Language Magazine
August 2008

Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS) offers the exciting opportunity for high school and college students to experience the beauty of Costa Rica while working on meaningful environmental and educational projects.

AMIGOS volunteers live and work in rural and semi-rural communities in Costa Rica. Unlike many other volunteer programs, volunteers get a full immersion experience because they are placed in a community with only one or two other English-speaking AMIGOS volunteers and they stay with Spanish-speaking host families. Participants facilitate camps for local children ages 5-12 that focus on creative expression, conservation, trash collection and nutrition. Additionally, volunteers work on community improvement projects like making trash and recycle bins, building bus stops, repairing playgrounds and forming sports teams.

AMIGOS works in the Brunca region of Costa Rica in the district of Perez Zeledon, located in the southern part of the country. This area is dominated by coffee, pineapple and banana plantations, and the climate in this region ranges from cool in mountainous areas to hot, humid sections near the Pacific coast.

AMIGOS also offers 5-8 week summer programs in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Founded in 1965 in Houston, AMIGOS is an international, non-profit organization that provides unparalleled leadership and community service opportunities for young people while concurrently contributing to the well-being of hundreds of communities throughout the Americas. During its 43-year history, more than 20,000 AMIGOS Volunteers have gained a life-long commitment to community service, while strengthening multicultural understanding and friendships in the Americas.