Volunteer in Portugal

“Funny how much the students are like ours at home.
They joke, laugh, and are so open to anything. I’m not
sure who is going to grow the greatest from this experience—them or me!”
Mary Ann Buchanon, Portugal Volunteer

Teach English to youth and adults as a short-term volunteer in Portugal. Along the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula of Europe, Portugal became a world power during the “Age of Discovery” – and became the first nation-state in Western Europe. However, global economic pressures limit the country’s commercial influence – and youths’ futures. By volunteering in Beja, Portugal, you tip the scale in students’ favor. English has become the language of commerce, technology and opportunity worldwide – and as a native English speaker, your volunteer skills are in demand. Our community partners in Beja open their doors to you so their students can learn American English (the language of the internet). No matter your background or skills, volunteering in Portugal helps secure the future for eager students in this welcoming community!

FAQs: What You Need To Know

Dates & Fees

Service program fees are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers when you follow our itinerary. Select program options below to see upcoming service program dates for Portugal. Then select a program date to hold your place on a team with your $350 deposit. Call a volunteer coordinator at (800) 487-1074 for help if needed. If you prefer, you may print a text application and submit it by mail or fax. Minors – under age 18 – must complete a minor application and travel with a parent or adult legal guardian.

Most partner community lodging is double-occupancy, with a single room option for an additional fee. Click for single room fees in countries where this option is available.

Community:

Weeks:

Year:

Team Leader

Joe Testa is our volunteer team leader in Portugal. He first joined a Global Volunteers service program to Guatemala in 1991, completed Global Volunteers Team Leader Training in 1993, and has since led more than 50 teams worldwide. Joe earned an MBA and built a highly successful ground water and water purification business. He sold the company and now serves as General Manager so he can spend more time with two beautiful grandchildren, volunteer as an ESL tutor, and continue mentoring with Big Brothers, Big Sisters. He’s beloved by his volunteers – and appreciated for his good humor, easy-going style, attention to detail, and his endless cultural interest.

Arrival and Departure

Plan your arrival in Lisbon (airport code LIS), before 6:00 PM on the first Saturday of your service program. Provided you send us your flight itinerary at least two weeks before the service program arrival date, your team leader will meet you between 1:00 PM and 6:30 PM to transport you to the hotel. This coordinated schedule assists in assembling the team for in-transit transportation. Meet your team at the airport within this window if you travel in the country before the start of the service program. The following morning, you will travel approximately 2.5 hours to Beja by bus with your teammates. If your flight is delayed, please contact us as soon as you confirm your new arrival plans so your team leader can arrange an airport pick up for you. Plan your departure from Lisbon for after 2:00 PM on the final day of your service program.

For help with your flight arrangements, please visit Janbala, our travel partner’s website.

Health & Safety

Your health, safety and security is our top priority. Your lodging, food and transportation are provided always with a mind to protect you while at the work site and in your hotel. Your team leader is trained in CPR and first aid. Read more about health and safety here.

We strongly recommend you consult your own physician, public health clinic and/or travel clinic for detailed travel health information. For general recommendations, consult the following sources:

Centers for Disease Control | Health Canada Online | Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade | Travel Health Online

Global Volunteers includes emergency medical evacuation insurance in your service program fee. We also recommend health insurance that covers you while you are outside your home country, and trip cancellation insurance in the event you must cancel your participation on the service program. Your travel agent can refer you to travel insurance providers.

Free Time

Ample time is available on evenings and weekends to enjoy the numerous nearby natural and cultural attractions in Beja. Favorite sites including Castelo de Beja, a castle rebuilt by King Dinis in 1310, the Church of Santo Amaro, and Rainha D. Leonor Regional Museum, with displays of pre-historic times to the present day. The streets and lanes are lovely – and feature fascinating architecture and equally fascinating people. A leisurely walk around the entire central city area will consume about two hours.

While our non-profit status doesn’t allow us to plan your free-time activities, your team leader and the hotel reception canl provide a list of the many free-time options previous teams have enjoyed. You may visit a winery, olive oil factory or one of the many cork-producing factories. A weekend trip to Lisbon is 2.5 hours by train, where you can explore the Oceanario de Lisboa, an enormous aquarium on the waterfront. Or, you may visit the Algarve region (1.5 hours by car) on Portugal’s southern coast, which offers excellent beaches and seaside restaurants.

Family Opportunities

Engaging one-on-one with Portuguese students of all ages, your teens learn how their education and natural skills are important resources to others, and that people the world over share common hopes and interests. Every volunteer makes a difference – students who otherwise have no exposure to native English speakers learn the language of commerce, industry and opportunity from you and your children age 15 and older. The emphasis is on improving real-life speaking skills and not on formal rules of grammar. Practice pronunciation, talk about mutually interesting topics, and read texts. Through games, songs, skits, field trips and other creative activities, students learn through “whole body” exercises. In this way, your family’s personal skills and dedication enable youths’ personal development to ripple throughout the country – advancing the entire nation’s capabilities.

You’ll usually teach four hours a day, allowing equal time for preparation and team meetings. Parents and guardians are expected to supervise their child volunteers, and collaborate with our team leader and local partners to maximize the service experience for everyone. In this way, your teen gains a personal understanding of Portuguese culture and traditions from a variety of perspectives, and learns the role and responsibilities of a team member. They likely also will create life-long friendships with local youth who share their interests and experiences.

Group Opportunities

Beja is a comfortable and stimulating group volunteering community. Friends hug and “kiss the air” while brushing cheeks, reflecting the true warmth in greeting “bom dia” (good day) and “boa noite” (good evening). Portuguese culture is closely related to the Spanish culture, with major influences from the Latin of ancient Rome and Muslim societies throughout history.

Today, Portugal is a European leader, having joined the European Union in 1986, and is a founding member of NATO, OECD, and EFTA. Students know that English is a critical skill for their career development – and their influence on the country’s future. You contribute your skills at a most important time in their lives – providing a service that isn’t available locally. As volunteers in Polish classrooms, your members discover a colorful country with a brilliant history, help bolster an emerging tourist industry, and most important – help expand Portuguese students’ career options

We work with you to apply your group’s unique skills, interests and personalities to service projects. The daily schedule, accommodations and free-time options are conducive to group dynamics. Our unique philosophy of service ensures your group’s contributions in just one to three weeks help build students’ capabilities – and offers a variety of ways to continue to support your host community. In short, volunteering with your group in Portugal is an investment in knowledge, discovery and optimism.

Opportunities for high school and college groups

Read on for details on group volunteering

Community Projects

Since 2007, we’ve taught children, teens and adults with varying English abilities in classrooms, offices, and community centers. Our partnership with the municipal government of Beja – a modern town of over 20,000 people – enables you, in just one or two weeks to help students prepare for new economic opportunities. Review a standard work-day schedule here.

English Teaching
Practice conversational skills – pronunciation, vocabulary, idioms, sentence structure and the like. Choose assignments in public elementary and secondary schools, or with young adults in technical or trades schools. Each year, more and more classrooms are requesting volunteers as important student resources. As a native English speaker, you don’t need any formal teaching experience. You use the standard curriculum texts and established lesson plans, and at other times your lessons will become more free-form. For example, you may discuss North American culture, including discussions on history, daily lifestyle, sports, and school systems with your students. All contribute to mutual international respect and unity!

Volunteer in Portugal Service Program Snapshot

1 & 2 week programs available

Fees From:
$2,695.00 – $2,895

Projects Include:
Teaching English

Local time:

Request Information

Read Program Blog

5 Popular Places for Boomers to Volunteer

March 29, 2016/by Dana Faust

My Home Away from Home in Beja

January 25, 2016/by Dana Faust

The Five Joys of Volunteering in Portugal

January 13, 2016/by Michele Gran

Free Time Adventures & Photos – in Portugal

POR1509A1 Marcie Bissel Teaching in Classroom (13)

September 28, 2015/by Sam Pinakoulaki

Teaching English in Beja Portugal!

Food and Lodging

As a volunteer in Portugal, your health and safety are our primary concerns. On the first night of the program, you stay in Lisbon at a four-star hotel near the Orient train station. After your train ride to Beja, you check into the popular Residencial Bejense, a lovely 24-room family-run hotel just steps from several outdoor cafés. All rooms are double-occupancy in air-conditioned rooms with telephones, private bathrooms with hot and cold water, closets and a small balcony.

Air conditioning
Television, telephone
Laundry service
Common area with fireplace
Breakfast room
Single rooms available for an extra fee

Portuguese cuisine is a mixture of Mediterranean and Atlantic traditions – seafood, olive oil, fresh vegetables and pork with interesting sauces containing cinnamon or curry powder. Hearty soups and breads are also served very often. Bottled water is provided daily. Vegetarian diets can generally be accommodated.

“Each day has been a bit like unwrapping a surprising package. After lunch, before we knew it, we were surrounded by students eager to talk, listen and help us with our visitor’s map. We let them circle anything of interest as long as they talked to us. Needless to say, we now have a map with lots of museums, churches and parks circled.”

Irene FinneganPortugal Volunteer

“We all arrived in Portugal with our dreams of helping to wage peace with another culture through mutual communication, interaction, and respect. I truly believe our dreams came true during our two weeks in Beja.”

Leon YoungpeterPortugal Volunteer

“I especially enjoyed seeing the growth in the students’ confidence throughout the two weeks. We had the freedom to do what we thought was best, within the conversational English guidelines. It was the perfect opportunity to use my skills as a teacher!”

Janice HemenPortugal Volunteer

“How quickly I became attached to our students. I don’t remember their names but I do remember who plays the piano, who likes to read Harry Potter and who is the mother of a 2-year-old son. What will they remember about us? Perhaps they’ll remember the storytelling, the performances, silly games and dances, or a photo of a cake-baking granddaughter, because they, too, bake cakes.”

Mary Sue VothPortugal Volunteer

Be The Change.

Through important, full-day volunteer assignments, cultural activities and time for personal adventures, you’ll learn about the Portuguese people and remain forever invested. Our time-tested and proven philosophy of service ensures your efforts help advance the host community’s vision and goals. You contribute to genuine development projects, and in doing so, you’re accepted as family. Our commitment to work in partnership on long-term community projects enables you, in just a short time, to serve as a critical link in a chain of volunteer support spanning three decades.

Volunteer Voices:

Learn more about our Portugal program though the prospective of our volunteers below or on our program blog.

Request a Portugal Program Fact Sheet

Request a program catalog here or by calling 800-487-1074.

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