Volunteer in Guatemala with Maximo Nivel - Best Rated Projects

Working with Maximo Nivel in La Antigua, Guatemala was the experience of a lifetime. I am a nursing student with Emergency Department experience and worked in one of the local free clinics with a fellow nursing student. The clinic provided services from vaccines to family planning to emergency triage and as a volunteer we were able to be a part of every aspect of the clinic. Our transportation to the clinic was an experience in its self as we used the ¨Chicken¨buses to get to the town we were working at.
Our home-stay with a local was just another plus for our trip because at any one time we had people from France, Belgium, Germany, United States and more sitting at the dinner table and sharing their experiences with us.
There really is not anything I can say about the local culture that will do it justice, so you have to come for yourself!
Altogether my experience was a good one, Maximo Nivel took care of everything and made me very comfortable during my stay. I would definitely do this program again!

Doing a volunteer project abroad is something I've always wanted to do, but just hadn't found the time or opportunity to do. I took advantage of vacation time to get to check off an item off of my life to-do list, and that's what led me to discovering my volunteer project in Antigua. My experience was life-changing across many fronts: from the people of Guatemala to the amazing kids that made me smile every single minute I was with them. I can't emphasize enough how seamless everything went, and highly recommend Maximo Novel for anyone looking to volunteer abroad in Latin America.

I signed up for Teaching English for kids in Antigua and did this through International Volunteer Headquarters from a friends recommendation, and this project was locally supported by the Maximo Nivel Antigua team. My project itself was for 2 weeks, and worked with one other volunteer for grads 2-5 at a local public school. My project was surreal for me, I got to spend 5 hours a day with 150+ kids that are the kindest, humblest, and appreciative kids I'll ever meet in my life. It was quite a bit of daily work and you should understand that your project has job expectations of you, but also it's charitable work that so gratifying that it flies by too quickly. I cherished every minute at my project, and it has forever changed my outlook on life in a positive way.

Maximo Nivel did an excellent job with making the most of my Guatemala experience. For my project itself, Maximo did a great job consolidating a useful amount of training in a 3 hour period on my first day that helped set me up for the 2 weeks with what to expect at the school. Maximo did an excellent job with giving tools and ideas for me to develop lesson plans for the students, and also were always available for me if there was any issues. One perfect example, my co-volunteer and I were talking to the school principal about the next day's schedule, and we had a difficult time understanding what she was asking from us. It was an awkward situation, and Maximo was rapidly available to speak to her, and completely resolve the mis-communications. I personally was highly impressed with Maximo's team, they seemed very well trained and experienced with supporting volunteers.

Outside of the project, there was a decent amount of time to get to explore around Antigua and Guatemala and Maximo did a great job providing resources and recommendations to cater to whatever your interests are. For my trip, I did an overnight hike to Mt. Acatenanago, which was a must-do if you're into overnight strenuous hikes. The tour service ran under Maximo offered a great price, and also is cool in that there's other volunteers you'll likely be doing tours with and get to meet. Additionally for my trip, I stayed at a host family house that was facilitated by Maximo and covered breakfast/dinners. Overall, my housing was okay, there was a couple of communication issues between the host/maximo/myself but once again their staff was perfect with supporting me and resolving any issues I had.

It's been about 1.5 months since my project ended, and I can't believe how much I miss Guatemala. It's changed me and I still haven't really been able to adjust to being back in San Francisco. I had been anticipating my trip for a while, and I'm just shocked with how much my experience went above and beyond my expectations. From the people I got to meet that made me feel so comfortable, to the wild adventures I got to dive into. Oh and those kids, just wow. I strive to carry their humble and gratuitous nature with me every day. I hope I get to go back to Antigua soon and see all of the people that touched me and changed my life.

Working with De La Gente coffee farmers was great! It was an incredible experience to get to meet and work along side the families who make the coffee. By interacting with the families, we were able to hear their stories and get a better appreciation for the hard work they go through to support their families. It's also surprising and touching to hear how much they love what they do. It was neat to see the whole process - from the bean picking, to the roasting, to the bagging. I definitely think more about where my coffee comes from now that I'm back in the States and try to make more of an effort to support fair trade coffee. The staff at Maximo Nivel set everything up for us with De La Gente and made our whole trip extremely stress-free!

We just completed a two week medical campaign around Guatemala through Maximo and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. Jorge was our group leader and when we arrived to orientation he said that he had spent over 2 months preparing for our mission trip and it was clear that he had dedicated a lot of time and effort for our campaign throughout the entire trip. We did pop-up clinics nearly every day which was great because we got to see different sides of Guatemala and the varying cultures of communities surrounding Antigua. We also spent some time at a couple daycares and a nursery home which were a great addition to the other areas we visited. Our group was only 6 people but it was the perfect size for this project and we all got a lot of one-on-one patient contact. Prior to coming here only one member of our group had taken Spanish so in my opinion our greatest challenge was the language barrier but, now sitting here writing this review, I cannot believe how much medical and conversational Spanish we have picked up and learned in our own time. Aside from our time at the medical campaign we went to visit the Iximche ruins, a local coffee farm, hiked Pacaya, went zip-lining, and went to Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenago. It was SO easy to plan this trip with Maximo and they were so helpful and willing to let us plan exactly the trip we were looking for. They even helped us to arrange private transportation and our driver Venissio made us feel very safe and he was a fun addition to our group! Overall this trip was even more than we hoped it would be and it is an experience we will look back upon having learned a lot about practicing medicine, patient care, Guatemalan culture, and each other. I hope I am so fortunate to have another experience like this is in my lifetime. THANK YOU MAXIMO!

I went to Antigua, Guatemala through Maximo Nivel and to say this trip was amazing is an understatement to how awesome my experience here was. I came to Guatemala to help provide healthcare to those who could not afford it or had no access to it. Maximo makes planning your trip so easy. Maximo, especially the medical mission trip coordinator Jorge, did an amazing job at coordinating different clinic opportunities for us to really experience the culture of Guatemala. From the doctors to our driver everyone was so welcoming and made me feel like I never left home. I learned so much about medicine here and these are skills that I will definitely carry with me in my future career. Being exposed to how healthcare works in another country is such a huge eye opener and believe it is an experience everyone should have if they are going into this field. We got to treat patients of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. We were ablñe to hand out vitamins, medications, toothbrushes and toothpaste and perform physical exams for those who came to our clinics. Every town we went to was so welcoming and were so appreciative for being able to provide them with care they normally do not have easy access to. I cannot express how amazing that feeling is to have a Mayor of a town thank you for being able to provide healthcare to their town that is min poverty. It is an amazing feeling to be able to help others in this way and I wish I could have given back more. In addition to planning an amazing project for you to do your volunteer work, Maximo also gives you the opportunity to see the country and do various activities from climbing volcanoes to zip lining. I cannot thank Maximo enough for giving me this opportunity and memories that I will remember for a life time! I highly recommend planning a trip to Guatemala through Maximo!

It was an absolute priviledge to work with my colleagues and the medical staff through Maximo Nivel in Guatemala. I had an incredible experience each day as we met and treated a variety of different people in Antigua and the surrounding areas. The medical professionals were able to cultivate not only a fun environment for me, but also an incredible learning experience that I can utilitze in my future career.

Additionally, it was humbling for me to gain an appreciation for a culture outside of what I am familiar with. Having never been outside the United States, I did not have any idea of what to expect. I came to Guatemala with an open mind and had the ability to see life in a whole new perspective. I will never forget the experiences I had and the knowledge I gained.

Thanks for everything, Maximo!

Our trip to Guatemala was absolutely AMAZING. I am so grateful to have had such a wonderful experience full of knowledge, culture and memories that will last a lifetime. Huge shoutout to Jorge, Vinicio, Dr. Guan, Dr. Alvarez, Wally and all the staff at maximo for making this trip so wonderful. I highly recommend maximo and I could not be happier with this trip. I am very sad to see it end but i know i will take everything i have learned here and bring it with me throughtout my entire life. It was such an eye-opening experience and i am very lucky to have been able to serve this community and make a difference. Guatemala and everyone at maximo will always have a special place in my heart. I cannot thank Maximo enough for this mission trip, it was an absolute pleasure.

I had a great 2 weeks here in Guatemala through Maximo Nivel. They made it a really easy process for us, everything was easily scheduled ahead of time and if there was any issues (which there was not) the Maximo office was right here in Antigua. They set us up with a great host family where we made friends with many other fellow travelers and students going through Maximo. For the past 2 weeks we have visited various towns surrounding Antigua that lack the medical resources that many of us take for granted back in the States. We worked with 2 Guatemalan doctors who were very patient with us and took the time to teach us. Our Spanish was rough but the doctors, staff and patients were very forgiving and patient with us. I really enjoyed the hands on medical experience I was able to receive including interviewing and examining patients. We saw many interesting cases and I honestly believe my Spanish vastly improved by the end. I wish that I had brushed up on my Spanish before coming or if I was here longer I would definitely had taken the Spanish courses that Maximo offers.

This has been a great experience and I will never forget it. I am grateful to the Maximo staff and everyone I have met here in Guatemala for such an amazing time. I hope to one day return to Guatemala!