Amizade: Global Service-Learning and Volunteer Programs

Join current groups July 18 - Aug. 1, 2009, Sept. 19-27, 2009 or Sept. 19 - Oct. 3, 2009.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/community_partnerships/bolivia.html
Program Location: Cochabamba, Bolivia
Program Duration: Two or more weeks, start dates available throughout the year
Program Cost: The cost of the first two weeks of the program is $1,470. Each additional week is $269. Program fees include a service placement, lodging, meals, cultural and recreational activities, and support from Amizade's local site directors. Programs that take place outside the US include travel insurance and transportation to and from the local airport. All fees additionally include a contribution to a community partner organization, which typically takes place through infrastructure donations, stipends for speakers, or other general operating donations. Fees do not include international airfare, passport or visa costs, or immunizations. Over 80% of fees go directly to program costs. Less than 20% of fees go to administration.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age. Basic Spanish skills are required to communicate with local children and residents.
Program Description: You will stay in or near Cochabamba, Bolivia (third largest city, encircled by the breathtaking Andes Mountains); work with children or the elderly, or help a rural community build classrooms; and explore the culture through recreational activities and community events. Your volunteer service immerses you in the local community and offers you the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the region’s most vulnerable people.

• Ceoli provides education and healthcare to low-income children with disabilities and works with those children to develop self-sufficiency. Many Ceoli employees speak some English, so volunteers may begin serving immediately after arrival. Volunteers work in a number of areas, including health-related care, school administration, and student art projects.
• Millennium is a nonprofit volunteer organization created by doctors and psychologists. They provide health care to children in orphanages and transitional homes in Cochabamba city. Volunteers take care of groups of children, reading and playing games. Volunteers with some medical training assist with health care. Basic Spanish knowledge is required to ensure effective communication with the children.
• Asilo de Ancianos “Buen Pastor” is a nursing home for men and women run by Roman Catholic nuns. In collaboration with many institutions and individuals, the sisters build small stores to rent to generate income to cover the costs of the residents’ care. Volunteers help care for the residents, and read and converse with them. They also help with construction.
• Viloma High School is in a rural community outside of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The current school is a small converted cow stable. Local masons supervise and teach both the Amizade volunteers and local community members during every part of the construction project. No special skills are needed to work on this project. A basic understanding of Spanish is helpful but not necessary in order to communicate with local workers and residents. Amizade volunteers have helped add several classrooms to the school building.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/community_partnerships/ghana.html
Program Location: Accra, Ghana
Program Duration: Two or more weeks, start dates are available throughout the year
Program Cost: The cost of the first two weeks of the program is $1,683. Each additional week is $402. Program fees include a service placement, lodging, meals, cultural and recreational activities, and support from Amizade's local site directors. Programs that take place outside the US include travel insurance and transportation to and from the local airport. All fees additionally include a contribution to a community partner organization, which typically takes place through infrastructure donations, stipends for speakers, or other general operating donations. Fees do not include international airfare, passport or visa costs, or immunizations. Over 80% of fees go directly to program costs. Less than 20% of fees go to administration.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age.
Program Description: The Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana (VOLU) was founded in 1956.  It is a nonpolitical, non-sectarian voluntary organization.  VOLU organizes and runs voluntary workcamps in Ghana in collaboration with other voluntary organizations, such as Amizade. VOLU helps poor communities do work which they would otherwise be unable to do themselves. VOLU furthers intercultural and interracial understanding by inviting people from abroad to their workcamps and by sponsoring Ghanaians to go to workcamps abroad.
By working with VOLU’s already effective and existing programs, Amizade volunteers learn about community organization and gain important organizational and management skills. VOLU projects that volunteers have impacted are varied. Past volunteers have worked on construction projects, environmental projects, educational projects and projects involving community development. The impact of this volunteer experience is immediate and long lasting. Volunteers will stay in either a house, which Amizade has rented for the program, or a local hotel. Please check with the Amizade office to find out what accommodations have been made for your particular program.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/community_partnerships/jamaica.html
Program Location: Petersfield, Jamaica
Program Duration: Two or more weeks, start dates are available throughout the year
Program Cost: The cost of the first two weeks of the program is $1,648. Each additional week is $339. Program fees include a service placement, lodging, meals, cultural and recreational activities, and support from Amizade's local site directors. Programs that take place outside the US include travel insurance and transportation to and from the local airport. All fees additionally include a contribution to a community partner organization, which typically takes place through infrastructure donations, stipends for speakers, or other general operating donations. Fees do not include international airfare, passport or visa costs, or immunizations. Over 80% of fees go directly to program costs. Less than 20% of fees go to administration.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age.
Program Description: Volunteering in Petersfield takes the tourist experience deeper and provides the opportunity for visitors to participate first-hand in the life of a small, rural community. Staying in home stays and supporting a burgeoning eco-tourism initiative, volunteers will contribute their skills while absorbing the stories and strength of people working to build a better future for their community.
Amizade and the Association of Clubs (AOC) are working together to meet the needs of the Petersfield community. The currently proposed project is the building of a new primary school for the nearby Galloway community. Volunteers with an interest in community development, technology, health, education, construction, youth, business initiatives, and more will find plenty of opportunities to lend a hand. By fitting in to the AOC's already effective and existing programs, Amizade volunteers learn about community organizing while contributing their skills to the effort. AOC projects that volunteers have impacted include:

• Youth Empowerment Summer Camp - teaching computer classes, serving as camp counselors, and tutoring.
• Videography Program - creating video as a tool for educating the community, raising funds, and inspiring people to action.
• Building Revitalization - contributing to a community park, painting the local post office, and restoring homes for needy people.
• School and Hospice Visits - spending time and sharing culture with schoolchildren and people who are ill.

Join a current group July 24 - Aug. 2, 2009.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/community_partnerships/navajo_nation.html
Program Location: Navajo Nation, Tuba City, Arizona
Program Duration: Two or more weeks, start dates are available throughout the year
Program Cost: The cost of the first two weeks of the program is $1,930. Each additional week is $450. Please note that a one week placement is available for $965. Program fees include a service placement, lodging, meals, cultural and recreational activities, and support from Amizade's local site directors. Programs that take place outside the US include travel insurance and transportation to and from the local airport. All fees additionally include a contribution to a community partner organization, which typically takes place through infrastructure donations, stipends for speakers, or other general operating donations. Fees do not include international airfare, passport or visa costs, or immunizations. Over 80% of fees go directly to program costs. Less than 20% of fees go to administration.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age.
Program Description: Service opportunities in Tuba City are arranged in partnership with the schools and involve tutoring and mentoring youth. By working with the teachers and school administration, Amizade volunteers complement the goals set in the classroom. Participants can expect to directly contribute to the success of Navajo school children.
Since 2000, Amizade volunteers have served in several capacities in efforts to educate the children and young adults including:

• Tutoring in the Classrooms - Volunteers work with the teachers to support lesson plans, provide one-on-one tutoring for students, and promote learning in activities.
• School-wide Art Program - Volunteers develop and implement a school-wide week-long art program for students in grades K-4.
• Special Programming - Volunteers serve in the school in specific roles including aides in the library, computer lab, reading rooms, and physical education.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/community_partnerships/tanzania.html
Program Location: Omurushaka, Kagera Region, Tanzania
Program Duration: Two or more weeks, start dates are available throughout the year
Program Cost: The cost of the first two weeks of the program is $1,595. Each additional week is $440. Program fees include a service placement, lodging, meals, cultural and recreational activities, and support from Amizade's local site directors. Programs that take place outside the US include travel insurance and transportation to and from the local airport. All fees additionally include a contribution to a community partner organization, which typically takes place through infrastructure donations, stipends for speakers, or other general operating donations. Fees do not include international airfare, passport or visa costs, or immunizations. Over 80% of fees go directly to program costs. Less than 20% of fees go to administration.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age.
Program Description: Volunteers to the Karagwe area of Tanzania will find themselves in a remote, mountainous town where the majority of people are farmers subsisting on less than $100 a year. Tanzania is known throughout East Africa for having years of peaceful conditions often credited to the unifying national language of Swahili. Sadly, the AIDS epidemic, malaria, and other health crises have touched this vibrant community. Volunteers will be impressed by the dedicated work of community organizers, caseworkers, hospital staff, and church members as they work side-by-side to improve people's lives.
In Tanzania, Amizade partners with three community-based organizations, all of which are working to better living conditions and empower people in the region.

• Nyakahanga Hospital - Nyakahanga is the main hospital for the region and a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. They have instituted a number of vital community health initiatives including an AIDS Control office.
• Family Alliance for Development & Cooperation (FADECO) - This grassroots community organization focuses on empowering local community members to support themselves economically, increase nutrition and preventative health, & provide educational technology and resources that will lead to community-driven plans for sustainability.
• Women Emancipation & Development Agency (WOMEDA) - This women's organization focuses on increasing economic and human rights by supporting members of the community through legal procedures and training programs.

Over the past few years, volunteers have participated in projects around issues of community health including:

• Orphanage construction - To date, the foundation and the first set of walls have been completed.
• Community Health Research - Service-learning students have completed short-term projects on various health topics such as observing disinfection techniques and compiling statistics for the hospital.
• AIDS Education Children's Book - Dr. Linda Winkler, a professor from the University of Pittsburgh, and (WHO from the community, AIDS Control Office) have designed and published a book in swahili to educate youth about AIDS prevention. The pictures for the book were completed by Tanzania school children.

Program Website: http://amizade.org/service_learning/internships/field_placements.html
Program Cost:

	16 days	24 days	49 days	73 days	98 days
Bolivia	$3,173	$4,402	$6,713	$8,619	$10,270
Ghana	$3,129	$4,039	$5,966	$8,486	$10,227
Jamaica	$3,555	$4,672	$7,026	$8,850	$10,733
Tanzania	$3,118	$4,314	$6,763	$8,487	$10,292

Program fees include tuition and all related faculty guidance, community placement, travel insurance, accommodations, two meals per day, and program-related trips, learning, and cultural experiences in-country. Students are responsible for international airfare, passports and/or visas, immunizations and any books or required course materials.
Program Eligibility: Must be at least 18 years of age.
Program Description: These placements are available for students who wish to undertake independent study and service for university credits in Political Science, Africana Studies, or Sevice-Learning. You can enjoy intercultural immersion & global citizenship any time of the year at Amizade’s partner sites in Bolivia, Ghana, Jamaica, and Tanzania. Students cooperate closely with faculty members to develop individualized syllabi that relate to International Development, Community Health, or Education. The syllabus that each student develops will include components specific to his or her own academic interest, the global service-learning and intercultural immersion experience, and the specific community partner site where the field placement occurs.
The Professional Field Experience Credits recognize professionally relevant service experiences in International Development, Community Health, and Education. While students may propose study and research topics that are predominantly oriented around a breadth of topics the credits at this time must be conferred within one of those three disciplinary and departmental structures. Each student works with a faculty mentor to determine the ideal disciplinary fit.
Community placement opportunities include:

• Education, Children with Disabilities, Youth, Women's Rights, Seniors, Environment and Sustainability in Bolivia
• Education, Health Education and Outreach, Assisting Hospital Nurses with Check-in Procedures, Checking Vital Signs, and other Basic Medical-Related Procedures in Ghana
• Education, Health, Community Tourism in Jamaica
• Appropriate Technology, Agriculture, Education, Health, Rural Development, Women's Rights in Tanzania