Volunteer in Colombia

Childcare in

Childcare volunteers are in high demand in Colombia to ease the workload of local workers who care for children. Many of these children come from overcrowded living situations and are in desperate need of love and attention.

By assisting in childcare centers, you’ll be helping busy local staff to better provide attention, fostering positive development, education and happy, fulfilling days. Your help as a volunteer with group tasks, games, activities and at feeding time means children get better access to individual attention from staff members.

This project is best suited to enthusiastic volunteers who enjoy spending time with children. You should be open to helping in a fast-paced environment, and be willing to assist in whatever is needed at the time.

Childcare in

Schools in Cartagena are often very busy places, where local staff are far outnumbered by students and have to work hard to cater for their needs. Childcare volunteers provide a highly valued extra person, helping to ease the load of local staff and provide care and attention for the children.

As a Childcare volunteer, you’ll assist teachers in lessons and at meal times with a range of routine day-to-day tasks including with games, activities, learning and other chores. Volunteers can also help in a foundation for children with cancer, where you can play games, do arts and crafts and socialize.

This is an ideal project for energetic volunteers who enjoy spending time with children and encouraging their positive development. You’ll volunteer under the supervision of local staff, so don’t need to have prior childcare experience.

Community in

This is the ultimate volunteer project for those who don’t mind what they’re doing, as long as it’s making a difference. As a Community volunteer, you can be contributing to one of a number of running projects - your placement is allocated based on where there is the greatest need.

Tasks include helping with building maintenance, helping in community gardens and beaches, teaching English and helping locals with computer literacy. You may also volunteer with at-risk youth and children with cancer doing various arts and craft activities as well as helping in the community gardens, helping the elderly at a local community centre, and cleaning the beaches of this beautiful coastal city!

This project is well suited to enthusiastic, flexible volunteers. It’s a great way to vary your time in Colombia and ensure you’re making the biggest contribution to the community.

Construction and Renovation in

Some families, schools and even hospitals in Bogota cannot afford to pay for important building or renovation projects. With homes, classrooms, community centers and hospital wards bursting at the seams due to increasing numbers of children and patients, volunteers are sorely needed to assist. These projects are not only important for the people who work and live in these places, but also for other members of the community who will benefit from these extra facilities.

As a building volunteer, you’ll work with a local foreman on whatever project is being prioritized at the time. You can help on a number of tasks including knocking down walls, installing kitchens, fixing chairs, painting walls or renovating roofs.

You’ll be volunteering under the supervision of local staff, so you don’t need prior building experience, though you will need a reasonable level of fitness and willingness to help out with physically demanding roles.

Please note, the Construction and Renovation project has an extra cost of US$35 (approximately CA$47) per week for additional supervision, materials and logistics. This amount will be included in the Program Fee quoted to you by IVHQ when you apply.

Elderly Care in

In Colombia, the elderly get little to no financial assistance from the government as traditionally, the care of the elderly has always been left to younger generations of the family. Due to war, poverty and illness, many Colombian families are faced with crowded multi-generational households with no financial ability to care for the needs of their elderly family members.

Unfortunately, this has lead to high rates of abandonment among the elderly, many of whom are left to fend for themselves on the streets of Bogota with dementia, pneumonia or other conditions.

Volunteers on the Elderly Care project play an important role in centers that rescue elderly women from the streets and put them into care. In these centers, volunteers provide companionship, conversation, food, shelter and medication to the women while occasionally helping with cleaning and operational tasks.

This project is well suited to compassionate volunteers who enjoy helping vulnerable people. As you’ll be working under the supervision of local staff, you don’t need any prior experience volunteering with elderly people.

Feeding the Homeless in

As with many developing countries, Colombia struggles with problems associated with homelessness. Homelessness can affect people from all walks of life, leaving them vulnerable and requiring community support for basic daily necessities.

One of the biggest ways you can help the homeless is by giving them access to a good meal. As a volunteer, you’ll help local staff to prepare and serve lunch to up to 200 men, women and children every day. These meals are provided for free at a community center for vulnerable people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to a regular food supply.

This is a busy project for those who enjoy operating in a fast-paced environment, taking care of a range of tasks involved in serving nutritious, healthy food on such a large scale.

Please note, this project is only open for four days a week. Volunteers can join another project for one day a week. This can be arranged after you apply.

Sports Development in

For energetic children in Cartagena, the chance to take part in organized sports gives an outlet and chance for fun and activity. However, it’s not something that is able to happen without the structure provided by both local volunteers and those from abroad.

As a sports volunteer, you’ll help local children to play games, pick up new skills and learn about teamwork and sportsmanship. Volunteers assist in organizing and running games after school each day, developing skills in their favorite games and introducing new sports from your own home. You’ll be based in an at-risk neighborhood or a juvenile rehabilitation center, helping to teach respect, teamwork and sportsmanship.

This project is only limited by the availability of volunteers; so if you are interested in teaching a specific sport (whether it be football or swimming, or another sport such as gymnastics or volleyball), please let us know, so we can include this in the schedule. Variety is seen as a very good thing, so you’re encouraged to bring your own creativity to the project.

Those with coaching qualifications are welcomed, though it’s not considered essential. Similarly, a First Aid Certificate is preferable but not mandatory.

It’s important to note that you’ll only be volunteering for one to two hours a day from Monday to Thursday, but you’re encouraged to make the most of your time in Cartagena by contributing to another project outside these hours.

Teaching English in

While many students in Colombia receive English lessons at school, a significant proportion do not. English is increasingly being seen as a valuable language to know, so by contributing your time you can provide lessons for those who wouldn’t otherwise have them.

Volunteer English teachers are in demand to help with classes in schools, daycares, foster homes and community centers. Students can range in ability and age from schoolchildren to the elderly. Volunteers also have the opportunity to give further lessons in mathematics, science, humanities, music, sports, dance and art.

This is a project that has great need, and there are many placements that you can assist on. It’s best suited to those with a flexible approach to helping where the need is greatest - whether it’s tutoring a small group before a test or being the lead teacher of a larger class.

Your volunteering is generally for a few hours each day, with time to allow for lesson preparation. Volunteers often work together to create lesson plans and are encouraged to be creative and bring new ideas to their placements.

As you’ll work with the support of IVHQ’s local team and placement staff, you don’t need to have prior teaching experience. However, we encourage you to come prepared by completing some relevant training, like a teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) course. Visit our Online TEFL Course page to learn how to gain an internationally-recognized TEFL certification at a discounted rate.

Teaching in

In Colombia, many schools are understaffed and under-resourced, and in many cases, run by enthusiastic locals who aren’t qualified as teachers. Volunteers are able to provide a valued perspective as a fluent English speaker to help enlighten students and ease the teaching burden on local staff.

You’ll volunteer in local schools and community centers, encouraging students to learn English and reap the benefits of being able to speak the language as they continue to grow up. Students range in age and English language ability, and you can either assist a local teacher or lead a lesson yourself.

This is a highly rewarding project and through sharing knowledge and life experiences, volunteers can demonstrate that with a bit of hard work, anything is possible.

Teaching volunteers who can speak Spanish to an intermediate level are also able to help teach other subjects, such as mathematics, science, humanities, music, sports and the arts.

As volunteers work with the support of IVHQ’s local team and placement staff, you don’t need to have prior teaching experience. However, we encourage volunteers to come prepared by completing some relevant training, like a teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) course. Visit our Online TEFL Course page to learn how to gain an internationally-recognized TEFL certification at a discounted rate.