Volunteer work RussiaWorking in close partnership with our team in the Central American country of Honduras, we are delighted to offer a range of programs for volunteers in the spheres of education, child care, medicine, nursing or dentistry. These placements provide the chance to spend time in a Caribbean setting where the local inhabitants are known for their smiling, laid-back demeanour and great hospitality. The programs are based at La Ceiba, a port town in the Atlántida region of Honduras, located in the north coast of Honduras on the Caribbean Sea.

Here in particular, volunteers really get to immerse themselves in the culture. These are ideal placements for individuals with some background in the caring professions. For this reason, people of all ages are are encouraged to get involved. Anyone with the willingness to throw themselves into directly helping members of the local community can enrol, whether as a replacement for a more conventional holiday, as part of a gap year or sabbatical or to broaden professional experience. When volunteering in Honduras, the participant samples a distinctive culture and gets to know new people who appreciate their presence.

As with most Central American nations, Honduras presents the newcomer with challenges as well as rewards. Political problems and poverty mean that this rapidly changing country is troubled in part. Children from disadvantaged homes, youngsters with learning difficulties, sufferers from HIV and casualties of poverty in general form the groups in need, and helping them is what volunteering is about.

There is also, however, great beauty to be enjoyed. Lying between Guatemala to the west and Nicaragua to the south-east, Honduras has a vast stretch of northern coast on the Caribbean, comprising white sand beaches and an unspoilt coral reef. Of population of around eight million, 65% live in poverty, and the main sources of income are subsistence farming, the export of agricultural produce, textiles and clothing and electrical parts for the US automobile industry.

For more information about Honduras and the region check out Lonely Planet's Honduras guide book.

Live as a Volunteer in Honduras

When volunteering in Honduras, you engage with people eager to introduce you to their country. The volunteer in Honduras will be moved by the plight of the people they meet, while recognising the importance of remaining focused on the job in hand. All of this helps you to develop as a person.

volunteer in Honduras

Start and Duration

Volunteer placements can commence any day of the year. Programs are based in La Ceiba and volunteers can be picked up at the bus station or airport there. Those volunteers arriving into Honduras via San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa should arrange a flight or bus connection to La Ceiba. Volunteers can participate from just one week.

Volunteer Requirements

Volunteers, besides being required to be at least eighteen years old, should, for most programs, possess some knowledge of Spanish. For medical programs, intermediate level Spanish may be required to get the most out of your placement.

Spanish lessons can be arranged by our local team so those volunteers with basic Spanish have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the language. Initiative and self-motivation are also important. Apply Now!

Project Descriptions for Honduras

Language Courses

When enrolling to volunteer in Honduras, the participant chooses whether or not to have Spanish lessons as part of the placement. This applies to all except those who volunteer in the Healthcare field who must take Spanish lessons. Those who sign up for Spanish will receive 20 hours of one-to-one tuition per week of Spanish lessons on a one-on-one basis in conjunction with the volunteer program and homestay. These lessons cost USD 100 per week in addition to volunteer fees.

Program Costs

Love Volunteers is a not-for-profit organisation and is one of the most affordable ways to help out in a developing country while being immersed in the local culture.

Fees for volunteer programs in Honduras start at US$175 for one week, which includes accommodation, three meals per day, an airport pick-up, orientation and 24/7 in-country support.

Other volunteers periods available. Please, contact LoveVolunteers for pricing of other periods.

A Love Volunteers registration fee of US$235 (approximately €170) is charged in addition to the program fees and covers any placements you undertake for twelve months from the start of your first placement. The fee is refundable if you choose not to volunteer more than three months prior to the start of your initial placement. This fee ensures 24/7 pre- and post-placement support from Love Volunteers, checking and vetting of local organisations, a comprehensive information pack, as well as administration and marketing costs. Given Love Volunteers is a not-for-profit organisation we also ask volunteers to cover any bank charges incurred by international money transfers.

Food and Accomodation

Participants are accommodated throughout their stay with a host family. The family is typically located in the same area as the programs. They provide the volunteer with a private room and private bathroom, three meals per day and companionship, including many opportunities for the volunteer to practise his or her constantly improving Spanish.

Honduran cuisine offers a distinctive blend of influences, most strikingly Spanish, African and the typical cooking of the indigenous people. Its trademark ingredient is coconut. With so much coastline, fried fish is naturally enough a great favourite fried, as are various types of roast meat, chicken served with rice, assorted seafood and stuffed tortillas made from maize and known as tamales. Fruit is used in a range of dishes, put into cocktails, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and simply eaten on its own. Such exotic specimens as papaya, pineapple and passion fruit are abundant. Breakfast is often a hearty meal which can consist of refried beans, olancho cheese, plantains, avocados, chorizo and tortillas.

Most traditional of all, and touted as being Honduras' national dish, is Carneada, a great excuse for a social gathering, as it takes the form of a barbecue. Centre stage is beef which has been marinated in spices and orange juice. The sauce that is served with it is also typical. Named chimol sauce, it is a tangy concoction based on onions, tomatoes and coriander.

Much of the food cooked at home and also available from street vendors strongly resembles Mexican food, with enchiladas among the favourites.

Orientation

Volunteers are met at La Ceiba airport before being introduced to their host family. The following morning, orientation sessions are held and the itinerary presented. Also covered are details of Honduras’ history, the people, customs and geography, as well as safety and health issues and “do's and don'ts” of staying in Honduras. A typically Honduran lunch is followed by walking tour of the city tour, building in a visit to the location of the specific placement for which the volunteer has signed up.

A Typical Week

The working week runs from Monday to Friday. Typical hours for all placements are as follows: mornings - 7:00am – 11:30am; afternoons - 1:30pm – 5:00 pm. Volunteers are expected to work for at least four hours per day.

Participants then have the entire weekend free, time which can be spent enjoying Honduran destinations, such as the Bay Islands or La Moskitia or exploring the local area, La Ceiba, named after a single spectacular tree specimen, now sadly removed. This part of Honduras was originally settled by Pech indigenous people, followed by an ethnic group, the Garífunas who arrived from Trujillo. Spanish occupation only began in 1846, and the French soon followed. The Dole Food Company set up a banana exporting business here, becoming the town’s main lifeline. Outdoor activities such as canoeing and rafting, and visits to butterfly farms are easily accessed here. La Ceiba also has a much talked-about night scene.

About the Country

Honduras has a very attractive tropical landscape, much of it wholly unspoilt. Travellers know the country best for its three Bay Islands – Roatan, Utila and Guanaja, reached easily from La Ceiba. Diving is popular and there is a lively party scene. The country’s history is filled with tales of pirates and quests to find Mayan ruins. There are also uncharted jungles and quaint hilltop villages. The town of Copan with its Mayan ruins is a particularly pretty destination worth a visit.

The immense and tranquil lake, Lago de Yajoa, located between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, is a great place to visit, and La Tigra, the evocative cloud forest near the capital Tegucigalpa, attracts visitors, although the city itself is too sprawling to be inviting. El Tigre is a little-known sight. This dramatic island was formed by a volcano. Its laid-back feel and untouched landscape make it a good choice for a visit. If you wish to go snorkelling, then the Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas is highly recommended; here you cannot fail to see howler monkeys, too. Those on a budget will enjoy the low prices found in Utila, another Bay Island destination good for diving. Hondurans are on the whole a very welcoming people with a cheerful outlook.

Apply now! Or check out the FAQ or contact page for more information.