Welcome past, present, and potential volunteers! Here you will find everything you need to know about volunteering with The GOD'S CHILD Project. Volunteers are a vital part of our organization; we look forward to seeing you soon.
Friday Vegetable Distribution
Dental Field Clinic
The Dreamer Center
Volunteer of the Month
Nele Van Damme: August 2010
Nele Van Damme showed up at the door of The GOD’S CHILD Project in March 2010. Petite and poised, she quickly proved herself a powerful force to be reckoned with. In her native Belgium, Nele travels around Europe installing and teaching a computer program for Volvo. She also translates user guides, speaks 4 languages (her native Flemish, French, English and Spanish), and teaches French. When Nele´s volunteer time is complete, she will have experienced almost every aspect of The GOD’S CHILD Project’s Guatemalan operations. She spends most of her weekends at our homeless shelter, distributing food and encouraging the families and individuals who use the shelter as they try to get off the streets. She worked our Friday food distribution line, stuffed envelopes for administration, supervised our students on field trips and participated in volunteer social activities. The Scheel Center, our educational and technical center for older children and teens, is where Nele truly found her home within The GOD’S CHILD Project. Nele manages to do just about everything at The Scheel Center, being “one of the hardest and most multi-faceted workers that I have ever met,” Scheel Center Director Ron Fortin said. She shows as much enthusiasm for substitute teaching and teaching math, English and cooking classes as she does for washing dishes, working on data entry, fundraising and marketing projects, and giving input on Scheel´s upcoming five year plan.
The Volunteer Experience
Audrey Wandji Tchamda
Audrey, 19, is from Cameroon
but has lived in Maryland for
five years. She studies international relations at Trinity Washington University in Washington,
D.C., and wanted to travel Guatemala
to see more of the world. She has achieved that through two weeks of Spanish
classes at Cano
Spanish School, a month of volunteering, and trips to Monterrico, Lago Atitlán and Semuc Champey. She spoke no Spanish
before arriving, but learned quickly and put her new skills to work at Casa Jackson, the Scheel Center, and the homeless shelter. Even after all her
adventures, Audrey said her host family was her favorite part of Antigua.
She loves the warm environment they provided and said her host mom was
extremely sweet. Please contact Audrey at audreygentiana@yahoo.com.
Ralph Vanderkooi
Ralph, 24, first ventured to Guatemala from his native Holland five
years ago to learn Spanish and volunteer. Looking for a challenge, Ralph
decided to return to Antigua to try teaching at The Scheel
Center. He works primarily with the lower grades, but also teaches gym
classes for all students and substitute teaches when needed. During his month
in Guatemala, Ralph managed to climb several volcanoes, explore Cobán, and visit the
beaches of Monterrico. When he isn’t traveling, you might find him unwinding at
Café No Sé or watching a movie at Las Palmas. Even after his
adventures, Ralph’s favorite part of Guatemala is the kids. He’s going back to Holland to study
Spanish and law at Utrecht
University this fall, but would love to talk about his experience through
his e-mail: ralphvanderkooi@hotmail.com
How To Join Us
To begin the application process, volunteer candidates complete a volunteer application, which asks for some basic biographical and medical information, references, and inquires why you are interested in volunteering with our program in Guatemala.
You will find this volunteer application, and much more information about the programs, volunteering, and what life is like for a volunteer with a GOD'S CHILD Project-sponsored charity in Guatemala in our Volunteer Handbook. Contact us today to get an access code to view and download this invaluable document. If you would like just the Short-Term Volunteer Application, click here.
Please complete the Short-Term Volunteer application and return it to us in The GOD’S CHILD Project United States office along with the $140 registration and international insurance fee. (Insurance coverage is for a two-week period. The rate may be higher for longer stays). Our mailing address is:
The GOD'S CHILD Project
Post Office Box 1573
Bismarck, ND 58502-1573
(701) 255-7956
Also, we always like to know how our new volunteers have heard of us, so please take a minute to indicate that on your application.
When we have received your completed application and you have been accepted, we will coordinate with you and with the volunteer team in Guatemala, via fax or e-mail, your arrival time, living preferences, anticipated arrival and departure dates, and your volunteer opportunity preferences.
While volunteering with us in Guatemala, most volunteers prefer to stay with local middle-class host families. These families usually speak a little English and run their homes as bed-and-breakfast (and lunch and dinner) type community houses. Living with a host family greatly enhances the cultural experience you will enjoy as a volunteer. In addition, our host families are able to help you in a wide variety of ways. We can help you arrange lodging with a host family; the cost is US $70 per week, which includes a bed and 18 meals a week (Sundays not included), which you pay directly to the host family.
When it is time to begin your volunteership, you will travel to Guatemala at your own expense. If you wish, our Volunteer Team will arrange for you to be met at the Guatemala City International Airport and transported to our main Project site in La Antigua, Guatemala (a distance of about 45 KMs). The Guatemala City-to-Antigua fee is $35 per person, paid in advance to the Bismarck office.
The Guatemalan charities that are sponsored by The GOD’S CHILD Project have numerous volunteer skilled and semi-skilled opportunities working in education (teacher, teacher’s aide, or in the library), nutrition (cooking and meal service), construction (doing maintenance and construction on the grounds of our community development center, or, depending on the time of the year, out in the poorer neighborhoods), health care (physician, dentist, nurse, aide, reception), and community development.
In general, full time, long-term volunteers must be:
--Age 21 or older, single, or married, without dependents
--Preferably able to speak Spanish or take classes at their own expense
--Motivated by a desire to serve others and be self-sufficient
--Be mature, flexible, in good health and with a good sense of humor
Don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any further questions, as we’re happy to help as much as possible. We look forward to working with you, and to having you with us soon.
