Volunteer in Rabinal Summer 2012

Volunteer in Guatemala Summer 2012!

 

We are looking for volunteers with conversational Spanish skills to join us in Guatemala this summer!

In a word, our summer program is Transformative. Our program is transformative for the youth participants, who teach us about their Maya-Achi culture and discover their own potential for leadership. It is transformative for community members with whom we work in partnership to make communities healthier and more environmentally sustainable. So too, we expect our program to be transformative for you, the summer volunteer.

 

This program will raise your awareness of the world, and deepen your passion to work for social change… But only if you are willing to bring to the program an open mind and your full commitment. The success of our summer program depends on the dedication of our team of volunteers to suspend preconceptions, think critically, share ideas, commit whole-heartedly to living in community, be willing to work to the point of exhaustion, and strive to find joy and meaning along the way.

 

Details and Logistics for the 2012 trip:

This year’s summer trip is from the week of June 20 to the week of August 16.

Approximate Program Cost

• Airfare: Approx. $700
• Living Expenses: $500
• Program Fee: $450*
• TOTAL: $1,650

*The program fee can be waived if you are unable to pay it. Please check the box on the application if you will be applying for the waiver.

For roughly the first week of the program, all of the volunteers will stay in the same location so that everyone has the chance to get to know one another and the community. The rest of the trip, everyone will be living with a family in a nearby indigenous village.

The elements of our program are our best attempt to translate our vision of solidarity into meaningful practice. Starting in the second week of the program, all volunteers will be placed with a host family. Breakfast and dinner are eaten with host families, and volunteers are expected to be active participants in the household (help out with daily chores, chat with the parents, play with the kids, etc.) The volunteer team meets punctually each morning at 7:45 AM in the center of town. From there, the group does a quick check-in, and reviews plans for the day’s work.

As a volunteer, you will choose to work on either the health program or youth empowerment team. The health team will work with local partner organizations on a community health project. Planning for the health project is taking place currently, and more details will be provided as plans solidify. Members of the health team will join the Voces y Manos Health Program Committee as soon as they are accepted so that they can be involved in the planning process. The education team will work with local youth on a variety of activities and excursions culminating in an action-research project. Volunteers will work with their respective teams from 8:00 AM until 4:45 PM, then reconvene at 4:45 PM for debriefing/reflection. At 5:00 PM, volunteers return to their host families.

Outside of the daily routines, there will be numerous experiences where the entire volunteer group will be together.  Once per week, we engage in “reading circles,” in which all volunteers discuss an article from our reader, and its application to our life/work. These readings are broad and interdisciplinary, drawing from sociology, anthropology, public health, and education, among other fields. Volunteers take turns leading the discussions and reflections.

The health team members will have some opportunities to experience the youth program through field-trips with youth, and by participating in a weekend leadership retreat (a 2-day seminar coordinated by former program participants for newcomers).

Finally, the entire group will go on two excursions together: First to the site of the Rio Negro Massacres where we will learn about this tragic event that is crucial to understanding the local context, and later to the Biotopo del Quetzal, a famous nature preserve.

For the full information about the summer volunteer program, click here.

Download a copy of the application HERE.

 

What have former volunteers said about the program?

“For someone planning to go into medicine, the Voces y Manos trip solidified 

in me the desire to pursue the path of international health.… Even for people who are not interested in medicine or public health, the trip is a great experience to explore another country, improve your Spanish, meet a lot of amazing people, and have a significant impact on a community. Now, every time I open my email and have an email from someone in Rabinal or pick up the phone and hear someone speaking Spanish, my heart starts racing. I know I formed friendships there that I will never forget. And to add to it all, the other U.S. volunteers are some of the friendliest, most good-hearted people I have ever met and I am honored to have been able to live, work, hike, dance, and play soccer with them, and most of all, to learn from them.” -Hannah Perrin, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Class of 2013

“Voces y Manos was a vehicle to eye-opening experiences that have changed the way that I view the world.  Through the simple acts of being and living with the people of Rabinal, Guatemala, I learned what the face of poverty and discrimination really looks like.  It is one thing to study the social structures that bound us to our 

brothers and sisters around the globe, but it is another to experience them forthright and to become conscious of how truly intertwined all of our lives are. In the midst of this new level of global social consciousness, to be able to work with Voces y Manos for the health of indigenous Guatemalans today and the community leaders of the future was a precious experience that I will carry with me into my practice as a physician.”

- Elizabeth Berryman, UC San Diego School of Medicine, Class of 2013; Current Masters in Public Health student at Harvard University

“Voces y Manos has taught me, through experience, that as young people we can change the world…Voces y Manos combines the enthusiasm and passion of youth with the experience and wisdom of our parents’ generation. Our vision goes far beyond volunteerism. It goes beyond charity. Our vision is about Social Justice. Voces y Manos brings people of all ages and all backgrounds together to make health a reality, and to demand the right to health for all.” -Michael Bakal, Masters in Education from UC Los Angeles, Class of 2010

“The trip… went above and beyond all of my expectations.  Not only did the trip solidify my aspirations of becoming a doctor, I learned a great deal about teamwork and what it takes to make big ideas actually tangible.  I believes Voces y Manos is truly unique in that it is completely student-run and 100% of the efforts go towards the community.” -Amy Yam, Medical College of Wisconsin, Class of 2014