World Endeavors 

Option 1

• 3 weeks: 14 July - 3 August
• 4 weeks: 14 July - 10 August

Option 2

• 3 weeks: 28 July - 17 August
• 4 weeks: 28 July - 24 August

Option 3 

• 3 weeks: 11 August - 31 August
• 4 weeks: 11 August - 7 September

Volunteers live in Atenas, a small, relatively prosperous farming town in the central highlands of Costa Rica where coffee, sugarcane, and fruit are grown.

Life here revolves around family and community, and the nightlife consists mostly of family gatherings, barbecues, and shared meals. Local residents can often be found browsing the colorful farmer’s market for fresh produce, enjoying a cup of local coffee at a café, or strolling in the park at the center of the city.

Atenas is renowned for its climate, which keeps the city warm in the daytime and cool at night.

Public pools and hiking trails make Atenas an appealing destination for those who wish to spend time outdoors, and the town’s location, less than an hour from the capital of San José and the international airport, makes it easily accessible for arriving volunteers.

Volunteers live with local host families in Atenas in either single or shared rooms with shared bathrooms. Host families are welcoming and friendly, usually middle class, and are hand-picked by the World Endeavors team. Housing accommodations are modest, safe, and clean, but may differ from Western norms in terms of space or amenities. 3 meals per day are included with host families. 

The costs vary depending on the duration of the volunteer project.

• Application fee: €35 (non-refundable) - required during the program application phase.
• Deposit fee: €200 - required after the close of applications to confirm the intention to proceed with the enrollment.
• Programme fee (requested directly from World Endeavors after eligibility confirmation):
  • 3 weeks: $2,335
  • 4 weeks: $2,635

The Wildlife Conservation - Sea Turtle Protection project has an additional cost of $450 for 3 weeks and $550 for 4 weeks.

For destinations in partnership with World Endeavors, 30 scholarships of €1,350 each are available.

Volunteers work with a childcare organization that serves children from infants to 12 years of age while their parents work. Volunteers welcome the children in the morning, serve them meals, organize physical activities outside, assist with tutoring in various subjects, and teach basic English. 

Another possible placement is with a Montessori nursery and school for children from 6 months to 6 years old. Volunteers organize activities, sports, and educational games in English and Spanish, and assist teachers in the classroom. 

Volunteers work with an animal rescue center for animals that have been illegally kept as pets, or illegally trafficked. They provide love, attention and a safe, healthy environment for these animals with the goal of rehabilitating them to be released back into the wild. Volunteers care for baby sloths, monkeys, olingo, kinkajous, tapirs, big cats, and a large variety of tropical birds. Volunteers also increase community awareness about animal rights and the problems with keeping wild animals as pets. 

Volunteers can also join a local, family-run sustainable and organic coffee farm located in the rural community of San Isidro de Atenas. You can join in all the activities of the coffee farm, including picking, drying, toasting, packing and sales. You can also participate in tours of the farm and learn about the importance of planting diversity, and the other ways the family ensures their farming practices are sustainable. On Fridays, you can join the staff in going to the Agriculture Market in Atenas to sell their coffee. The commute to the farm is approximately 35 minutes by bus from the Atenas market.

Join the important work being done by a sea turtle conservation NGO near Sámara at Playa Buena Vista, or near Montezuma at Montezuma Beach. This NGO has been doing active conservation in protected wildlife areas, beaches and communities in Costa Rica for 25 years. Volunteer responsibilities include hatchery maintenance, beach clean-ups, night patrols to collect eggs, marking and measurement of turtles, releasing baby turtles, nursery supervision, exhumations, and environmental education. Volunteers typically work on their projects for 6 days per week, on day or night shifts. Much of the work for turtle projects is done at night, so volunteers should be prepared to expect this. Volunteers live on-site in the rustic, shared volunteer house, with shared bedrooms and shared bathrooms. It is powered by solar panels, and there is no internet. 3 meals per day are provided at the house.
*The sea turtle projects incur an additional fee: 3 weeks $ 450 | 4 weeks $ 550.
 

Volunteers can join a non-profit organization that provides services to vulnerable women and children, and low-income men and women over 60. The organization strives to improve the quality of life of those living in need by providing food, education, and guidance, and promoting the social well-being of the community and its most marginalized members. This organization provides nutrition, psychological support to youth, job training for women, physical and spiritual development for youth, and academic assistance to university and high school students. The NGO is located in Alajuela, which is about an hour-long commute by bus from Atenas.

Volunteers may be placed with a local medical clinic and emergency clinic. Depending on qualifications and experience, volunteers can shadow clinicians, observe minor surgeries, take patient vital signs and record medical history, observe physician-patient consultations, and accompany the paramedic and doctor on ambulance calls.