Community Partner since 2007.

Reflections on a Cuban Volunteer Journey

Snapshots of Cuba – It has been five days since we landed in Cuba.  This country has been so close to Miami and so far from the United States for my entire life. Here we are. There are so many snapshots or images that we have experienced that seem to POP our eyes and minds wide open […]

Read more →
/by
,

Farming in Cuba

Global Volunteers assists local farmers in our partner community of Ciego de Avila.  On our inaugural service program in May, 2015, volunteers worked alongside paid community laborers on weeding and harvesting produce at “Garden Number 2.”  (Read “Being a Farmer In Cuba” on one volunteer’s blog.)  The vegetables are provided to childcare centers and sold to community […]

Read more →
/by

“I Love Cuba!”

Pennsylvania nurse Holly Doll said volunteering in Cuba was greatly preferred over a standard cultural tour. Sewing with senior women and gardening beside a local farmer revealed the “soul” of Cuba, she said, and allowed her to “share and trust her heart to the Cuban people.”  Doll manages a program at a residential center for seniors at home in Hanover.  She greatly valued the […]

Read more →
/by

Teaching, Gardening, Building and Crafting in Cuba

Both the gardening and maintenance teams set out for their work locations at 8:00AM, and the English teaching volunteers were off by 9:30AM for the Community Center. Sandy and Bill hoisted buckets of sand, gravel and concrete by means of a rope to the rooftop of the Church  – where their project manager applied a second […]

Read more →
/by
,

Teaching Projects in Ciego de Avila, Cuba

Our inaugural conversational English classes in Cuba were tremendously successful for volunteers and students alike!  Working with a Cuba English language teacher and his students, we provided their first opportunity to work in small groups with native English speakers. The number of students varied from 15 to 45 – more in the evening than the morning.  Their ages […]

Read more →
/by

English Teaching in Cuba

Our first destination this morning was ICAP: Cuban Institute of Friendship with People. Tears immediately sprang to my eyes as I saw a group of beautiful Cuban students in their identical red school uniforms. After we gathered, we were each approached by an individual child and given a hand-colored picture of the Cuban flag. Songs […]

Read more →
/by

Landmark Cuba Volunteer Program Begins!

After a quick one-hour flight to Santa Clara, we’re off to Ciego de Avila with our gracious hosts, Eduardo and Ramon. We arrived at our wonderful hotel (Hotel Ciego De Avila), got our room assignments and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. On Sunday, we had the privilege of joining Eduardo for his Church service. […]

Read more →
/by

“We’re Willing to Roll up Our Sleeves”

Traveling to Cuba is surprisingly easy.  After a short flight from Miami, we were met at the airport by our Cuban liaison – who reminds us of an old friend. Most of the Cubans we meet with are very educated, and excited to speak English with us.    They’re curious about our lives, and happy to share […]

Read more →
/by

“Be an Agent for Peace and Justice”

The direct flight from Miami to Havana is disarmingly brief, as I discovered during my first trip there on a Global Volunteers People-to-People program in 2012. After our ascent, we enjoyed just a few minutes at “cruising altitude” before the captain announced our descent into Cuba. It shouldn’t have been surprising since we were only […]

Read more →
/by

New Service Program Announced!

We’re thrilled to announce that beginning in May, Global Volunteers will send volunteer teams on two-week service programs to assist children and families in Ciego de Avila, a rural community in the island’s interior, on projects for conversational English, cooperative farming initiatives, and building painting and repair.  Other work projects are expected to be added throughout 2015. […]

Read more →
/by
Global Volunteers
375 East Little Canada Road
St. Paul, MN 55117-1628 USA
(800) 487-1074 | toll-free
(651) 482-0915 | fax
globalvolunteers.org
email@globalvolunteers.org
Federal EIN: 36-3352680

JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST!

Subscribe to receive updates, new blog posts, and inspiring stories from our work around the world.