Day One: Our local coordinator/staff will give you an orientation and will accompany you to your program. You will be shown how to manage the commute (bus, taxi, walking). You will be introduced to the site director and discuss your role at the project. Volunteers typically work a morning and an afternoon shift each lasting about 3-5 hours.

Weekdays: A typical volunteer day is as follows:

• 7:30 AM Breakfast at the volunteer house/homestay.
• 8:00 AM Volunteers depart, and travel to their project site.
• 8:30 AM to 13:00 PM Volunteer work and a lunch break.
• 14:00 PM to 17:00 PM Spanish lessons or afternoon volunteer work.
• 18:30-19:30 PM Dinner at the volunteer house/homestay.

Note: This is an example schedule. Volunteer work hours can vary depending on the program and the location.

Evenings: For peace of mind and to ensure the well-being of our volunteers, a nightly curfew of 21:30PM is in place from Sunday to Thursday. Curfew is set at 12:00AM for Friday and Saturday. (All volunteers must comply with their home country’s legal drinking age).

Volunteers have several ways to stay in touch with their family/friends back home and with the ABV local staff while they are overseas. All city/urban program locations have access to internet/cyber cafes which typically charge hourly rates ($1-$2). The majority of ABV guesthouses, homestays have WIFI access (fees apply), and have land line telephone numbers. Even rural program locations have mobile phone service, and small towns nearby with internet facilities. All ABV staff use mobile phones to stay in contact with their volunteers.

Before traveling volunteers should contact their mobile phone provider and ask about international call/texting plans. Volunteers should consider buying a portable wifi device (especially in rural locations). If planning on traveling with your own mobile phone volunteers should look at apps like Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp to stay connected through messenger or short calls home. Volunteers can rent a wireless phone or buy a cheap throwaway phone once they arrive in-country. In some locations you can do that for less than $50. In fact, your regular carrier may even offer overseas rentals. ABV local staff will assist you and show you where to purchase SIM cards.

Once you arrive in-country and settled in, our ABV staff will help you contact home to let someone know you arrived safely. All volunteers are also given an emergency phone number on their Volunteer Guide/summary, which is available 24/7 to contact ABV staff.

Easy. Choose the dates that work best for you. Although some programs have date restrictions the majority of our volunteer programs are available year round. Volunteers select their own program start date and complete an online application. Once you have been accepted and dates approved, ABV will ask you to confirm your registration by paying a us$120 included in the overall fee.