The Olancho Aid Foundation is a Catholic non-profit organization operating in Juticalpa, Olancho, Honduras. We strive to open up doors of opportunity and break the ever-pervasive cycle of poverty by providing quality, faith-based education to youth in the area.
To assist in our mission, we host international volunteers each year to provide invaluable service to our projects. Below is detailed information about each of our volunteering opportunities. If you or someone you know would be interested in investing time and service to the country of Honduras, please reach out to volunteers@olanchoaid.org or visit our website at olanchoaid.org for further information.
Bilingual Summer Camp Counselor: June 19th – July 21st
For our summer camp, we seek volunteers who:
- Are at least 18 years of age
- Speak English on a native level
- Have experience working with children
- Enjoy planning fun and educational activities
- Learn and adapt to new circumstances quickly
- Hold strong Christian values
- Believe in our mission and vision
We offer our Summer Camp Volunteers:
- Housing in our Volunteer House
- A stipend of $50 each week
- Transportation around the local area
- Travel opportunities within the Olancho area
- A close-knit community and support system within the larger Foundation
Volunteering at our Summer Camp:
By offering a bilingual summer camp, we offer students the opportunity to maintain and improve their English outside of the academic year. The camp is run closely with our elementary school administrators to ensure it is supplementary to students’ academic curriculum, though we maintain a fun and light-hearted atmosphere.
International volunteers are brought in to serve as camp counselors who lead fun and engaging activities throughout the week. Volunteers do not need to have teaching experience or Spanish-language proficiency, though we prefer applicants with experience working with children.
Long-Term Volunteer Teacher: August 2017- June 2018
We seek volunteer teachers who:
- Hold a bachelor’s degree
- Speak English on a native level
- Have experience working with children
- Are able to commit to a full year of service
- Learn quickly and adapt to new circumstances
- Hold strong Christian values
- Believe in our mission and vision
We offer our volunteers:
- Housing in our Volunteer House
- One round-trip plane ticket
- Health insurance
- A monthly stipend to cover food and expenses
- A cell phone that works locally
- Transportation in the local area
- Travel opportunities within Honduras
- A close-knit community and support system within the Foundation
Volunteering as a teacher:
We operate two bilingual schools that offer quality, faith-based education to the youth of Olancho from pre-K to 12th grade. Our schools run on the North American school schedule, which starts in early August and ends in late June. Some subjects are taught in English, while other subjects are taught in Spanish. Our volunteers teach completely in English, while making accommodations for the language barrier depending on grade-level.
Our schools benefit immensely from the presences of international volunteers, as they bring new and innovative teaching styles, a multicultural perspective, and native English-speaking into our classrooms. We do not require volunteers to have Spanish proficiency or teaching experience, though both are preferred.
Our Long-Term Teaching Program tends to be the most valuable experience, as volunteers live and work with local Hondurans, which broadens cultural perspectives for both parties. We welcome long-term volunteers as members of our Foundation family and pride ourselves on ensuring that volunteers are supported and safe during their stay in Olancho.
If you or someone you know would be interested in either of these opportunities, please contact us for further information. To us, each volunteer is another set of eyes that can see when a child is in need. Each volunteer is another set of hands that can help our Foundation bring education, hope, and transformation to the department of Olancho.