Giving Guatemala

About the program

A staple activity in this location is the building of a cement floor for a family. The remaining project work is divided between the other projects listed below, and can often be changed (upon arrival) after discussions with the on-site coordinator. DO not hesitate to communicate whether you feel you are doing too much or too little work, coordinators do their very best to meet the varying abilities of our volunteers.

• Installing cement floors in the homes of impoverished people (children crawling on dirt floors have serious problems with parasites).
• Working with children at a local community library.
• Teaching in an After-School Enrichment Program for 5-12-year-old children from underprivileged homes.
• I worked with a local women’s group setting up home gardening (to introduce healthy greens into an otherwise carbohydrate-heavy diet).
• Agricultural project creating a "forest garden" on the land of the Women's Center that was once planted with corn.
• Teaching English pronounciation to students and teachers of English who are learning how to write but not to speak the language.

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Leisure and Cultural Activities

Volunteers will have the wonderful opportunity to visit the world-famous Tikal National Park and Temple, though the park entrance is at an additional cost to the volunteer and is paid upon arrival to your coordinator. Other optional leisure activities include participating in a class in tortilla making, enjoying a Mayan flute concert, studying the butterflies at the butterfly reserve, taking an herb walk in the jungle, meeting with an herbalist, as well as learning backstrap/loom weaving.

Other optional excursions, independent of Globe Aware but run by companies whose safety we have vetted, including Canopy/Zipline Tours and/or horseback riding, as well as the above-mentioned visit to Tikal. Volunteers may also choose to take a boat tour and visit the zoo and museum at the nearby town of Flores. Your coordinator can arrange these activities for you, though note there is an additional fee involved.