Not sure what you want to do after college? Thinking about quitting your corporate day job to do what you've ALWAYS DREAMED OF DOING.... like changing the lives of orphaned and abandoned children?
If so, we need volunteers willing to live in Villa Soleada to help take care of the kids at our children's home and organize activities for them, such as soccer practice, art classes, field trips, tutoring sessions, and more.
We will be accepting long-term volunteers on a rolling basis starting in February, 2012. We will work out a start date that is convenient for both parties.
Pre-trip support online, airport pickup and drop off, housing with host family, 3 meals per day with host family, weekly laundry, work supplies, WiFi internet, clean drinking water, Travel Card Insurance.
visa renewal trips outside of Honduras ($150 - $300 every three months), airfare, final airport exit fee ($37).
When you register you will have a personal fundraising page for your trip.
We ask that our volunteers make a commitment of at least 3 months, and up to one year.
You will be working primarily with children from our children’s home but also kids from surrounding villages.
You will be living with a host family in the village of Villa Soleada, located in the city of El Progreso. The international airport is 30 minutes away and the closest beach, 50 minutes away. You will have your own room and share a bathroom with the host family. There is electricity during most parts of the day and running water during certain hours. You should be prepared to take bucket showers occasionally. Most meals consist of rice, beans, tortillas and eggs/chicken.
Although parts of Honduras can be dangerous, Villa Soleada is a relatively safe and quiet village. You can minimize most risks by not walking around by yourself or outside of the village, especially in the evenings.
You can join the local soccer team, attend church, go to a bar, dance at a disco, hang out with the kids, etc. For longer weekends, you can snorkel or scuba dive with dolphins in the Bay Islands or take a hike in the Mayan Ruins at Copan.
Your host family will take you to a local clinic in El Progreso. You will pay the bill yourself and file the paperwork to get reimbursed by your health insurance provider. The travelers insurance that SHH will get for you has limited coverage, so you may need additional coverage with another provider. SHH is not responsible for paying for your medical bills.
Some volunteers upon arriving may decide that the program is not for them. In that case, you will need to change your flight at your own expense. SHH will reimburse you for any additional, full months that you have paid for in advance.
Take a look at our what to bring section for our service trips. Bring more clothes, bug spray and sunscreen as a longterm volunteer. An E-reader such as an Amazon Kindle or Nook is a great investment if you like to read books. A laptop or other device to connect to the internet will be useful if you like to contact your family and friends back home frequently.
The village of Villa Soleada has 24/7 free WiFi internet. You can also use the computers in the Learning Center during the day for free. We recommend using Skype to call home, but local cell phones will be available for emergency phone calls to the US.
You can go to a number of local banks in El Progreso to use their reliable ATM machines or exchange money.
Your US passport must not expire for at least six more months upon your entry or during your long-term stay. Upon arriving in Honduras, you will receive a 90-day visa at the airport immigration desk. To renew your visa, you will need to step outside of Honduras within your 90 days. You can take a 3 – 4 day trip to El Salvador, Nicaragua or Guatemala for $150 - $300.
