Things to Consider

The benefits of volunteering, both for the volunteer and for the children and institutions served, are immeasurable. It is important to remember that the intensive volunteering experience is a large undertaking, compounded by living outside of your home country, and often outside of your native language.

With the help of some volunteers, we have compiled a list of things to consider before making the commitment to volunteer with VE.

Volunteering with VE is a job.
At VE, we expect a lot from our volunteers. They are the life force of the organization, and their energy, initiative and creativity touches the children’s lives every day. When a volunteer makes a commitment to VE and our institutions, it is a serious one. The intensive and shared experiences have time and length of stay requirements to ensure that our institutions receive the most continuous support possible, and that our programs continue to grow and expand.

Santiago is a large, metropolitan city.
The cost of living in Santiago is on par with many major world cities. While it is possible to live cheaply, most volunteers find that the sights and sounds are tempting and want to take advantage of all the city has to offer. VEGlobal charges no fee to volunteer, but volunteers are responsible for all of their personal expenses. These include housing, food, transportation, travel, recreation, toothpaste, empanadas... Every effort is made to provide affordable housing to volunteers, but potential volunteers should seriously consider the financial commitment volunteering requires. Most have found it helpful to make a budget and stick to it throughout their stay. Volunteers often take advantage of opportunities teaching English to supplement their stays.

We need you for at least three months.
At first, you may find that three months is a pretty long stay, but once you arrive in Chile, you would realize that it takes just as much time to feel comfortable in the job. At the beginning, everything is new: the city, the culture, the functioning of VE, your work with the children and with your committee. You will need time to adapt and maybe to learn Spanish. And even if you already speak Spanish, you will have to learn the Chilean version!

The most important aspect of your work with VEGlobal is the interactions you will have with the children. Developing a relationship with these children and creating strong bonds with them takes time. Actually, we recommend you to come for at least 6 months. Our volunteers' work is to make projects with the children, but overall it is simply to be with them. You will spend many hours with them as a big brother/sister, helping them with their homework, going to the park, or bringing them to  the doctor. In general, a stay of 3 months is not enough time to generate a trusting and loving bond with the children. Moreover, it is not good for the children to constantly have new volunteers coming and going.

Once you get the hang of what is currently done within the institution, you can develop and implement your own project. This process generally takes up to three months in and of itself. A longer stay will give you the opportunity to actually develop projects and see how they impact on the children. Three months is more or less the time you need to become efficient in your work, as well as develop a full and meaningful relationship with the kids.

PLEASE NOTE -- Starting with the September 2010 class, our minimum stay requirement will be changing to FOUR months. As such, our class arrival schedule will be adjusted to three classes a year: September, January, and May.

You will want to travel!
VE volunteers love to travel, and do so often. Because of the country’s proximity to Argentina, weekend trips to Mendoza and Buenos Aires are common. Chile is also host to the Torres del Paine, a popular travel spot for adventurers looking for hiking adventures in the southern most part of the world. To the north is Macchu Picchu, and Latin American traveler’s must-see. Our volunteers visit these, along with the 1,000s of cultural, historical and recreational sites around South America, and most find that they don’t have enough time to visit everywhere and do everything- an important thing to keep in mind is how much time/money you’d like to spend on independent travel, and how that fits in with your commitment to the organization. Many people find that setting aside 4-6 weeks at the end of their stay in Santiago gives them ample time to trek around the continent...and long term volunteers are available with travel advice and perhaps an extra sleeping bag.