a meal plan. Local clinics, transportation, and contact information are provided prior to arrival in community.

My host community was extremely welcoming of my partners and me. They happily provided hospitality and always went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable in the foreign environment. By the end of the project, we felt entirely immersed in a new culture; Costa Rica had become our home away from home.

The members of our community were enthusiastic and willing to partake in a community based initiative project (CBI). Upon arriving in community, we organized a meeting and got input on what they desired. They chose to paint a mural that would unite the community and beautify the school. In addition, we planted over 150 trees, constructed a cement path, started a youth group, and finished painting the school. In addition to working with children for at least two hours a day, five days a week, we implemented these projects. The projects were great ways to get community members engaged and feel empowered as leaders. Amigos emphasizes the vitality of supporting, rather than helping the community. It is their project, not ours, and it is crucial that they have ownership over the sustainable result.

Average days consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, going to the local school to lead a two hour 'campamento' (youth camp) pertaining to the theme of environmentalism, eating lunch, going home to dance, listen to music, cook, play cards, make bracelets, or do art, eating dinner, planning the next day of 'campamentos,' organizing the youth group fundraiser, playing soccer, working on the community based initiative project, spending time with my host family, and learning about the culture. Typical food included beans, rice, tortillas, bananas, plantains, avocados, and pineapple.

I will never be able to express my gratitude toward the truly amazing people I had the privilege of meeting and befriending over the summer. From the adorable children to the playful teenagers to the wise adults and elders, I have never met more pure and appreciative beings. They have the ability to live so simply, but possess a sense of happiness that is so real, and so inspiring; nothing is more moving than their genuine smiles and effortless giggles. I will never forget the community members saying that my partners and I will always be in their hearts, and I will probably never cry as hard as I did upon leaving.

I would definitely recommend Amigos to a friend because it was truly a life-changing experience that broadened my perspective and grounded me as an individual. The cultural immersion process, as well as the relationships established through Amigos are priceless.

It was an awesome time! I learned so much and Amigos did an awesome job preparing us. I really love Panama and would love to go back someday. It was great working on our project which was to build a Computer Center. I also enjoyed bonding relationships with my host family. I will treasure my time in Panama forever.

It was amazing to live with a host family and feel completely accepted by the community. I loved working with the kids during the "Campamentos" (Summer camps) we did and they were really helpful in making us feel at home. It was really great to experience a completely different culture and view of the world; I came home with an entirely different perspective on the world. My favorite part was in the evenings after we finished our Campamentos. The kids would play and the teenagers would play the Ecuadorian version of volleyball while their radios blasted reggaeton music. The women would sit nearby and keep an eye on their kids while they knit and had a meeting for the knitting cooperative we started. We would just sit there, hang out with everybody, and feel like a part of the community. There were a few difficulties, such as overcoming the language barrier, but we adapted really quickly and our project staff were great resources at helping us. This was a fantastic program. I would do it again in a heartbeat and definitely recommend it to a friend, or basically just anyone.

I lived in a community of 250 people outside of Paraguari with two other volunteers from the United States. We worked with the kids and community members every day: building latrines, planning fundraisers, and holding camps for the kids. My host family was the best, and I still keep in touch with them. Everyone always says that AMIGOS changed their life, and that holds true for me as well. This experience was so rewarding and wonderful. Working with youth leaders in Latin American communities shows you how similar we all are, no matter where we come from. I have continued to volunteer with AMIGOS ever since my first summer in Paraguay because it is where I feel the most at home, and where I feel that I can have an important impact on another person's life.

I participated in Amigos in 2010 and was apart of the Paraguai project. While in community we were able to raise money and put electricity in the school and plant 100 trees. I think the thing I enjoyed most was the amazing relationships that I established with my host family and the kids that I spent time with at school. I loved waking up in the morning to take the cows out to the field with my host dad and learning how to cook gizo de arroz and cocido with my host mom.

It was the best opportunity I have ever had to expand my leadership skills and experience true Spanish immersion.
Everybody should participate in this program!!

It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. My Spanish improved more than I ever imagined it would, I made special connections with so many people, and I learned so much about a culture I would never have an opportunity to learn about in school. One of the most memorable moments of my experience happened during the classes that we were teaching to the second graders. We asked them to draw a picture of their families, and our host cousin drew my partner and I in her family portrait.

My time in Cocle was an interesting one. We started the day helping in the building of a retaining wall, and continued on to lunch. After lunch we would wait for about two hours for nobody to show up to our campamentos. This was upsetting, but it was simply a stutter in the amazing time I had with AMIGOS.