Spanish school in Uruguay

Uruguay is looking for volunteers and interns! We would like to help this lovely country develop. Are you the person we are looking for?

If you are dedicated, enthusiastic, ready for a challenge and keen to offer your help where it’s really needed, please contact us: info@spanish-herradura.com.

We require:

A 4 week Spanish course at our school in Montevideo or Punta del Este.

Experience is required at most of the options.

Your resume/CV.

We offer:

Guidance from the school´s staff during your internship

An introductory meeting with the on-site coordinator and guidance in how to get to the hospital independently.

A certificate of your Spanish course and work project on comp

You must be ready to work with basic resources in a deprived neighborhood and have a decent level of physical fitness.

SPANISH COURSE

You take part in daily group classes in our school in Montevideo  or in Punta del Este as an intensive preparation for the second part of your trip. The Spanish courses are available at all levels from beginner to advanced. In most cases it lasts a minimum of four weeks; if your Spanish is already advanced you can book a volunteering programme without an intensive Spanish course. You can also extend the Spanish course if you wish.

VOLUNTEERING

After completing your intensive Spanish course you will begin the volunteer project, for which a minimum of four weeks is required.

You may work at a centre for marginalized young people, an advice bureau for young parents (many still teenagers themselves), an after-school play centre, an NGO which campaigns against domestic violence and abuse, a hospital or clinic.

If you like, you can start visiting the volunteer project while you are still doing the Spanish course, in preparation for when you start to volunteer.

If you have previous experience or relevant skills they will be taken into account (e.g. medical training, computer skills, experience of teaching, social work, administration, working with children, young adults or vulnerable adults).

Not all of the projects accept Volunteers / Interns all year round, depending on factors such as school holidays; others have particular demand for volunteers at certain times. These factors, as well as your personal preference, your particular skills and your relevant experience will allow us to decide together which project suits you best.

The volunteer organizations we work with are all non-profit organizations (except for some Internship organizations), which work to improve the day-to-day reality and future prospects of children, teenagers, young adults, adults and families in Uruguay. They promote a culture of respect, education, health, well being and diversity, which are values we expect our volunteers

If you wish to volunteer in another area and we will try to make it possible. For more detailed information, conditions and prices, please contact us: info@spanish-herradura.com.

Student Comments

Working with Children

For the organizations that we worked with, we found that it would be useful to have at least an intermediate level of Spanish because none of the children, and few of the employees, spoke English.

Many of the kids come from poverty stricken families or neighborhoods and they rarely are able to experience the possibilities that the world has to offer. Come with great ideas and ways to interact with the kids to help show and teach them about the wider world. The kids were shy and quiet at first but as we interacted with them, they quickly opened up and were excited to learn more about other countries.

There are ways to volunteer for these organizations other than directly working with the kids. One of the organizations that we worked for needed some computer help which allowed me to lend a hand in a different way.

Ryan & Jenny, USA

Tourist Ranch /Estancia

The ´estancia´ was a beautiful place to work and practice my Spanish. Everyone there was very warm and friendly, and there was a wide variety of work activities I could be involved in. Life out in the Uruguayan countryside was both tranquil and exciting. It is an experience I´ll never forget.

I did a little bit of everything at the hotel: helping in the kitchen, waiting tables, translating for English-speaking customers, arranging rooms, and maintaining the property.

Trevor, USA