Elderly Care Center
In many developing countries the elderly are simply not provided with the level of support and care that they deserve due to limited community resources. ears. While in most countries the elderly are held in the highest regard within their own families, that does not mean they can care for these individuals. As a result, they tend to be forgotten or neglected, unless they make it into one of the elderly care centers.
This is where our volunteers come in! Volunteers can benefit greatly from working with the elderly. You have the chance to develop lasting relationships, you can learn a lot from the older generation, small favors are greatly apricated and you gain a new perspective on aging. People who chose to go into geriatric care programs are often caring, patient people. They like to help others and really enjoy getting to know their patients.
There are plenty of things that you can do and that will be very much appreciated by the elderly people in the center.
Providing medical assistanceOffering physical therapy
Offering personal support
Organizing work areas and activities
Feeding
Offering care and protection
Volunteering with the elderly gives you the opportunity to make a difference in one person’s life. Many of the people with whom you’ll work with look forward to their daily interactions and you will gain perspective and understanding of what is truly important in life.
With any of these countries, you’re going to have the opportunity to work directly with the elderly people in the care centers. Volunteers with a career interest in occupational therapy, home health aid or personal aid, health managers or even hearing aid specialists are all welcome.
This type of program is one where you can absolutely see just how much you’re impacting someone and with just a little bit of care and attention being offered.
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Volunteer Costa Rica The Elder Center home receives some government funding, but they operate on a tight budget and are in constant need of extra assistance and donations. The residents at the home are age sixty-five and up, and come from all walks of life. In traditional Costa Rican culture, their families care for senior citizens. Economic and social changes have made this tradition difficult to carry on, and elders in Costa Rica now often live in assisted-living facilities, many of which are understaffed and short on resources.
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Volunteer in Nepal, this Care center provide residence, day care and club facilities to the senior citizen and commitment to build a fulfilling, motivational age friendly social life for our aged citizen. Though this is a very new concept for the Nepali community however, the need of aged care is growing rapidly and there is only few that actually working for it.
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Volunteer Colombia, One of the big needs that Cartagena has is the care of Elderly people. Many live in deplorable conditions, extreme poverty and their health becomes worse because of their low life quality. Hence, the government and many other non-profit organisations have created or supported elderly care centres in certain areas of Cartagena. This institution is located in Olaya Herrera, a very typical neighbourhood that reflects perfectly our culture and habits.
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Volunteer in Ecuador, fundación Abuelitos was originally founded in the year 2001. Its main goal is to promote, support and realize efficient attention to senior citizens. The foundation creates concrete actions that will promote the importance of an active, worthy, healthy, participative and productive old age.
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Volunteer Peru The Elderly Care Center is a non-profit organization created for the care and attention of low-income older people living in Cusco. Most of the residents have no other living options. Most of them have been abandoned by their own family. The home provides place to live, meals, clothing, medical treatment and therapy needs.
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Volunteer Costa Rica As in most societies around the world, caring for the elderly is left to social welfare institutions when their own families cannot care for them. Many of the elderly care centers support those with disabilities, those who have been abandoned or have mental illness such as Alzheimer’s.
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Volunteer in Ecuador, this home was created in benefit of the abandoned elderly, their mission is to help and protect to the elderly who come from different places of the country. There exist several reasons why they are in the home, some of them come from families who do not count with the conditions, or who are not prepared to take care of this persons and in other cases, they have been abandoned.
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Volunteer Chile, The Elderly Care Center is a non-profit organization created for the care and attention of low-income older people living in La Serena. Most of the residents have no other living options. Some have been abandoned by their own family. The home provides place to live, meals, clothing, medical treatment and therapy needs.
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Volunteer Honduras Most of the residents (25) have no other living options. Some have been abandoned by their own family. The home provides free of charge, a place to live, meals, clothing, medical treatment and therapy needs. This program can be combined with the medical projects, as volunteers are needed to provide health checks like checking blood pressures, sugar levels, administering medication and physical therapy needs.
Volunteer Information
Volunteer Schedule
Day One: Our local coordinator/staff will give you an orientation and will accompany you to your program. You will be shown how to manage the commute (bus, taxi, walking). You will be introduced to the site director and discuss your role at the project. Volunteers typically work a morning and an afternoon shift each lasting about 3-5 hours.
Weekdays: A typical volunteer day is as follows:
- 7:30 AM Breakfast at the volunteer house/homestay.
- 8:00 AM Volunteers depart, and travel to their project site.
- 8:30 AM to 13:00 PM Volunteer work and a lunch break.
- 14:00 PM to 17:00 PM Language lessons or afternoon volunteer work.
- 18:30-19:30 PM Dinner at the volunteer house/homestay.
Note: This is an example schedule. Volunteer work hours can vary depending on the program and the location.
Evenings: For peace of mind and to ensure the well-being of our volunteers, a nightly curfew of 21:30PM is in place from Sunday to Thursday. Curfew is set at 12:00AM for Friday and Saturday. (All volunteers must comply with their home country’s legal drinking age).
Communication While Overseas
Volunteers have several ways to stay in touch with their family/friends back home and with the ABV local staff while they are overseas. All city/urban program locations have access to internet/cyber cafes which typically charge hourly rates ($1-$2). The majority of ABV guesthouses, homestays have WIFI access (fees apply), and have land line telephone numbers. Even rural program locations have mobile phone service, and small towns nearby with internet facilities. All ABV staff use mobile phones to stay in contact with their volunteers.
Before traveling volunteers should contact their mobile phone provider and ask about international call/texting plans. Volunteers should consider buying a portable wifi device (especially in rural locations). If planning on traveling with your own mobile phone volunteers should look at apps like Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp to stay connected through messenger or short calls home. Volunteers can rent a wireless phone or buy a cheap throwaway phone once they arrive in-country. In some locations you can do that for less than $50. In fact, your regular carrier may even offer overseas rentals. ABV local staff will assist you and show you where to purchase SIM cards.
Once you arrive in-country and settled in, our ABV staff will help you contact home to let someone know you arrived safely. All volunteers are also given an emergency phone number on their Volunteer Guide/summary, which is available 24/7 to contact ABV staff.
When can I travel?
Easy. Choose the dates that work best for you. Although some programs have date restrictions the majority of our volunteer programs are available year round. Volunteers select their own program start date and complete an online application. Once you have been accepted and dates approved, ABV will ask you to confirm your registration by paying a us$120 included in the overall fee.
Safety and Security
The safety of our volunteers is paramount for A Broader View Volunteers. The majority of ABV Volunteers travel and serve without major incident. However, programs are based in some of the least developed countries and in some of the most remote areas in the world, health, safety, and security risks are an unavoidable part of life and international service. To address these concerns and to safeguard the well-being of our program participants, A Broader View has safety protocols and security procedures for all programs:
- Security: All project sites, local in-country staff and accommodation sites have gone through a rigorous filter and have been hand selected. ABV has spent almost 17 years cultivating and strengthening of our local partnerships & host family relationships. In-country staff visits, daily research of local conditions, as well as weekly checkup of our host families and accommodations are conducted. Site selection is based on criteria including; access to medical, banking, postal, and other essential services; access to communication, transportation, and local markets; availability of adequate housing and living arrangements.
- Pre-Departure Guide: Your ABV account will have a detailed volunteer guide. Volunteers are provided country information, packing lists, customs and language information, and much more. ABV also provides information about visa requirements, vaccinations, climate, weather, and safety and security issues specific to the country.
- Volunteer Summary: A full month before traveling volunteers are provided a detailed account of their volunteer project (including supply/donation list), arrival procedures, emergency contact information, accommodation details and the full name, phone and email of their local ABV Coordinator.
- Overseas Staff and communication: Our local staff support is immeasurable in their professionalism and dedication to the volunteers under their charge. The majority of ABV staff coordinators have been involved since the very start (over 11 years) and are well experienced handling the unexpected such as situations where volunteer students become ill, suffer accidents, are the victims of pick pockets. ABV staff is trained to react in a responsible and levelheaded way when emergencies do arise. They will do whatever is necessary to assure this, whether this means obtaining prompt and appropriate medical attention, embassy intervention or local authorities.
- Host Families and accommodations: Our local volunteer guesthouses, onsite project dorms and host families have been hand-picked. A Broader View accommodation have specific standards for the hygiene, cleanliness, location and comfortable living conditions for our volunteers. Telephone access is available 24/7 and most sites have internet access. Volunteers have to follow the curfew of the host accommodation.
- Arrival Meeting/Orientation: ABV programs provide a customized arrival plan. We can arrange your arrival/pick up at the airport, bus station or local hotel. Start your program with peace of mind, having the local ABV staff meeting you when you arrive in-country. Volunteers are provided orientation before starting their program. Orientation schedules vary from country to country but will include acclimation tours of the local town/city, accommodation neighborhood, geolocation map description, program location, main interesting points in the city or area. Emergency and medical protocols will be discussed and also address safety and security issues specific to the community volunteers live and work in.
- Every staff member of A Broader View is committed to providing volunteers with the support they need to successfully meet the challenges they will face to have a safe, healthy, and productive service. The success of each ABV volunteer is our prime goal. We rely on volunteers to exercise personal responsibility and demonstrate both a keen awareness of the world around them and a willingness to adjust their behavior in a manner that will enhance their safety and well-being. In the end, your efforts will be rewarded with an incredible, unique experience.
The emergency lines are staffed by an A Broader View:
- Communicate late/missed/flight connections during travel days
- Notify a Volunteer of an emergency (e.g. critical illness or death of a family member)
- Respond to family questions about a Volunteer's status (if problem occurring in-country)
ABV in a nut shell
- 501 (c)3 nonprofit USA based organization – you can tax deduct the program fees.
- Available year-round. You choose your own program start and end dates.
- 32 country locations to choose from. Programs available from 1 week up to 3 months in length.
- 245 perfectly balanced projects - experience, price, service.
- 100% cultural immersion including local home-stay and guesthouse accommodations.
- Program fees include airport transportation, orientation, housing/meals, 24/7 in-country support.
- Suitable options for solo travelers, gap year, honeymooners, families, mature travelers & groups.
- Excellent safety record and Platinum rated non-profit organization per Guidestar ABV alumni reviews.
- Between 1500-2000 volunteer per year with a high percentage of repeat volunteers.
How may we help you?!
Our staff has extensive travel and volunteer abroad experience. We have the answers to all your questions about volunteering with ABV. We can customize any of our programs to your needs and dates.
Call/chat with our team members:
(1) 215 780 1845 [email protected]