Gap Year and Solo Volunteer Community Project in Jamaica

What is the Community Volunteering Project in Jamaica all about?

Travel during COVID times

The health and safety of our travelers and our local communities remain central to our plans for reopening countries and projects. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been adapting our programs and protocols to protect all those involved, and ask for everyone’s patience and collaboration as new rules are implemented in-country. For all projects, new standards of sanitation, procedures and social behaviors are in place, including new health and hygiene protocols and social distancing practices. You can read more here. Each location may be slightly different in the way they operate. We encourage you to inquire to your placement advisor to learn more about your specific project as you plan for your responsible return to travel!

Read all about our project reopening response to COVID-19

The Project

This program offers a very immersive experience of the Jamaican lifestyle. You will have the chance to engage in a daily morning exercise routine, joining the site director in her daily community walking tour and seeing Jamaica before it wakes up. You will sample authentic Jamaican food and eat just like a local. Not to mention the opportunity to celebrate Jamaican’s culture as you talk and live like a local.

Community volunteering projects can offer you an incredible and rewarding experience as there are many opportunities to help the local community. A drive through many Jamaican communities will show poor roads, dilapidated buildings and peeling walls. The pandemic has affected the local Kingston community, like everyone in the rest of the world. Schools have been closed, students are lagging behind and elderly members of the community have become more isolated than ever. Tourists have been staying along the tourism corridors, not making much of an impact on the locals near Kingston.

Role of the  Volunteer

Community volunteering in Jamaica is a great way to participate in meaningful project work and cultural immersion activities. As a community volunteer in Jamaica, you will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including the following:

• Children and Education – be a teacher’s assistant and work with subjects in the curriculum. Popular subjects you may be asked to teach include maths, English, drama, arts & crafts, amongst others. Depending on the situation at the time of your placement, you might be required to do some online volunteering as well with Kingston underserved children. You will work with the class teacher to help the students (mostly aged between 3 and 5) with basic subjects or give the children personalized help for those in need. (NOTE-teaching projects are only available during school term time. Please speak with one of our placement advisors for dates and availability).  
• Sports coaching – whether you are an avid sports fan or you enjoy playing with children, you will have the opportunity to teach them sports you enjoy and know and help them develop their love for sports.
• Environment & conservation – participate in beach cleanups, mural painting and spend your time working outdoor with hands-on environmental volunteering projects.
• Soup kitchen volunteering and elderly care-spend time volunteering at a soup kitchen, serving food to and speaking with members of the elderly community. In addition to food preparation, volunteers spend time with elderly community members, and create a ‘storybook’ for them, filled with their life experiences. Volunteers ask them about their most special memories, and record them in a simple book. This book is then gifted to the participant’s family, as the ‘Life Story’ of their loved one.
• Cultural immersive activities including:
  • Jamaican Dance Class – Learn cultural dance moves and popular dances like “Lebeh Lebeh”, “Genna Bounce”, “Lowi mi nuh” and “Good things Dem”
  • Jamaican Cooking Class – Uncover local cooking secrets and learn the secret spices used for generations by a local Jamaican chef.
  • Jamaican Culture and History Class – Learn everything there is to be known about Jamaica, its history, its traditions, and its people.
  • Jamaican Night – Put into practice the moves you learn, dance like a Jamaican, talk like a Jamaican, and eat authentic Jamaican foods with your new peers.

You will also have some downtime and can spend your afternoons relaxing, getting to know your cohort, reading a book, and enjoying the Jamaican sun!

Why choose this project?

• Getaway at this stressful time to do something different and make a positive contribution to local community projects who need help.
• Immerse yourself, eat and live like a local.
• Make new friends and learn all about Jamaica and its culture at the same time.

What skills do I need to be a Volunteer?

No specific skills are required. Participants should be enthusiastic, creative, flexible and patient to be working with the children. Any skills you can bring with you will be appreciated. 

REQUEST MORE INFO   RESERVE YOUR PLACE