Friends of San Lucas
Goal of Program: Friends of San Lucas supports development in San Lucas Tolimán and the surrounding communities in Guatemala. We work through a locally-based organization: the San Lucas Mission. The Mission is run by more than 100 Guatemalans in seven program areas, including: Healthcare, Education, Construction, Charity, Women's Center, Coffee, and a Visitor's Program. High school, university, church, and community groups, and individuals often come to visit the San Lucas Mission to volunteer, learn about the efforts in San Lucas, and participate in the cross-cultural experience the Mission offers. Visitors may spend most of their time working at sites, but the focus of a short-term trip to the Mission is to learn, understand and appreciate the local culture.
Placement Type: Long-term volunteers come to be a part of Mission projects, form relationships in the community and learn about the community development efforts of the San Lucas Mission. Our Long-Term Volunteers become more open, aware, and educated global citizens, while working with our short-term visitors on different projects and being their guides during their time at the Mission. Long-Term Volunteers (LTVs) can expect to work with youth, university, church, and medical teams of different cultural, economic, educational, and religious backgrounds. In their role, LTVs will accompany volunteer groups to different construction worksites and facilitate various educational activities and talks. A large component of this role is providing language (Spanish-English) and cultural interpretation for visiting groups in these activities. LTVs are a comforting presence for newly arrived short-term visitors and help ensure their safety on work sites and in the local community.