Volunteer in our Community Education project and help improve the quality of education for disadvantaged children in rural Costa Rica. Students in areas like Alajuela province struggle to attain the same standard of teaching as their peers in wealthier urban areas. With your help, young students can receive the education they need to build skills for a brighter future.
Working at a dedicated center in San Ramon, volunteers support children who attend the daycare facility in the morning and the after-school club and community center in the afternoon. You will help young students develop their reading skills, assist them with homework, and interact with children through fun activities. Volunteers also deliver workshops that showcase any special skills they have.
Many of the children who attend the center come from low-income backgrounds and have illiterate parents, so the project has a strong focus on improving literacy. Center staff are bilingual but most of the children speak little or no English – an intermediate level of Spanish is helpful.
Download our program brochure to find out more about our Costa Rica Community Education Project.
Community education volunteers in Costa Rica care for babies and children up to 16 years old at a daycare facility, after-school club and community center in San Ramon. You will teach young students how to read, help out with homework, supervise children using the play areas, organize fun activities and play sports with students.
Community education volunteers work four days per week, from Monday to Thursday. Your working hours will be from 9 am until 5 pm, with lunch between 12 pm and 1 pm.
The community education center is a 30-minute walk from our volunteer dormitory.
This project is closed from the second week of December until the second week of January, and for one week preceding Easter Sunday. There is also a mid-term break for the first two weeks of July.
We had Sunday off. But we had a tour of San Ramon, which was really, really helpful. The next day was our first day of work. We had a tour of the neighborhood it was sad to see where these happy kids had to live. Some had gotten electricity only the week before.
Macie Teaster, Read Macie's Testimonial
My husband said "Si" to the idea of the trip but unfortunately that was one of his only Spanish words he could recall and his time at work was too demanding to do much studying.
Kathleen Hayner, Read Kathleen's Testimonial
You would never think by the way they act at the center, most of them are very friendly and patient with your Spanish, that their home lives weren't always healthy. In the afternoon we were basically sent off around the community center and told to find something to do.
Michelle Hayner, Read Michelle's Testimonial
The overall experience was very rewarding and friendships made with the children at the community center were unforgettable it was nice that at the community center you had free range to help with what you felt you would be most useful. For example, you could play with the kids or do manual labor.
Abigail Shrader, Read Abigail's Testimonial
The poverty in some of the areas was very bad. However, all of the kids were extremely kind and fun. They were very patient with my awful Spanish, and they quickly became very close with me. After volunteering, we would walk back to the house and often stop to get wonderful fresh fruit smoothies and some snack items.
Linsey Bergstrom, Read Linsey's Testimonial
Sara Blough, Read Sara's Testimonial
My sister, friends and I ate a lot of snacks. I really loved our tour guides and I felt comfortable. I never felt endangered while in Costa Rica and the hostels all felt very safe to me.The excursions we went on were all very well run and professional.
Taylor Bergstrom, Read Taylor's Testimonial
Dona Isabel was great, and made tasty food for every meal. It was nice having meals included so we did not need to worry about paying for food and had money left over for chocolate and cosechas! I absolutely loved working with the kids at the Community Center.
Zoe Robert, Read Zoe's Testimonial
Getting to Costa Rica was a big culture shock but in a very positive way. The work was mainly physical labor in the morning and socializing with the kids in the afternoon. We played, taught and connected with some of the most grateful kids I have ever met. The food was exceptional and the facilities were great.
Anna Wickham, Read Anna's Testimonial
We worked in a community center about a mile from our house and in the mornings we helped build a rock wall and in the afternoon we tutored and played with little kids. Everyone was so friendly and our trip coordinator, Ligia, was fantastic.
Rachel Mcallister, Read Rachel's Testimonial
If you are interested in joining the program in Costa Rica, you should download and read our destination guide.