Boomers Abroad

Highlights

United Planet Short-term Quest (1-12 weeks) offers 16 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and Middle East. Volunteers can choose a project from a wide range of projects, such as: orphanage care, teaching English, environmental work, healthcare and more. You will be 100% immersed in the local culture though cultural activities, excursions, and host family stays. You will also be supporting essential community development work.

Long-term Volunteer Quests are available for 6 months and 1 year. Volunteers receive personal and customized support and take part in intensive pre-departure training and in-country orientations as well as mid-year and final year camps with other volunteers from all over the world. You do not need any specific skills or language abilities to take part. You will attain new skills, competencies, and broadened global perspectives through your involvement in the long-term Quest program!

As a long-term volunteer, you will have the exciting opportunity to gain an even deeper understanding and appreciation of a foreign land and culture through service, language and inter-cultural training, cultural learning activities, and exploration.

United Planet is the proud US and Canadian partner within the International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) Federation, the oldest long-term volunteering federation in the world. With over 60 years of experience, the ICYE Federation has a proven track record and upholds the highest standards for excellence in serving both the volunteers and the communities involved.

There are many interesting destinations both in developed and developing countries. You can support children in communities throughout France and Italy; assist in agricultural, environmental, and community projects in New Zealand, Nepal, and India; help with AIDS/HIV programs in Uganda, Russia, Nigeria, or assist in human rights issues in Brazil, Bolivia, Mozambique, and Lithuania. These are just a few of the many opportunities that we offer!

United Planet is committed to the accessibility of programs for all. For less than the cost of living independently in many of our program countries, you can participate in a fully supported and well-structured international voluntary exchange program with over 60 years of experience. We hope that you will recognize and take advantage of this special opportunity.

Costa Rica

United Planet's Costa Rica program is multifaceted and growing and there are many opportunities for volunteers to make a critical difference. Volunteers can play an important role in contributing to the local community and in building bonds of understanding. Many opportunities are offered, both short and long-term on projects supporting the environment, focusing on community development, and a few projects tailored to the needs of high schools students (age 16 to 18). Volunteers involved with Environmental Quests can work at designated conservation areas, national parks, wildlife refuges and more. Volunteers on Social Work Quests are placed at centers for homeless children, elderly homes, hospitals, cultural houses and indigenous projects.

Costa Rica Environmental Quests:

* Conservation and Environmental Education: Many of our conservation projects are located in rural areas or inside the national park system. Daily volunteer duties may include any of the following: constructing and maintaining nature trails, building fences, repairing wooden bridges, making plant nurseries, making fertilizers from dead plants, researching and identifying plants, sowing plants, or teaching the local community about recycling and the environment.

* Eco-tourism: Volunteer duties include maintaining and improving trails, assisting the tourists who come to the Eco-Lodge and working to improve the information on the trails, fixing signs, gardening, etc. Volunteers may also help to develop environmental education curriculum for children and the community.

* Sea Turtle Projects: Volunteers work at various beach locations protecting threatened sea turtle populations in Southern Costa Rica. The projects main objective is to protect the nests from human poachers and more recently from beach erosion. This helps to promote long-term survival of the population and includes the recovery of affected populations as well as critical habitat protection.

The work of the volunteers involves night patrols, hatchery shifts, collection and relocation of eggs, beach cleanup and small projects including construction of the hatcheries. This work may also consist of park trail maintenance, assessment of turtle behavior, turtle measurement, and necropsies and biopsies, depending on the time of year and the needs of the hatchery at the time. Volunteers are welcome to this project during the nesting season from the beginning of March through to the end of November, with limited availability thereafter.

This project has a 150 USD per week surcharge in addition to the prices listed.

* Wildlife conservation: Volunteers assist in the rehabilitation and conservation of wildlife, such as various species of birds, invertebrates, or primates, depending on the project location and time of year. The objective of the project is to protect endangered species and reintroduce them to the wild. This project has 150 USD per week surcharge in addition to the prices listed. Two weeks or more required.

Social Work Quests:

* Teaching quest: Volunteers will learn firsthand about the educational system in Costa Rica through classroom placements in primary schools in San Jose. The project is a good option for volunteers who want to work with children, have initiative and are creative. Many volunteers also help in the administration's office, though the volunteer's responsibilities are usually defined together with the school staff.

* Childcare quest: Volunteers can work with children who attend government run day care centers in the suburbs of San Jose. Tasks include taking care of the children, helping them with the activities of the center, serving food and play, and organizing games. The children's ages range from 2 to 6 years old. Volunteers can also teach English.

* Orphanage Quest: United Planet's partner orphanage in the city of Cartago, located about 45 minutes from San Jose, is a home where all of the children's basic needs are met (shelter, food, clothes and education). The center also focuses on creating an environment that encourages the children's growth and development. Many of the children have been abandoned, are sick, belong to single mothers or have been separated from their parents by the state to ensure their well being. Volunteers at this site in Costa Rica help do some light construction work such as repairing windows, doors etc. Volunteers can also teach English, organize artistic (theater, music, arts) and sports activities, help the children with their homework or teach agricultural education.

* Cultural department Projects: Volunteer work at the Cultural Department Project generally involves preparing materials for activities, distributing information, educating locals and tourists about the local cultural activities of the department and various administrative/practical tasks. The project is part of a local government of a town located outside of San Jose, in one of its most developed suburbs. This project is a good option for volunteers who are interested in cultural activities and want to get to know more about the culture of the central region of Costa Rica.

* Healthcare: you can collaborate with the work of the association of Volunteers Ladies of the Hospital of San Jose by assisting them in their daily activities. You can also choose to work in a rural clinic located in the country side town of Santa Elena of Monteverde to collaborate with the every day administrative task of clinic as well as assisting the nurses and doctors with their patients (all ages), in accordance with your Spanish level and medical knowledge.

* Working with People with Disabilities: Volunteers will work at an organization devoted to helping blind and deaf people of all ages by participating at different workshops and preparing materials needed for those activities. The organization tries to help them become an active part of society.

* Working with the Elderly: Volunteers work at an association in the east of San Jose and give support to its staff by accompanying the elderly, helping with the workshops and other administrative tasks as needed. Occasionally the volunteers also have the opportunity to do outreach in outlying communities.

* Volunteers work to improve the quality of life of women and their families in the community of Shiroles by running projects to help them earn a living. They are located on a Native Reserve in a community of Shiroles, Talamanca area, which is the southern part of Costa Rica, near the Caribbean cost and border with Panama. The income of the association comes specifically from two activities: guided tours for tourists and the sale of their homemade chocolate products, which they produce in a local factory. Volunteers may help process and sell the chocolate, improve infrastructure, or assist the women with tours.

Quests for 16-18 years old:
Volunteers under the age of 18 can choose from three different projects in Costa Rica: working in a school in San Jose, a bird conservation project outside San Jose or an environmental conservation project in a rural community. Additional pre-departure support and information is available to volunteers in this age group along with their parents and/or family members. This includes an informational interview with the volunteer's parents. There may be Spanish language requirements for these projects, so please ask which project is best suited for your interests and skills.

Qualifications

* Desire to contribute to communities in need
* Compassion, cross cultural understanding, open-mindedness, courage, flexibility, tolerance
* For some programs there might be Spanish language requirements

Type of Programs

• Community Service / Volunteerism

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

Credit Available

no

Experience Required

yes

There may be Spanish language requirements for these projects, so please ask which project is best suited for your interests and skills.

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to join us. We are extremely proud of our international volunteers. Each and every volunteer strives to be a good ambassador through their flexibility, courage, open-mindedness, positive spirit, and genuine desire to make a difference. To help prepare you for the predictable and unpredictable aspects of your time abroad, you will be offered comprehensive pre-departure training and in-country orientations, as well as personal support from our Program Coordinators. We will work with you to help you gain the tools you need for a fun, safe and successful volunteer abroad experience.

Age Range

16 or 18 and up, depending on project/site

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Application Process Involves

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Phone/Video Interview

Typically The Application Process Time is

24hours

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network

United Planet's Mission Statement

As an international non-profit organization, United Planet (UP) strives to create a world in which all people understand, respect, and support one another. United Planet's global network of leaders and volunteers fosters cross-cultural understanding and addresses shared challenges to unite the world in a community beyond borders. In 2008, United Planet was one of only ten organizations selected by CNN to be part of its "Be the Change" initiative.

Year Founded

2001