Break Programs

HANDS specializes in short term volunteer placements! We offer alternative break programs for those who are interested in engaging in service during their mid-semester breaks. These programs usually last from 1-2 weeks and provide volunteers with a unique cultural experience and valuable insight into development work.

Alternative Break Programs include constructing houses, assisting micro-financing projects, volunteering in orphanages, enlisting in medical and health journeys, among others. All of our programs are to take place in Guatemala (both in the city and the outskirts of Antigua Guatemala). The programs being offered are:

• Safe Passage (Education)

• Constru Casa (Housing)

• Esperanza Juvenil (Education)

• Fundacion Margarita Tejada (Psychology and Education) 

Participate in a unique experience during your mid-term break! Our programs are perfect for those interested in exploring an exotic country, engage in a different culture and gain valuable insight into development work. Read below about our different volunteer programs and apply now!

Safe Passage. Safe Passage is an organization that works as a school during the morning for students who go to school on the afternoon and during the evening for those students who go to school in the morning. Before Safe Passage was created these children used to spend their time in the city dump, collecting cans and plastic bottles to sell for little money, clothes and food. Safe Passage helps students with their homework and school activities, makes them understand the importance of an education and to stay out of gangs and off the streets. HANDS has coordinated a one-week program with Safe Passage where the volunteers assist the teachers in their usual classroom duties by being an extra pair of hands, ears and eyes. Volunteers are in charge of teaching the children the “value of the month” and aid the teachers in day-to-day tasks in the classroom as well as assist them in taking care of the children during the field trips. If you want to know more about this program, click here.

Program costs: $595. Program costs include pre-departure package, meals, food and transportation during your week in Guatemala. Please note that it doesn´t include airfare tickets. HANDS provides Grants of Service to help students with the costs of volunteering abroad. If you want to apply for a Grant of service, mention it explicitly in your application and make sure you complete the Grant of Service Essay. Apply now!

Constru Casa. Constru Casa is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the housing and living conditions of poor families in Guatemala by building them new houses, help them get on the path to a better future and a better way of living. Students participating in the service trips will build houses in groups of four to six, together they build a house of concrete blocks and a resistive roof with kitchen, two bedrooms and for some families it is the first time they have a bathroom. No special qualifications are needed and the labor will be divided according to the physical strength of each volunteer, under the supervision of a skilled local mason and his helper. Work mainly consists of digging foundations, carrying materials, mixing concrete, laying blocks, etc. If you want to know more about this program, click here. 

This program was offered last year, click here to read about the volunteers´ experiences!

Program costs: $295. Program costs include pre-departure package, meals, food and transportation during your week in Guatemala. Please note that it doesn´t include airfare tickets. HANDS provides Grants of Service to help students with the costs of volunteering abroad. If you want to apply for a Grant of service, mention it explicitly in your application and make sure you complete the Grant of Service Essay.

Fundraising. For this specific program, Constru Casa asks volunteers to fundraising $350 in order to participate in the social service experience (this is in addition to the program costs). These funds are utilized to help cover the costs of the houses the volunteers are helping build. Note that this is a particular cost from Contru Casa and none of the money goes to HANDS. Nonetheless, HANDS can help you with this fundraising task by providing you the information and promotional material to carry a fundraising event and/or find sponsors through your school, family and friends. Apply now!

Esperanza Juvenil. Esperanza Juvenil an organization that provides housing and education for children from low-income families. Esperanza Juvenil´s school goes as far as 10th grade. After that, Esperanza Juvenil finds different schools with different types of scholarship programs so that they can get a High School Diploma. Esperanza Juvenil receives volunteers to engage with children in a wide variety of programs. In this program, volunteers will serve as teacher assistants. In past occasions, volunteers have developed art workshops, gave cooking lessons, taught English, created fitness routines, etc. If you are looking for a week of creativity and fun, this program is perfect for you! If you want to know more about this program, click here.

Fundación Margarita Tejada. Fundación Margarita Tejada is an organization that works specifically with down-syndrome students. FMT believes that down-syndrome people should be taught to be as independent as possible in order for them to have a normal life. For this reason, they are in the constant search for volunteers how study psychology or special education, and have recently developed a one-week volunteer program for college students. Volunteers will be part time working as teacher assistants and helping students practicing their English. In addition, they are free to come up with ideas of workshops to be executed during their time in Guatemala. If you want to know more about this program, click here.

Program costs: $425. Program costs include pre-departure package, meals, food and transportation during your week in Guatemala. Please note that it doesn´t include airfare tickets. HANDS provides Grants of Service to help students with the costs of volunteering abroad. If you want to apply for a Grant of service, mention it explicitly in your application and make sure you complete the Grant of Service Essay. Apply now!