Volunteer in Venezuela

Use your creativity

A chance of a lifetime to volunteer in South America

Make a positive impact while learning new skills, interacting with the community and building diverse relationships.


A great way to experience another culture

The beauty in volunteering lies in the fact that you are not simply passing through as a tourist. Experience Venezuela through our various community programs. Programs are based in schools, public centers and community areas in the village as well as the on Aldeas de Paz foundations grounds. Volunteers, through their donations and through volunteer work done on the foundations grounds are helping us to create a great community. Watch Multimedia presentation.

There just wasn’t enough time for everything - I would love to spend more time planting and thinking about the design of the garden or do some carpentry with Hermes. It’s a fantastic amount of scope that Peace Villages offers and I have really enjoyed the chance to do things I wouldn’t normally, even the walk up the hill is part of the charm.
Sophia Mary Eastaugh / Suffolk, England


The typical Volunteer

A typical volunteer needs to be enthusiastic, willing to learn, ready for a challenge, has a desire to take initiative and dedicates a lot of caring and passion to the position. Friendliness, care, commitment and patience are among important qualities. We welcome individual volunteers, families and groups regardless of age, experience or background. You don't have to speak fluent Spanish as we provide full support and 24 hour back-up from our local staff.

If this entry makes its way on the net and you are considering volunteering here, if you can give a time commitment of 5 plus months the benefit to both you and the organization will be really worth while.
Janet Kenealy / Kilkenny, Ireland

back to top

Mix & Match to Customize Your Experience

Youth Care & Community

teaching and tutoring local children

A unique chance to implement your own ideas and skills enhancing the lives of children
Mobile School

photo

The perfect project for energetic, creative and outgoing people to share their talents
Ecological Building

sustainable building projects

Learn construction and building pracitices in South America with carpentry projects
Environmental Conservation

volunteer with environmental projects

Make a positive impact on the environment
Medicine & Healthcare

photo

Be involved in the day-to-day running of a hospital
Pemon Aboriginals

photo

Gain close insight into the Pemón culture
NGO Management

photo

Experience the day-to-day running of a small grassroots NGO
ECO Village Art & Culture

photo

Participate in the culturalal and social movement of El Pauji eco-village
Therapeutic Riding

put your horse knowledge to work

Care for the horses and teach high-risk children how to ride

Volunteer with Aldeas de Paz

Choose your Involvement Level

Specialize or Diversify

Every volunteer has the opportunity to be involved in as many or as few of our programs and they would like. We encourage volunteers to form schedules which work for them, and to work in any combination of programs. Volunteers decide how many hours they want to work. We recommend a minimum 3 days a week. You may work as much as 5 days and as many hours you wish. We emphasize that we focus on excellence and not on quantity.

Why we need volunteers

Volunteers - The driving Force

Volunteers and interns are the driving force of Aldeas de Paz' work, both through their volunteering and through their financial contributions. Volunteering with us is a great opportunity to work side by side with locals, learn new skills, study Spanish, and immerse oneself in the Latin and indigenous culture. Learn Spanish

Family
Volunteering

Why Volunteer As a Family?

Volunteering as a family is a wonderful way to connect with each other in a unique way, while giving something back to a community. Families can volunteer in a variety of programs which are suitable to various ages. Watch family volunteering video.

Benefits of Family Volunteering

Each member can discover his or her strengths and share them dynamically. A child learns the value and joy of truly helping a community. Parents can marvel at their child’s self-discovery, creativity and interaction with others. The kids gain a sense of autonomy and self-esteem doing activities that are traditionally reserved for adults. It is also a perfect way for children to absorb Spanish.

Activities

  • The Youth, Care & Community program is particularly suited because children can meet and share their favorite activities with children from other cultures — an ideal cultural exchange.
  • Living with Pemón Aboriginals is also a perfect way for families to offer their help.
  • Younger volunteers really appreciate the Horse Riding program. They feel very useful taking care of the horses and can interact with the local children as well.

Accommodations

Families can choose independent, host-family, or community living accommodation. From past experiences, we strongly recommend the community living on the Aldeas de Paz campus. There is a strong extended family feeling and we all enjoyy meals and much laughter together. There is an apartment that is specially suited to families, providing for space and privacy.

What do past volunteers say?

For me and for my children, aged 11 and 7, the foundation has offered a fantastic experience for us as a family, and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to travel to Venezuela with children. We were here nearly three months, the children had opportunities to swim in the pool here, play with local children, visit waterfalls, walk through the rainforest to the nearby river, hear howler monkeys and cicadas and see hummingbirds, bright green lizards, the stunning rolling mountains of the Gran Sabana and lots of really BIG insects.

Both benefited from their experience of collective living, carrying out a lot more chores then they do at home and acquiring, I hope, a greater sense of personal responsibility. They learned some Spanish and got a real sense of how children in another country live, especially in the poorer communities.
Carolyn Alison Wiener / London, UK

Fundación Aldeas de Paz is a Registered NGO in Venezuela •• Feel free to email us with any additional questions or call (0058) 289 416 0718. © 2010 Aldeas de Paz. •• Updated 15.08.2010