While service to children and families is the purpose of Global Volunteers programs, working alongside local people is the best way to experience culture and traditions in your host country.  Learn more about some of the customs, language and history that comes alive when serving for one, two or three weeks with Global Volunteers.

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A Special Day – First Holy Communion for 5 Assisi Kids

Team Journal for Monday, 28th December 2015. Today was a very special day.  It was the First Holy Communion for the five youngest children at Assisi Illam: Jasmine, George, John, Sophia and Sylvia.  I met these children six years ago and through annual visits, have become close with these children.  The children were dressed in […]

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Christmas in Peru

summer day at PPA

Christmas in Peru, by Peru Country Manager Daniel Salazar: There is no Thanksgiving in Peru, and no other holiday comes close to Christmas in terms of the excitement and commotion it causes. Yes, there is no snow. In fact, it’s summer in Peru. But that does not prevent people from wearing Santa hats. In fact, […]

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A Different Holiday Story in Peru

A Different Holiday Story

A Different Holiday Story, by Peru Country Manager Daniel Salazar: Holidays in Peru and the U.S. are similar in many ways. In both countries most people think of getting together with the family around a nice turkey dinner. But it is also different in many ways. For instance, in Peru most people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. But […]

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Fight Poverty in Peru

fight poverty in Peru

The 2015 World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings took place in Lima, Peru. The highest authorities of both institutions, ministers of economy and finance, and governors of central banks, met in Lima to discuss poverty issues worldwide and policies to alleviate it. Both institutions agree in their analysis of Peru’s economy: the last […]

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Calling All Chocolate Lovers!

Costa Rican chocolate

Magical Cacao Beans Most people appreciate the deliciousness of chocolate, but most are entirely unaware of where it comes from or how it becomes so delicious. While volunteering in Monteverde, you can learn about and delight in Costa Rican chocolate. Native to the Americas, the cocoa tree is believed to have first been discovered in the […]

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‘Pura Vida’ – The Costa Rican Way of Life

“Pura vida” is more than just a slogan that so easily rolls of the tongues of Costa Ricans; the phrase is a true mantra for the way of life in this Central American country. Said only by Costa Ricans, this phrase would literally be translated as “pure life”, but it means much more than that. […]

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Culture Rich Country: Peru!

CULTURE RICH COUNTRY: PERU!

Sometimes your everyday life keeps you so busy that you don’t realize all the amazing things you can find in your city, much the less in your country. Peru is a country with a rich ancient culture that can be seen everywhere in ruins scattered around cities.  It can also be appreciated through its music […]

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“I raise pigs so my son will have a better future.”

Help Women Support their Family

It is one thing to visit a touristic site and take pictures; it is a whole different thing to be invited by a local person to her home and into her life, and to have a chance to help women support their family. Today I took two of my volunteers – a doctor and his 12-year-old […]

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Dancing in Costa Rica

dancing in Costa Rica

Ever wondered what dancing in Costa Rica looks like? Costa Rica’s central geographical location and colonial history have resulted in a varied musical culture that incorporates elements from North and South America and the Caribbean islands. Popular dance music includes tropical Latin rhythms such as salsa, merengue, bolero, and cumbia. Cumbia is perhaps the most […]

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“But do we make a difference?” You sure do!

We are often asked by volunteers whether their support of literacy with children really makes a difference. We can tell you emphatically – YOU DO make a difference in the Cook Islands! The Cook Islands culture is predominantly an oral culture with most homes having no books other than a bible. This impacts the literacy […]

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