Amigos De Las Americas
Rating: 4.89 stars 46 46 reviews
Address:
5618 Star Ln Houston TX 77057 USA
Mission:
Amigos de las Americas is an international, voluntary, nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization that trains high school and college age students for a summer of service in Latin America. After training with a local chapter or through the correspondence program, AMIGOS volunteers live in Latin American communities in small teams and promote basic health and environmental education. Among the services provided are: construction of latrines and wood-burning stoves; dental hygiene; health promotion; and reforestation. Services are provided in partnership with a local host agency and are designed to meet the needs of a particular country or region. Volunteers gain leadership skills, self-confidence, language skills, and awareness of other cultures, while making a positive difference in the lives of impoverished communities. In 1998, AMIGOS had 12 summer projects in Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Programs:
Our programs for high school students create a unique opportunity for young people to take on real-world challenges and build responsibility. Program participants work with other us students and latin american peers to design and lead community projects related to areas such as: public health, children's rights, and environmental sustainability. This includes 632 participants from our chapter network, our national office network, and our federal grant partnerships traveling to/from latin america during 2014.
our programs for gap year create a unique opportunity for young people to take on real-world challenges and build responsibility during a transformational year of full-time international service. Program participants work with other us students and latin american peers to design and lead community projects related to areas such as: public health, children's rights, and environmental sustainability. This includes 6 gap participants in nicaragua for 2014.
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Reviews for Amigos De Las Americas
I was enormously disappointed with the program because Amigos required me to do my own fundraising in addition to paying over $6,300 to participate That's an outrageous amount of money, especially considering that the cost of living is so low there. I could have spent the same amount of money and stayed for 6 months, not 6 weeks, if I did the trip on my own. Volunteers relentlessly made their pitches at my school to convince kids to participate as well as urge their parents and relatives to donate money to their company. I was given the impression I'd get financial aid but I got nothing - like I said, I was responsible for fundraising and using social media to draw more people in. There are better ways to experience another culture and perform community service than to go through Amigos. They claim that they'll increase your confidence through their programs, but if you think about it, you already have to be pretty confident to be willing to travel abroad to a rural community abroad. Overpriced. Underwhelming. Look elsewhere.
