STEM and Renewable Energy Volunteering in Nicaragua

My AMIGOS experience gave me a chance to grow, learn, and have experiences I never could have dreamed of. This program had large focuses on cultural humility, community, and service. I feel like I learned so much on this trip, from classes about biofuels and solar energy at a local university, to lessons on the history Central America and cultural humility led by our supervisors, to hands on experience volunteering. Some of my highlights include repairing a clay and brick oven, exploring the Canyon of Somoto, and the many city tours focused on history and culture. But I think what made this truly great was the volunteers and supervisors I was experiencing it with. Everyone was incredibly kind and supportive, and it was so fun to spend three weeks with a group of teens like me with a passion for learning, meeting new people, and giving back to our communities. Some of my fondest memories are just the long bus rides spent talking or the nights playing cards.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic we were not able to do much volunteering, and we also didn't get to spend much time with the local communities practicing Spanish. Because nearly all of the volunteers on the trip were from the US, we almost always reverted back to English when talking among ourselves. As a result, I don't think my Spanish improved significantly over the course of this trip. However, with these covid precautions I felt incredibly safe, and these challenges would be present in any trip like this during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall this was an amazing experience that let me grow and learn about the world around me. This was one of the best experiences of my life, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a volunteer trip in Latin America.

Culturally humility and sustainable development were at the core of this experience. The focus on those two concepts opened my eyes to impact that a community can have on others. In a group of 20 students, we experienced the passion and love of so many other people. We made a family that can never be torn apart. This immersion trip to Nicaragua was exciting, fun, and passion-filled. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is looking for an immersion experience that will allow them to learn, grow, serve, and lead.

This program took place in 2021, in a very unique time in the world. To protect the health of everyone in our group and the communities we visited, we had to go "light" on the service activities and very deep cultural immersion. Even still, there were so many opportunities to meet Nicaraguans, learn about their society, and see their unique ways of responding to social and environmental challenges.

In addition to the community component, the program was incredible for students to practice living together, learning to communicate constructively and kindly, and advocating for their own needs (what good preparation for college or any other young adult living situation!).

As a member of the staff, I saw students grow as leaders and as caring members of the little community we created. So many beautiful connections and friendships were made between the Nicaraguan and U.S. participants.

I would recommend this program to any young person who wants to improve their Spanish, expose themselves to new ideas, make friends with people from different backgrounds, and see a very beautiful and special part of this world!

If you are looking for a challenge, finding yourself, your goals and fuel (motivation), making life-lasting relations, and experience the amazing culture and hospitality of a beautiful country while you explore and appreciate nature, great lakes, and active volcanoes, stop thinking about it and come to the Nicaragua program. You will discover colonial cities and unique mixed cultures within the country. Going to excursions to natural reserves, canyon trips, and waterfalls and appreciate the flora and fauna of a tropical land while you learn about renewable energies and the potential that Nicaragua has in this area from the voice and knowledge of tops of the experts and partner organizations working in this area. Also, you will have the opportunity to engage with locals that will be as excited as you to talk, teach and learn and create amazing bonds and friendships. As a Program Coordinator in this program, I felt really proud of myself, my team, and the volunteers we were working with and very happy to show my country and its culture while we all learn and live as a big family and awaken our leadership and many other skills. You will definitely get out of your comfort zone and the only thing you will regret is not coming.

I participated as a volunteer with Amigos when I was in high school, and this year as a staff member. During non-Covid times, I see the Amigos summer programs to be like a mini peace corps service. The summer programs usually revolve around service, cultural immersion, language learning, and more. Due to the pandemic, the programs this year have been very different. Our team not only took many precautions to prevent Covid-19 spread, but the summer program was shorter overall with less service. Although there were changes to what were were able to do within the communities that we stayed in, the volunteers were given many impactful opportunities for growth and experience. Some of the programs highlights included intensive, in-person Spanish classes, excursions throughout the country to see much of Nicaragua, working with our partners (cooperatives, organizations, small businesses, etc.) within the different communities, and more!
Something that makes Amigos de las Americas programs different then many other programs is that Amigos does not give volunteers and/or staff luxury housing or treatment while in their host countries. If you are going to Panama with Amigos, you will live like the average Panamanian. That is the same for if you go to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, etc. The living conditions are normally bare, simple, and can be very difficult for some people. Although this may scare some people away, it is something that makes this organization so unique, and really gives the volunteers and staff alike the opportunity to live in authenticity in their host country and community.
With Amigos, young people have the opportunity to create lifelong connections, grow their confidence in traveling alone, speak a different language, and more. Amigos programs are extremely impactful, and help many young adults learn about their passions and widen their global perspective.
I highly suggest Amigos de las Americas if you are a young adult looking for a very authentic, sometimes challenging experience in Latin America to push you to learn about yourself and other countries around the world.

This was an amazing experience. This year the groups project focused on sustainability and climate change. Two things I’m very passionate in. I made lots of new friends from all over the country and in Nicaragua as well. This was the highlight of my summer and I would definitely encourage anyone to check out their programs. I would love to come back in the future and become a project staff or do a gap year program. My Spanish definitely improved through this group by conversations with native speakers.

This was an incredible experience. I made many friends and connections. I loved improving my conversational Spanish and communicating with the local communities. Working with the organization Grupo Phoenix was the highlight of the trip for me. I would love to return in the future and do a gap year or join the training staff. The training staff on our trip were incredible. They were always available for anything we needed and were so fun to talk to as well. I would definitely check Amigos out for an immersive, cultural, and different experience.

I had a great time on my AMIGOS trip Nicaragua and learned so much! It was a great opportunity to learn more about other cultures, educate myself on sustainability within communities, meet new people, and practiced my Spanish. I learned so much about the history of every city we visited and the work we did around renewable energy was very engaging and educational. My only piece of feedback I would have would be around the curriculum we did as it was a bit repetitive and straight forward, and I felt I didn’t learn that much from it. However, other than that I had a great experience and made lots of friends!