Costa Rica Volunteer Locations: San Ramon

Travel to Teach's volunteer programs in Costa Rica are based in the Central Valley coffee town of San Ramon. Located around an hour north west of the Costa Rican capital San Jose, San Ramon is a small close knit town surrounded by spectacular mountain scenary. The town has recently started to be discovered by international travellers, thanks in part to the National Geographic Magazine recently describing it as having the "best climate in the world"!

Famed for the the friendlinees and hospitality of its residents and offering a laid back and authentically Costa Rican experience San Ramon provides an ideal base for volunteers to explore Costa Rica. As well as being close to San Jose the Pacific Coast beaches are only 45km away, with Costa Rica's famous cload forest just to the North and Lake Arenal to the west.

San Ramon also has a varied and vibrant social life with a University of Costa Rica campus in the town and numerous bars, restauraunts and traditional cafe's in the town.

Volunteer Programs in San Ramon

Sports Coach
Community Development

Sports/PE Instructor and Sports Coach

The tiny school of Belen, San Ramon has created the rare opportunity for international volunteers to work as Sports Education teachers, addressing the school’s lack of a formal sports program or physical education classes. Belen is one of the more under developed barrios surrounding San Ramon. With only 500 annual students, government funding is used for other projects in the community, leaving Belen struggling for help.

The main goals of this project are to initiate sports as extra curricular activities and to develop a biweekly physical education class for each year-group in the school. Your role within the school will help ease the burden of understaffing and contribute to the wellbeing of the students in attendance.

This project is great for volunteers who prefer variety as the volunteer is able to choose which sports to teach their students. While football (soccer) remains the most common sport played in Costa Rica, volleyball, basketball and baseball are also growing in popularity.

Requirements
As a volunteer, you will be required to provide the physical education classes students in grades 1 thru 6. You will need to provide training of the basic techniques of different sports and instill a healthy attitude towards exercise. Volunteers on this program should be pioneering, creative and, above all, enthusiastic about sports and working with children.

Schedule
As a volunteer, you will be working 15-20 hours a week, Monday to Friday. You will be working alongside other volunteers and the school’s staff to make sure a quality program is provided for the children of the school. If you have a background in physical education, this project is flexible enough for you to incorporate some of your knowledge.

Spanish language requirement
We require an ability to communicate in Spanish, as this will be your main mean of communication with the students and staff of the school. If your Spanish is below an intermediate level, you will be required to attend a 1-3 week language school prior to your volunteer program.

Equipment donation for the project
Donations of sports resources (whistles, balls, stop watches, jerseys, etc.) are always welcome. Once reserved on the program we will send you a list of possible donations to help benefit this project.

Community Development

Our Community Development volunteer projects involve working with children with disabilities, entertaining and assisting with children at the child care centre, and teaching English to members of the community. This is a great opportunity to work with groups in need.

Many of these local grassroots organizations actively seek international volunteers for specific and general community volunteer work. Their needs are continuously changing; therefore, the type of input required varies from time to time. Volunteering with these groups and institutions contributes to the care and education of these communities.

Your role as a volunteer
The volunteers’ role will vary depending on the project the volunteer is placed in. At the school for children with disabilities and the child care center, volunteers will be responsible for engaging in activities such as conversing in English, organizing games and assisting in the basic care for these children throughout the day. Other activities can include helping children with their homework, aiding in the preperation of meals, practicing sports and arts and crafts classes.

Project requirements
Patience, perseverance and understanding are key qualities required for any community development placement. Working with children with disabilities, the volunteer’s position may require a background in this area; however, there are numerous similar projects that do not require specialized skills and are in need of volunteers with initiative, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and help.

Spanish language requirement
An intermediate level of Spanish language is required for the Community Development projects. If you do not meet the Spanish language requirements for the program you will be required to take a Spanish language course during the first week of your program. This extensive language and cultural emersion course costs an additional $US 199/ € 140 on top of your program fee. There is a short question to test your Spanish language skills in the application form.

Schedule
You will typically work 3-5 hours in the morning and/or the afternoon with a one hour lunch break. Work days are Monday through to Thursday with the occasional scheduling on a Friday morning.

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