VOLUNTEERING AT CPI

CPI´s Volunteer Program in Costa Rica is designed for students who, while visiting this beautiful part of the world, wish to enrich their stay by working in an area of their interest that will benefit the country.

The volunteer opportunities offered through CPI are for students at least 18 years of age and registered for classes at CPI for a minimum of two weeks.

1. Teaching or assisting in CPI’s English Department at CPI Heredia, CPI Monteverde or CPI Flamingo (classes for native Spanish speakers).

   CPI has an English as a Foreign Language program, offering classes from January to November. Classes are typically scheduled in the afternoons and evenings, and participation is possible while the volunteer is a CPI Spanish student or once they have concluded their Spanish classes.

2. Volunteer at Mariposa Private Kindergarten and Potrero Elementary Public School. Available at CPI Flamingo.

   Mariposa is a bilingual private kindergarten that teaches children from 3 to 6 years old. The public school of Potrero is an elementary school that teaches children from 6 to 12 years old. La Mariposa accepts volunteers to assist with classroom activities as well as tutor individual students. The public school of Potrero accepts volunteers to assist the English teachers and help with administrative duties.

3. San Angel Education Center. Available at CPI Heredia.

   A private school located in San Joaquín de Flores that teaches preschoolers and primary children. Volunteers are needed to assist in the English classes.

4. Group House for Girls – Niño con Cariño. Available at CPI Heredia.

   A private entity, supported by the government through the P.A.N.I. (National Children’s Bureau). It functions as a home for girls between the ages of 5 - 12 years and adolescents, living on a very low economic level; many of the girls live in impoverished as well as precarious conditions. During the week the girls reside at the group home and each Friday they leave to spend the weekend in their own houses with their mothers. Volunteers must be female.

5. Flores Arroyo Foundation. Available at CPI Heredia.

   This is a center that helps adults with special needs to learn a craft or an occupation. This is a part-time or full time option, classes are typically scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and participation is possible while the volunteer is a CPI student (during the afternoons) or once s/he has concluded Spanish classes. This option is often suggested for medicine professionals.

   **The volunteer may receive a participation certificate upon the request of the director** .

6. The Ecological Sanctuary. Available at CPI Monteverde.

   The Santuario Ecológico in Monteverde is a refuge for wildlife administrated by a Costa Rican family that offers walks on trails, through a forest with beautiful viewpoints, two large waterfalls, coffee and banana plantations and the opportunity to see many birds.

   The goal is to maintain the Sanctuary and projects of conservation, with the aim to preserve and regenerate the forest and live in harmony with nature.

7. The Santa Elena Reserve. Available at CPI Monteverde.
   
   Volunteering: full time. Located in the Monteverde area, the Santa Elena Reserve was established in 1998 not only to protect the forest and its flora and fauna, but to directly benefit the people in nearby communities as well. It has a great biodiversity of species and habitats, where populations of animals that were previously endangered have risen (i.e. the agouti, jaguar and the resplendent quetzal). Volunteers work in trail maintenance specifically entails: building trails, carrying sand bags, helping lay bricks for the trails, painting the bunkers, and maintenance of the suspension bridge.
   

8. The Hidden Valley Trail. Available at CPI Monteverde.
   
   In 1979 Davis Savage acquired these 11 hectares. At this time the land was dedicated to farming. He decided to protect it, converting it into what is today Hidden Valley Trail. This ecotourism project allows visitors to enjoy day and night hikes, while taking in the diversity of flora and fauna found within the forests. The mission is to understand and protect this marvelous ecosystem.
   Previous interview to place the volunteer in the program.

For more information and to register for the CPI Volunteer Program, please email the CPI Admissions Office or our authorized Representative.