Location
  • Guatemala

Program Details

Language
Spanish
Housing
Host Family
Apr 27, 2018
Apr 29, 2019
1 traveler is looking at this program

About Program

Pop Wuj - Spanish School Guatemala is seeking volunteers to fill several positions in its Community Development Projects. These positions all require the commitment of individuals with a working knowledge of Spanish, interest or experience in working with rural communities, and at least a three-month commitment. If you fulfill these qualifications, please read on. The long-term volunteer opportunities range across a variety of different projects and areas of interest, so there is something to suit anyone’s interest.

Program Reviews

4.55 Rating
based on 11 reviews
  • 5 rating 81.82%
  • 4 rating 9.09%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 9.09%
  • Impact 4.65
  • Support 4.85
  • Fun 4.55
  • Value 4.55
  • Safety 4.75
Showing 1 - 8 of 11 reviews
Matt
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Four Incredible Weeks in the Medical Spanish Program

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What would you improve about this program?
Can't think of much — the school and the clinic are truly top notch.
81 people found this review helpful.
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Nadia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing.

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79 people found this review helpful.
Elizabeth
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

General Projects Coordinator

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What would you improve about this program?
As an intern I really wanted more constructive feedback about the work I was doing. Carmen, the interns' boss, is diplomatic and reluctant to criticize. She fills out the regular evaluations that interns receive, and these err on the side of generous. She can give you concrete feedback, but to get it you sometimes have to ask specific questions ("People seemed to lose interest when I started talking about infant nutrition. How could I present that material differently?")
One of the Student Coordinator's roles is to support interns, and the Student Coordinator while I was volunteering gave more direct feedback when requested.
From my perspective now, as Student Coordinator myself, I understand that a desire not to be unappreciative of work that volunteers are doing can make criticism tricky. My advice to interns is to ask for feedback clearly and often if it's important to you.
82 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
1/5
No, I don't recommend this program

Xela

I did not have a good experience here. I do not blame the school, I blame myself for not understanding what I was getting into. The town of Xela is not at all what I was expecting. It was filled with exhaust (like black clouds of fumes so thick you could not breathe walking down the street). There was also a lot of trash. NO green spaces to speak of. Stray dogs in the streets and also an open sewage line on the street where my homestay was. I have lived in the third world before, but this was pretty bad. If you like rural or natural areas, this is NOT it. My homestay was also very dirty. I ended up getting sick and had to return home early.

80 people found this review helpful.
Response from Asociación Pop Wuj

Hi Anonymous! I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience as a student at Pop Wuj. We try our best to prepare students and long-term volunteers for their travels, and I would be grateful for any specific feedback about what we could have done to help you get ready for Xela.

As for homestay, all families are expected to maintain clean, welcoming spaces for their guests. Our policy at Pop Wuj is to ask students to tell me ASAP about any problems in their home so that I can work with them and their families to figure out a solution. If we can't resolve the problem promptly, we change placements. A dirty homestay is unacceptable.

It sounds like the city of Xela itself was a bad fit, and I'm afraid we couldn't do anything about that. But if you chose to come to Pop Wuj again, we would certainly do our best improve your homestay and general experience.

Elizabeth Barnes
Student Coordinator
oficina@pop-wuj.org

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Grady
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An Amazing Internship Opportunity

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What would you improve about this program?
I honestly can't think of a single thing I would change.
82 people found this review helpful.
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Shanti
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

General Projects Coordinator

My time at Pop Wuj as a General Projects Coordinator illustrated what it would be like to work in the field of development. Not only was I was exposed to a variety of projects in the sectors of health, environment and education but I also witnessed the positive change occurring among the indigenous communities as a result of the Pop Wuj's hard work and the importance placed on ensuring ownership and sustainability. My main goal was to positively impact the lives of project beneficiaries, something that I can say I successfully did! My day to day activities ranged anywhere from helping children with homework, translating medical consultations, presenting skits on family planning, interviewing project beneficiaries and leading volunteers for the construction of safe stoves. I would recommend this internship to anyone in a heartbeat. It's a great way to give back to the local community and learn about Guatemalan political, social and cultural life. Moreover, you have the opportunity to improve spanish speaking skills and learn the ins and out of working in the non-profit sector.

81 people found this review helpful.
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whitegf
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Projects Coordinator with Asociación Pop Wuj

As the Projects Coordinator, I worked closely with the organization's social worker on several development or capacity building projects. From leading groups to construct safe stoves (replacing household open fires) in rural communities to fundraising for scholarship recipients and a family support center, this internship gave me experience in every facet of non-profit work.

100 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Davva
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Safe Stove Project

I worked as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Safe Stove Project at Pop Wuj. As I spoke Spanish already I didn't study at the school. The volunteers I work with were mainly student at the school so I heard a lot of talk about the staff, the learning experience and the after school activities. I have to say almost all of these were positive. On the odd occasion were students weren't having a great time it was due to personality clashes which is bound to happen from time to time.
Pop Wuj offers a great medical Spanish program and what ever program you do there are lots of opportunities to get involved in the schools various projects. And, if you're keen to do a project that the school doesn't do they're happy to hear what it is an help out if it's appropriate.

104 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers