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Caribbean Summer Camp - Belize

Location

Near Belize City

Start date

July 2013 (date TBC)

Duration

2 weeks (with option to have extra weeks)

Availability

Spaces available

Cost

£795 for 2 weeks

Discounts

£50 per person for friends / partners

Join a team led by PoD UK staff
Mix of volunteering activities
Spend time at a flagship children's home and the 'best little zoo in the world'
Finish with 2 days relaxing on the cayes (islands)!

Project details

Introduction

Join a team running a 2 week volunteering programme helping two projects, a children's home and a wildlife centre. An amazing way to combine two very different volunteering experiences while also enjoying the amazing tropical environment of Belize, a beautiful English speaking country.

How you will spend the 2 weeks

The 2 weeks will basically be split into 3 phases:

Phase 1 - volunteering at the children's home (6 days)
Phase 2 - volunteering at the zoo (3 days)
Phase 3 - relax on the islands (2 days)

The remaining 3 days will be used to settle in initially, have some time off between the children's home and wildlife centre and to allow for travel between locations.

There is also the option of having an extra week (or longer) at our reef conservation project on Belize, which is set on its own idyllic private island. You can get involved with the marine conservation, learn to dive and get PADI qualified, or just relax in this beautiful island environment. Extra weeks start at £500 per week.

The children's home and a typical day there

You will be working with a small charity called Liberty Foundation which exists to provide care, rehabilitation and education for abused and abandoned children in Belize.

Liberty Children’s Home is licensed to house up to 40 children, all of whom have been physically/sexually abused and/or abandoned and placed with them through Belize Human Services. Some of the children also have disabilities, special needs and/or HIV/AIDS. Normally there are 25-40 children at the home at any one time and children can be aged from babies through to late teens.

There is always a lot going on to get involved with! The group will be assigned a specific project depending on needs at the time and will also get to spend time with the children. The project might be for example painting, building or a gardening project. We also like to organise a day trip for the children so the group can take the children out out of the home for a day to do some special fun local activities! Activities with the children may include:

Caring for and socialising with the children
Reading books
Art and crafts together
Playing games outside
Communicating with the children, listening to them and encouraging them to speak with you

Read what past volunteers have said about this project in our Belize Children's Home reviews.

The wildlife centre and a typical day there

You will join the staff at 'The best Little Zoo in the World' in their work of housing rescued animals and providing wildlife education to the people and especially the students of Belize. The centre receives visits from over 15,000 school students each year and there is always a need for energetic volunteers to join the work.

The exact nature of the work you will be doing varies and there is no such thing as a 'typical' day but generally the day will start at 8am and end between 5pm and 6pm depending on responsibilities during that day. Volunteers are assigned to a zookeeper at the start of each working day and may assist in:

Food prep
Animal husbandry practices including cleaning and maintenance of enclosures
Watering
Providing enrichments
Animal encounters and animal introductions when they occur
Caring for newborns or orphan animals

Read what past volunteers have said about this project in our Caribbean Wildlife Centre reviews.

The location

The children's home is situated in the village of Ladyville, on the outskirts of Belize City. The wildlife centre isn't far away, about 45 minutes drive, set in 29 acres of Belizean tropical savannah. Finally the group will travel to one of the beautiful cayes before making their way back to Belize City.

How you can make a difference

The children's home is well established and you will probably find the kids quite independent but at the same time there is a huge need for and benefit from having international volunteers. By volunteering at the children's home you will help children who have had an incredibly tough start in life. Your support helps them to be re-integrated into society and gain an education which can mean the difference between a life of poverty and a life of opportunity and freedom.

By volunteering at the wildlife centre you will make a major contribution to the welfare of animals in Belize. Your time and efforts will help to care for the animals and on a personal level you will have a unique opportunity to work alongside some incredible Central American wildlife alongside very knowledgeable keepers.

What's included

A comprehensive information booklet and pre-departure support
Travel advice and assistance
Being met on arrival at Belize International Airport
All transfers between locations
Accommodation (a simple shared room) for 14 nights
All meals during phase 1 and phase 2 (you buy your own food while on the islands)
Ongoing support, help and advice

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights to Belize International Airport (£600-£800), travel insurance, visa (free for stays of less than 30 days), personal spending (£25-£40 per week).

More details

Background information about the children's home

Liberty Foundation is a UK registered charity that exists to provide care, rehabilitation and education for abused and abandoned children in Belize, Central America.

Liberty strives not only to provide a child with food and shelter but to provide an environment where children are respected, nurtured and treated as individuals. The priority is to ensure the health and happiness of every child in their care. The home is an English speaking environment providing a unique opportunity for interaction with the children and local staff at the home.

Click here for more details about Liberty Foundation.

Background information about the wildlife centre

Much of its wildlife in Belize is the same as that of the Amazon Rainforest. The Caribbean Wildlife Centre house over 125 animals in their natural habitat. The centre keeps only native animals of Belize which were either orphaned, born at the centre, rehabilitated, or sent to the centre as gifts from other zoological institutions. A visit to the centre is the best way to get an introduction to the animals of Belize and to understand why it is important to protect the habitats that sustain them. The centre believe that by bringing the people of Belize closer to the animals which are their natural heritage, they will feel proud of these special resources, and want to protect them for future generations.

You may get to know jaguars, pumas, ocelots, tapirs, harpie eagles, crocodiles, howler monkeys, gibnuts, scarlet macaws, toucans, king vultures, boa constrictors, coral snakes and many more beautiful and incredible animals of Central America.

Support and induction

In Belize you will be met and supported by the PoD team which will consist of the local project staff as well as someone who will travel out from PoD UK to help run the project.

Other volunteers

There will normally be a group of 4-8 volunteers.

Volunteer accommodation and food

While at the children's home: accommodation is provided on campus in a volunteer house and there are 4 volunteer bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The rooms sleep up to two people, so depending on how many volunteers are there you will normally share with another (same gender) volunteer. Internet and laundry facilities are available on campus. As the campus is shared with the children and staff it is completely smoking / drug / alcohol free and volunteers must respect this. All meals are provided, cooked by the local housekeeping, usually simple Belize dishes such as chicken with rice, beans and coleslaw.

While at the wildlife centre: The Tropical Education Centre (TEC) where you will live is about a mile from the centre and you will be provided with a free bike to travel between the two places. Volunteers live in shared dorms at the TEC. The dorms are divided into single sex twin rooms with a shared living space and a screened veranda. Meals are provided in a communal dining area.

While at the cayes (islands): You will stay in simple beach cabanas shared (same sex only) with the other members of the group. Volunteers are responsible for their own meals during this phase.

Free time and travel opportunities

As this is a fairly structured 2 weeks, freetime is mainly in the evenings and on the days off between camps.

If you are able to extend your stay we would recommend having some time to travel in Belize at the end of the camp. Belize has a lot to offer on the sea and mainland. There is 190 miles of barrier reef and three atolls for excellent diving, snorkeling, fishing, sailing, kayaking or relaxing with a good book on a hammock.

The Cayo district has much to offer and is one and a half hours from Belize City. It has many impressive Maya sites, caves with artifacts, waterfalls, jungle, river and horse trips, butterfly farms, botanic gardens, iguana hatcheries and interesting cultures.

If you have more time, Stann Creek district offers both beach and jungle trips and includes Dangriga, Hopkins and Placencia beaches, as well as the Jaguar Preserve with great hiking trails. The Toledo district furthest south is the least visited and most lush district with many interesting cultures.

Challenges

As this is a 2 week project we pack a lot in to a short period of time; so be prepared to work hard and have a lot of fun! You should be willing to work within a team and be adaptable to living and working in a group. Please understand that this is not the idyllic and easy holiday that some people expect, the work can be quite draining. However the rewards outweigh the challenges!

There is no need to have any previous experience, just plenty of energy and enthusiasm!

Where your money goes and the PoD Charity

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. Fee levels are set to match costs (on a non-profit basis) and any surplus monies are distributed to the overseas organisations and charities we work with via the PoD Charity.

For over 10 years PoD has been providing volunteers to help charitable projects around the world. The PoD Charity was established in 2010 to build on this success by also providing financial assistance. Find out more and get involved in fundraising for this project through the PoD Charity.