Truly The Most Affordable in Argentina from $400 for 2 weeks

I recently volunteered in Buenos Aires with my best friend for their community feeding project. The experience was very rewarding, working with the mothers in the kitchen. Despite us not knowing much Spanish, they were very accomodating and welcoming.

During the program you help prepare the meals by chopping up ingredients, grating the cheese, peeling potatoes etc. You then serve the meals to the people in the neighbourhood as they walk in the door. After we finished serving, we were always offered a generous meal by the ladies which we loved.

We felt some things were lost in translation between us and the volunteer coordinator, which was frustrating at times but of course it's expected with a language and culture difference.

Overall we felt very safe all the time and the other people staying at the student hostel accomodation are absolutely lovely.

I recently returned home from 2 weeks volunteering in Villa Rodrigo Bueno, a small neighbourhood in Buenos Aires. The main aim of the programme was to use organised workshops in football, boxing and English to encourage the local kids to get involved with productive activities and become active members of their community. All in all it was a fantastic experience, and I was really well looked after by the people there. Flor and Bautista, a husband and wife team who ran the community centre, made sure I was safe, comfortable and well fed whenever I visited them and Andrea, who was the link between Iko Poran and the neighbourhood, was in constant contact with me throughout. Taking part in the workshops with the kids was a lot of fun, and I was also invited to take part in other activities with the adults too- a midweek football tournament being a particular highlight.

I'd definitely recommend learning some Spanish before you go as nobody in the neighbourhood speaks English, so communication could be a bit tricky at times. Nevertheless, everyone I met was really hospitable and I was made to feel very welcome. Facilities in the neighbourhood are very basic and the activities are subject to weather and other factors, so be open-minded and prepared for your schedule to change at short notice.

The programme title suggests that you will be coaching sports, but in reality you are mostly just joining in with the workshops, and in some cases being coached yourself! In many ways this was probably for the best as the standard of football in the neighbourhood is ridiculously high, so I'm not sure if I could have taught them anything anyway! There are still lots of ways to make yourself useful though: helping the kids with their homework in the English workshop, unloading food deliveries, and helping to distribute food to the local residents to give a few examples. As Andrea kept telling me, the more you put yourself out there, the more everyone gets out of it.

My fiancé and I had an incredible experience volunteering in Argentina and now in Brazil. Our project in Buenos Aires was in a very special community of which we were welcomed with open arms. The family we worked alongside we now consider our own family!! Here in Rio doing sports development has been extremely rewarding and we are learning so much about this beautiful culture and even learning capoeira with the locals!! Felipe and his family have been SO accommodating & we are having a blast living with him and his beautiful fam! HIGHLY recommend all IKP programs :)!!

Amazing experience with some of the greatest people. The local coordinators and the local organization were perfect. We will carry these people and memories with us for the rest of our lives. Everything went smoothly and it was much cheaper than other organizations. I would highly recommend this program! My fiance and I will probably come back because the program and the people changed our lives so much. The local volunteer neighborhood invited us to the pool and to play soccer in their community. Once in a lifetime experience!

As an 18 year old exploring the continent for the first time this was a great way to acclimatise to the friendly South American culture. With the city of Buenos Aires just a half an hour train away as well as other day trips such as Tigre and Temaiken close too, San Isidro offers not just a great support scheme for young affected children, through the Fundación Cor program, but also offers a great location to spend your time during the program.

With a range of children from about 4 months to 13 years it really felt like a family here - which is precisely what those kids need. That and a bit of love and attention of course. I felt a real connection with not just the kids but also the super caring staff.

This program really must be considered by anyone with an interest for volunteering or just putting a smile on the faces that need it most.