Current & Past Volunteer Stories

Want to know what it might be like to volunteer abroad? 

Omprakash volunteers have been posting stories, photos and even videos from their time abroad since 2007. We now have an extensive collection of personal stories from volunteers who've worked with our partners abroad. You can browse through the most recent stories below or use the category selection tool to narrow your search. Alternatively click on the Stories tab for each organization we work with to see specific accounts from a particular organization. Be careful - you might lose a couple hours of your day in here! Happy reading. 

sort by:    regions category

 

I have worked with Amigos de la Educacion for 7 years

September 20, 2012

Amigos de la Educacion , Costa Rica
cheryl pruss

I have volunteered with Amigos de la Educacion for the past 7 years. I started as a volunteer in thier golf tournament and got more involved over time. Today I am on the Board of Directors. The group does much to help the schools in the local area through donations of books, improvements to school facilities and other supplies for schools that allow schools to spend their time doing what they should be doing, working with the students. In addition they provide schlorarships for students without much money to be able to stay in school. Amigos is a qualified non profit in Costa Rica and uses a prefessional accounting firm to account for all money that flows through the group. I know the founders personally and know them to be...

Read More
 
 

Construyendo el camino hacia una educación integral.

September 11, 2012

Amigos de la Educacion , Costa Rica
Irene Alfaro Rodriguez

As a volunteer of the projects which are clearly defined by the organization without lucrative purposes; I consider myself as a civilian representative of the Guanacaste province, more specifically of the nearby communities in the area of Tamarindo. In a continuous labor, regular and without any self-interest, Amigos de la Educación opened my eyes to the needs of eradicate or modify the causes of the needs of one of the most vulnerable populations of this country: children. The population which I refer to, is urgently needing volunteers that consider themselves as bridges among the donators and beneficiaries, therefore our acts speak for us by our reflexive and responsible processes regarding this matter. As a profesional of psycology, these are some of the tools which could be used: • Community Intervention As one...

Read More
 
 

My Volunteer work for Amigos de la Educacion

September 07, 2012

Amigos de la Educacion , Costa Rica
Tracey Young

The greatest gift I have received from helping Amigos is spending time with children, seeing them smile and trusting they take away something good from the time you have spent. I have recently visited many local schools in Costa Rica and given bicycle road safety to 6-12 year olds - this was received with many warm smiles and laughs as we made it fun too. The greatest gift you can give is your time and Amigos allow you to do that wholeheartedly. Spanish is a bonus, but attitide and smiles are really the most important. I would highly recommend spending time with the compassionate people of Amigos de la Educacion - for many reasons.

Comment on this story
 
 

Every sunrise at UWCCR is an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

January 15, 2013

United World College Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Gio Mora

I had an internship at United World College Costa Rica as a Communication Department Assistant from August to November 2011. Since the very first day i has been friendly received. I worked supporting the internal and external communication strategies designed by Ana María Alvarez, who is one of the best professionals I´ve ever met. She and all the rest of the staff is very compromised with the goals and values of the Foundation. They all really believe in this project and that makes it bigger than what it already is. Every single moment at UWCCR was an experience of mutual understanding, peace and respect for the differences within a culture aware of the importance of nature care. UWCCR students are full of life, projects, ideas and they are all desperate...

Read More
 
 

A Global Educational Community Experience

January 08, 2013

United World College Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Roisin Shannon

If you want to take a challenging and transformative journey then join this group of intelligent, fun, culturally diverse people from around the world and from many different backgrounds. Volunteering at United World College will suit better those who are confident in meeting new people and pro-active in joining in activities and getting on with things on their own.  Life at the College can get very busy and like any educational institution, the unexpected can happen. The College was good at identifing my skills and interests and allowing me to put those into practice in ways I may not have thought of, but it also provided the opportunity for me to make things happen and make suggestions for activities/work I thought the community of students...

Read More
 
 

Lux Verde

January 22, 2013

Luz Verde Nicaragua, Nicaragua
MaggieJo St John

Luz Verde works with rural communities in and around the Miraflor Nature Reserve and the local town of Esteli. The founder, Jane Boyd, gained firsthand experience of life there as a volunteer herself on a project I ran in the first decade of this millenium. She returned to establish the social enterprise that has become Luz Verde. Esteli is home to her and her two daughters. Jane works tirelessly to support community projects ranging from organic gardens that improve the nutrition of families and can provide additional income, to emergency support when flooding devastates homes and farms. For those with adequate Spanish, good organisational skills and initiative, volunteering with Luz Verde can offer a life changing experience. MaggieJo St. John ...

Read More
 
 

Environmental Projects

January 18, 2013

Luz Verde Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Melissa Mark

I have consulted with Luz Verde and Jane Boyd since 2006 on a variety of projects, including ecotourism, environmental education, and home gardens. I have worked as a biologist in the region for nearly 8 years and worked with Luz Verde to develop projects that were ecologically sustainable and also benefitted local communities. Luz Verde is continually working to improve local livelihoods, and seeks to do so in as ecologically-friendly way as possible. Luz Verde has worked to implement organic gardens, efficient stoves, and improved waste disposal. My strongest area of interest is in environmental education, and I am currently working with Luz Verde to implement a program regarding conservation of migratory birds in rural communities outside of Esteli. Luz Verde has a dynamic Nicaraguan staff and a great working...

Read More
 
 

Working with Luz Verde

January 17, 2013

Luz Verde Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Siena Mann

Luz Verde is an incredible organization that works with various projects in and around Estelí, Nicaragua. I worked with Luz Verde's organic gardening project, Solana Organica, for three months this past summer. I had a great experience volunteering. The projects are well grounded within the communities, as Luz Verde makes it a priority to work in solidarity with the ideas and special needs of each family and community. The people working through Luz Verde, as well as the community members, are so friendly, welcoming and intelligent. I cannot begin to describe how much I learned from working on the project; from community organizing, to adapted sustainable agriculture, to nicaraguan history and culture, to gender and family dynamics, to what it means to run an ethical business or non-profit or...

Read More
 
 

Great to be Part of Real Change

January 16, 2013

Luz Verde Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Rebecca Tully

This project inspired me in so many ways and I'm continuing to use what I learned there. I also had the freedom to use my existing skills too: the co-ordinator has a brilliant vision but also plenty of respect for other ideas and actively encourages longer-term volunteers to plan and get on with projects that are within the ethos of the organisation. While I was with the team I taught English: weekly for a few months, and I worked on support admin. I was living outside Esteli and travelled in regularly... I definitely got the most out of this relationship because of my regular involvement, getting to know each aspect including tourism and growing, and getting to know those working on the projects too. Esteli is an...

Read More
 
 

Luz Verde, dedicated social enterprise in Esteli, Nicaragua

January 16, 2013

Luz Verde Nicaragua, Nicaragua
Brian Thackray

I met Jane Boyd, the director of Luz Verde, two years ago while I was volunteering teaching English in a campesino secondary school in northern Nicaragua and offering village adults basic and intermediate night classes. Seeing the broad range of her activities it did not take me long to commit to several months work the following year with one of her sustainable tourism projects. But in between, following the devastating floods in October 2011, I assisted in developing a social media campaign from my base in the UK to raise funds for disaster relief, a successful exercise which brought the plight of the rural communities in Miraflor to international attention. Most notably Jane was already active in the mountain country to the east of Esteli, coordinating the arrival of medical...

Read More
 
 

As a registered user, you can share stories, media and resources
with organizations and volunteers throughout our network.

Register with Facebook Register without Facebook Login close

* Are you a non-profit leader? Apply to be an Omprakash Partner.

Terms of Use

As a registered user, you can share stories, media and resources
with organizations and volunteers throughout our network.

Register with Facebook Register without Facebook Login close

Register with Omprakash

* Are you a non-profit leader? Apply to be an Omprakash Partner

Terms of Use

As a registered user, you can share stories, media and resources
with organizations and volunteers throughout our network.

Register with Facebook Register without Facebook Login close

Sign In

Login with Facebook

Or sign in with your Omprakash password:

Forgot your password?

* Are you a non-profit leader? Apply to be an Omprakash Partner

Terms of Use