in
1.
Do I have to
have special skills to volunteer?
No.
Experience with the Spanish language, medical practice,
agriculture, construction,
community development, etc. may be useful for specific projects, but is
not
absolutely necessary. Many of our most
helpful volunteers have been “unskilled.”
We can often use someone who loves to organize and can accept
instruction.
2.
Do I have to
speak Spanish to volunteer?
No, but your
participation in the
work of the JHC will be greatly limited if you do not have functional
Spanish. JHC does not provide
translation for long term volunteers. If
you have an intermediate level that allows you to converse with people,
you
will be able to participate fully in much of what we
do. You do need to be fluent in English.
3.
Are there
requirements for volunteers?
You must be 18 years old or older. You will fit best if you have an open mind, an independent self-starting work ethic, an interest in the projects currently being done here, and the patience and flexibility to pitch in and help with whatever grungy work needs to be done. We also encourage volunteers to get out and experience Nicaraguan life outside of the bounds of our Center, so the more curiosity and patience and adventurousness you bring to the table, the more you will be able to get out of your time here.
4.
How long can
I stay?
We now ask that individual volunteers commit to a stay of at least 6 months. In our 30 years’ experience hosting volunteers, we’ve found that longer commitments provide a better experience for the volunteer and they are more helpful to us in our work as well.
5.
I can’t come
for 6 months but would love to see your projects. What
can I do?
You can join a volunteer delegation. If you’re interested in doing that, please read about delegations and email [volunteers@jhc-cdca.org] to find out when there is a delegation you can join. There is a per diem charge of $65 for delegates.
If you are a skilled volunteer in the areas of agriculture, medical fields, medicinal herbs or appropriate technology we sometimes make exceptions for you to come for a shorter period. Please email us [volunteers@jhc-cdca.org] to find out.
6.
Does it cost
to volunteer?
Yes, we do charge a per diem of $5 per day, which covers your room and board. This is the same whether you do a home stay or a dorm stay (see below).
7.
Why do you
charge a per diem?
Because the donations
we receive
are for project support, we need you to contribute to your costs.
Besides
paying your travel down and back, we ask that volunteers contribute $5
per day
toward their room and board. We really
wish that we could absorb these costs on our own, but we can't.
8.
What is
included in the per diem?
Your food, your
lodging and any
work-related transport (for example, transport back and forth to the clinic). You
will
need to bring your own money for extras like travel on weekends and
going out,
which are not part of the per diem.
9.
I don’t have the money to pay a per diem, is
there any way
I can still volunteer?
The only person for whom we waive the per diem fee is our Volunteer Coordinator. If you are interested in this position, click here.
10.
Do you have ideas for
fundraising to help
cover my per diem?
· Host a rice and beans party and put together a talk about why you want to come and then ask people to pledge to your trip... spell out your expenses.
· Write friends and family a letter or email explaining what you hope to accomplish and asking them to help. Include addressed stamped envelopes.
· Offer yourself for odd jobs with friends and family, explaining that you will use the money to come here.
·
Explain that people can give to the Jubilee House Community, Inc., a 501(c)(3)
non-profit... designated for your support (put your name on the "For"
line of the check) and receive a tax deduction.
·
If you
are a
craft-oriented person then make things to sell... or photos, if you are
an
amateur photographer.
·
If you
are a member of
a religious congregation, many denominations will sponsor church
members who
want to go volunteer... contact your local regional church body. Many congregations will also sponsor
their members to volunteer elsewhere.
11.
Who is the Jubilee House
Community and what
is the Center for Development in
The Jubilee House
Community (JHC)
is an intentional community made up of seven adults and five children. We founded the JHC in 1979 and worked with
the poor and homeless in
12.
Is this a Christian or a
religious or a
missionary type of group or what?
Many of
the staff and volunteers here are
people of
faith of one stripe or another, and this is the underlying motivation
for the
social justice focus of the work. We are
a non-sectarian faith-based community focused on service ministry, and
volunteers of any type of religious background or none at all can feel
welcome
pitching in here.
We do community development work regardless of the religious or political affiliations of the communities with whom we work, and do not evangelize. If you are interested in an evangelical outreach opportunity, you should volunteer with a different organization.
13.
Where is the JHC-CDCA
located?
We are located just on
the edge of
Ciudad Sandino, a town of 150,000 people in what is the poorest urban
area in
the country (which is, in turn, the second poorest country in the
14.
Where will I stay, and with
whom?
There are two choices of living situations. You may choose to do a home stay with a family living in Ciudad Sandino, where you will have a small room, eat breakfast and dinner with the host family, and will be much more exposed to the Spanish language and typical Nicaraguan living.
The second option is
to live here
at the
15.
What type of work will I do?
You must remain as
flexible as
possible since it’s hard to predict ahead of time what kind of work
will be
necessary on any given day. The work available may not be glamorous,
but there is always something to do! The following list is a sample of the kind of
work you can expect during your stay here:
-mixing concrete
-stuffing and stamping envelopes
-filling prescriptions in the
pharmacy
-grocery shopping, doing laundry,
washing dishes
-filling in for
office/administrative stuff
-pulling weeds in the garden
-helping another staffperson
-digging a hole
Please do not to expect that anything will happen on time or according to plan, despite our best intentions. You never know what may be most helpful to do on any given day.
In addition, the ebb and flow of work around here tends to revolve around the once-a-month arrival of larger groups of delegations (10-25 people, 1-2 week stays) which means the addition of work dealing with facilitating those visits. Those weeks are both fun, with lots of stuff to do, and kind of crazy, with too many people running around all at once.
16.
What types of folks
typically come down to
volunteer with JHC?
The monthly group delegations tend to be church groups, college student groups, or other types of community groups. Individual volunteers are often [but not always!!] adventurous twenty-somethings doing the ‘gap year’ type of thing before, during, or after college. For whatever reason, it seems that most come here with the idea of trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives; however, we don’t yet have any hard data on the success rate of that.
17.
What is the weather like?
Your choices are either hot and wet (May – October) or hot and dry (November – April), so expect to have a lot of dust, mud and sweat!
18.
Will I have access to
Internet?
There is a computer in the dorm that is available to be used for internet work after 5 PM weekdays and on weekends. We do not always have internet service, and we have a bad connection when it exists at all. Our electricity frequently goes out, meaning no access to computers at all. So with those caveats, you will have access to Internet at our Center sometimes. There are several Cyber Cafés within walking distance of the Center and for a few córdobas an hour you can have access to internet and internet phone calls to your family.
19.
Do I need a visa to come to
Not before you arrive if
you are a
There is sometimes a $35 airport tax charged when you leave the country, though it is now included in most plane tickets. Please check with your airline.
Make sure that your passport is valid for at least the length of your stay plus six months.
20.
What about health insurance?
We cannot provide you with insurance during your stay. You will have free access to the doctors at our small clinic, and our pharmacy, and there is a nearby hospital that will accept credit cards for emergencies. Some volunteers decide to go without insurance during their stay, others have bought insurance like the STA travel ‘youth travel card’ that provides coverage for big emergencies (with a huge deductible…) for one year anywhere in the world for $25.
21.
Can I get my prescription
medication and
over-the-counter medication in
We can’t guarantee
they’ll be
available here. Bring with you all prescribed and over-the-counter
medications
that you need to have, and bring enough to last the length of your
stay.
22.
Do I need to take malaria
medication?
You may want to consider taking an anti-malarial prophylaxis (consult your doctor). Many volunteers do take it. Those who are here for longer term do not because of the long-term side effects. You need to decide for yourself.
23.
Do I need vaccinations?
Make sure your tetanus vaccination is up to date. Hepatitis A and B vaccinations are suggested if you haven't had them, but the vaccine decisions are left to your discretion.
24.
What should I bring?
Once your plans are firmed up, we’ll send you a packing list.
25. Even after reading everything above, I’m still interested in volunteering, what should I do? [click here]