Volunteer Work Mexico - Merida
Volunteering in Mexico - Merida
A volunteering experience with a difference! Live and work on the stunning Yucatan peninsula and experience daily life through the eyes of local people.
Your Experience
If you love children and would like to offer your time to volunteer with very special children then this placement is ideal. Following some help to settle you in by a local coordinator, volunteers work in pairs and small groups teaching informal classes of English and organise fun activities in a variety of locations from soup kitchens to children homes and community centres in and outside the colonial city of Merida.
No teaching experience is needed and you will be supported on your teaching journey by experienced volunteer coordinators who are also experienced teachers themsleves. This is a great volunteering placement for anyone who wants to leave at the end of their stay feeling they have taken away a new skill, gained in self-confidence whilst putting something back at the same time.
For a good idea of what community volunteers get involved with watch the video.
No experience is needed and you don't need to speak Spanish! In fact better if you don't! These children want to hear you speaking English all the time and are eager to learn whether by singing pop songs, reading or drawing pictures together.
Nursing/medical/physio/occupational therapy undergraduate?
Or simply thinking about healthcare as a career?
Flexible opportunities are available at the Red Cross hospital in town and these can be combined with regular volunteering placements. Call us to discuss further or apply online writing your preference on the form in the information box on the second page. Opportunities are available all year round but spaces are limited, especially in the UK student holiday periods, so book early to avoid disappointment. Confirmation will be sent within 24 hours.
Veterinary medicine/veterinary nurse/animal science undergraduate?
Or simply love animals?
The cat and dog sanctuary always needs helping hands. So if you want to combine helping animals, some worthwhile work experience in a beautiful colonial city not far from the stunning Caribbean coast, this is the project for you. As for hospital placements these are available all year round and can be combined with other regular volunteer placements, mark your preference for working with animals in the information box when applying online.
Download the following document as a PDF file
Placement at a Glance
More info...
Volunteer accommodation
The volunteer house is a ground level bungalow with kitchen, lounge, basic western shower/wc
Volunteers share dormitory style rooms with single beds/bunk beds. At busy times when the main volunteer house is full, volunteers may be paired and placed with local familes or in guesthouses.
Location of the volunteer house
Placements
Placements are organised by the coordinator according to local demand and volunteer group preferences unless a specific request has been made in advance and is available. Friends/couples and small groups are always placed together and for most of the year volunteers are not on their own at a placement unless they choose to be. Following an introduction to the placement and shown how to get there volunteers travel together to their placements between Monday and Friday by bus or shared taxi if their placement is too far to walk.
Free time
There is plenty to do in the area around Merida on your free days from swimming in the sunken caves, called 'cenotes' to climbing the Mayan pyramids. Volunteers with plenty of time in their schedule are recommended to allow a few days at the end of their stay to visit everything there is to see. The local support team will provide advice on how to organise your free time. Some volunteers have even headed down to Belize and tours can be organised easily through local tour operators in Merida.
Spanish
Classes are available for volunteers who would like to start learning or improving. These can be arranged after arrival by the coordinator and cost approximately £5 per class. Classes can be organised around your volunteering so you can get on with both at the same time.
Getting there
Flight to Merida (or Cancun-sometimes cheaper) from UK. Volunteers flying in to Merida are met at Merida airport. Volunteers flying into Cancun can take a bus direct to Merida where the coordinator can meet you or you can just jump in a taxi straightaway to the volunteer house!
What's included in this programme
Orientation and support available
Volunteer coordinator helps arrange/ settle volunteers into placements and provides back-up and support during your stay
Volunteer self-catering accommodation, shops within reach for food and communal kitchen. Bars/cafes also within reach.
We consider this project ideal if you
Want to try a gentle introduction to English teaching for the first time
Want to arrive home afterwards with greater self confidence and some new skills
Want to combine work experience in an animal shelter or hospital with a fantastic after hours holiday experience in a stunning part of Mexico
Are looking for a destination which offers plenty of dramatic holiday-worthy film set type places to visit from the underground swimming caverns, white sand beaches of the Carribean, the Mayan Pyramids, the faded typically Mexican Colonial architecture of Merida, the tropical Yucatan backwater villages and the tiny neighbouring country of Belize worth a longer visit for the end of your stay.
Mexico at a glance
Mexico is a land of contrasts, a developing country yet one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Other attractions away from the beach resorts include ancient Aztec and Mayan cities, Spanish colonial architecture, the Copper Canyon railway and bustling markets selling local handicrafts.
Local must-sees include the Loltun Caves, Los Cenotes (underground caverns), a boat tour of the coastal mangrove swamps and Mayan ruins.
Weekend excursions can be booked easily in Merida through one of many tour operators for as little as £20 for a full day including plenty of time to explore, swim , take photos and relax.
