Voces y Manos Por el Derecho a la salud is looking to recruit enthusiastic, committed volunteers for our summer program! Since 2007, Voces y Manos has been working with Indigenous communities to promote educational opportunities for local youth, and community health. Voces y Manos is unlike the majority of other summer volunteer programs—our objective is not to make volunteers feel better about themselves through charity work, but rather to address global injustices in health by working in partnership with schools, families, and other community organizations. If you are looking to sightsee or relax in Guatemala, we recommend looking for another program. If you are looking to grow, to learn, to fully immerse yourself in the Maya-Achí culture and to engage in the struggle for health for all, this is the program for you.
What is the Voces y Manos experience like?
For 6 weeks, we will live with host families. At first, we will learn as much as we can about the local culture from our host families, from working with NGOs, and from visiting sacred and cultural sights around Rabinal. Beginning in the first or second week, volunteers will work
with a team of local youth to engage in a process of critical research. Teams will identify problems of major health importance for the community. For 3 weeks, teams will research that problem, primarily through community interviews. Then for another three weeks,
teams will work to develop a mini-project to address the issue. Simultaneously, we will work as volunteers in Rabinal’s annual community health fairs: Family events that bring hundreds of community members together with numerous NGOs, doctors, dentists, and nurses from around the world to provide free health services to the community. We are looking from volunteers from all academic disciplines: Pre-health, humanities, sciences, environmental studies, etc. Please send an email to michaelbakal (at) gmail (dot) com if intersted!
