 Health |
HealthThere are good doctors, dentists, and well stocked pharmacies in Granada, also a public and a private hospital. In Managua there is a private hospital which would meet with first world standards, and is qualified for most travel insurance policies. Many volunteers have travel insurance which will cover them in any emergency. Some tourists visit the country for low cost dental work.
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Weather |
| Temperatures in Granada range between warm to hot daytime between 80 100 f (26 38c) night time between 74 90 f (24 32C). Rainfall is mostly in the months of May through November, and on average we have some rainfall 122 days per year. Most rain is in the form of heavy showers or thunderstorms. Though locally we refer to May to November as the rainy season, it is not monsoon like, and doesnt rain every day. |
Saftey |
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Safety is an issue that many people ask about, more so as Nicaragua featured so widely in the news about its civil wars for many years.
The Government is stable, is a democracy, with an elected President and appointed ministers of various departments. Occasional protest marches,
e.g. for higher salaries are usually peaceful , though political marches and rallies are best avoided. The crime rate is lower than that of many European Countries, and the U.S.A. and it is regarded as one of the safest countries in Central America. However there is a problem with opportunistic petty theft. Front doors need to be locked, and bags need to be watched, not just left on the back of a chair. Tourists are sometimes seen as an easy target but with a little common sense it can be mostly avoided. Volunteers are advised not take valuables with them things such as atm cards, cameras, ipods etc. should be left in your room if you are no using them that day. Female volunteers can expect to hear lots of whistles, hisses, and names such as mueca doll, or, practicing their English, I love you baby. This can be very irritating, and it doesnt seem to make any difference what you look like, or how old you are the local women also are constantly pestered like this. Occasionally volunteers have been touched, but not seriously molested. We advise volunteers not to walk alone at all, not to hitchhike or accept lifts and to take taxis after 9pm. Even if there are two or three of you we still advise this. A taxi in town will cost 50 cents during the day and $1 per person at night.. We have had several volunteers who have been robbed walking home in the early morning hours, and even during the middle of the day, though luckily not injured. There are areas that should be avoided, especially at night. Parents of younger volunteers may be concerned about the safety of Granada. We have had several volunteers whose parents have visited them while they were here, and if your parents would like to contact others they can email us for an email address. |
Packing tips |
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Packing tips: Things that you may not find here: (expensive or hard to find)
Any items of value you bring with you such as cameras, ipods, computers etc. be sure to bring a copy of your receipt from when you bought them. In case you should be robbed, anywhere in Central America you will need your receipts in order to get a police report for your insurance. Copy and scan these receipts and have them in your email folder. If you travel on weekends etc. to the mountains it will be cooler and you may need a light jacket in the evenings. Bring shoes or strong sandals there are lots of unpaved roads. Bring a small bag for weekends away (lots of long weekends here). Bring a swimsuit a monthly membership for the only pool in town costs $60 but even if that is out of your budget you can visit the beach, and the lake islands for swimming on weekends. Bring small souvenirs some little things from your country (flags, badges etc.) can make great gifts for people you get to know during your stay. Bring a small flashlight (torch) there are frequent power cuts, or sometimes the streetlights may be out. Dress requirements for when you are working are only to be neat and tidy. Short shorts for girls, or singlets for guys are not suitable in the schools. |
Communication with home |
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Each volunteer house has wi fi internet connection and a computer (you may prefer to bring your own netbook/notebook. There are many internet
cafs in town, which cost about $1 per hour. Mobile phones cost around $25, and use a standard sim card. Overseas calls can be made from most internet cafs, at low rates, or you can use Skype. Mail for volunteers can be received at the La Esperanza Granada office. The post office is near our office, and sending packages is surprisingly cheap, but not 100% reliable. |
Budgeting |
| There are no fees charged by La Esperanza Granada to our volunteers, only a $20 contribution towards our administration costs. You will be responsible for you own cost of travel, plus your cost of living while here in Granada. How much will daily life will cost depends on your style of living. Many volunteers choose to purchase all of their food at the local market and supermarket, and cook, others prefer to dine out. There are many restaurants in Granada, which range from very inexpensive, local food, to nice hotel restaurants that cater to tourists. Most volunteers from the North America, Europe or Australia will find Granada an extremely affordable place to live. Some volunteers report spending as little as $100 US dollars per month, after paying their rent (this is the very minimum) and some spend quite a bit more, up to about $500. On average volunteers spend about $200 per month, not including rent. |
Getting to Granada |
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Managua (MGA) is the capital city, and the closest major airport to Granada. Some volunteers find it cheaper to fly into San Jose, Costa Rica
(SJO). From Costa Rica, you can travel by air-conditioned coach directly to Granada. Including border crossing time, the ride is about 8 hours.
As of April, 2011, the bus ticket is $32 and the border crossing fees $13. (normally you would need to stay overnight in San Jose both arriving
and leaving, so dont forget to factor this into the cost) For arrival in Managua we can send our regular taxi driver to meet you at the airport. He charges $30 for the 45 minute trip and will bring you directly to your volunteer house. Another alternative is Paxeos shuttle which you can book online with reservas@paxeos.com.ni |
Time off |
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We are very flexible regarding time off if you have friends or family coming to visit for example but we expect you to respect the commitment t
hat you have made in giving your time to volunteer. Motivating the children to attend school every day is an important part of the volunteers
role in the schools so it is vital that you set a good example both with attendance and punctuality. Most school volunteers work from 9 till
noon five days a week, and from 1pm 3pm four days per week. Though that may not sound like many hours of work, to spend all that time with the
children with enthusiasm and a positive attitude can be quite exhausting. There is at least one three day weekend each month, often more a full week off at Christmas, Easter, July term break, and several times a year with breaks of four days, so lots of opportunity to explore the exciting natural wonders and interesting cultural experiences of Nicaragua. |
Insurance |
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Insurance as an industry is only just starting in Nicaragua. There is no recognized local health insurance, though local people do receive free medical care it is limited.
As an organization we do not carry any type of insurance, or public risk. It is recommended that you provide your own travel insurance. |
Visas |
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Citizens of U.S.A, Canada, most European countries, and most other countries will receive an automatic 90 day visa on arrival. You will need
to pay U.S.$10 at the immigration counter. This visa can be renewed locally for a further 90 days. After that time you would need to leave the
country and re enter to start the progress again. Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Belize have a common visa program, so to renew
your visa you would need to travel south to Costa Rica or north to Mexico. You do not need to apply for a visa in advance, with the exception of a few nationalities. To find out which countries need to apply for a visa you can look on this Nicaraguan government website. (In case you do need this visa, please note that although it says to allow three weeks on the website, the experience of past volunteers shows it can take ten to twelve weeks) Important note: If your flight is passing through the U.S.A. you will need to have a current ESTA which you can apply for on line and is valid for two years. This is the website.. |
Language |
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The official language of Nicaragua is Spanish. There are some variations with Castillian Spanish as spoken in Spain, but these are not difficult
to adapt to. All of the work in the schools is conducted in Spanish, and you are requested to speak only in Spanish while in the schools,
this includes conversations with other volunteers. There is very little English spoken in Nicaragua, and that mostly in the top end hotels,
travel agencies etc. It is easy to access Spanish classes and tutoring in Granada. A lot of the schools will do a one or two week intensive
Spanish course, which is a good idea for volunteers who feel that there Spanish is not at a high enough level to spend a week or two this way
before commencing your work with the children. |
How the organization is run |
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La Esperanza Granada is a volunteer organization with some 30 to 50 volunteers at any given time, who come from all over the world. We work both with the approval of the local Ministry of Education, and with the approval of the communities we are helping. In any areas where we need paid employees, such as our office administrator, extra teachers in the schools, building contractors etc., we employ local Nicaraguan staff. The organization follows its original mission statement with regular review by our Board of Directors. The volunteer group is led by our Operations Director. Our current Operations Director, Pauline Jackson, is also a member of the Board of Directors. Volunteers attend a meeting once a week for exchange of information and socializing. The Board of Directors meets once a month. The members of our Board of Directors are; President; Flor Sequieria (Founding President), Vice President; Mark Turner, Treasurer; Pauline Jackson (Operations Director), Sectretary: Xiomara Diaz, Director; Dr. Patricia Alvarado Solano, Director; Rachel Goldman Sklar (Founding Volunteer) . Notes of the directors meetings are available to all volunteers (or anyone else who is interested). Volunteers are free to consult with the Operations Officer at any time. La Esperanza Granada is a Nicaraguan nonprofit organization started in Granada, Nicaragua. We have no partner organizations or projects. It is a true grassroots organization with volunteers working in the communities every day. Each school and/or activity has a team of volunteers, volunteers are not sent out alone into the communities. There is a team for each of the schools, English teaching teams, and a computer teaching team. We often have volunteers working with childrens sports, and occasional groups of short term volunteers who will supply materials, and paint a school/build a latrine/cooking shelter etc. For each school or team there is at least one local volunteer to work alongside you and help coordinate with the local teachers/community/children. These local volunteers, our ayudantes are young people from the same poor communities in which we work, who have completed high school and been sponsored to attend University. As part of their University Sponsorship they receive a small living allowance which helps enable them to give time to their studies, as well as giving back to their communities while working in the schools with our overseas volunteers. They will assist you wherever possible, and will appreciate your assistance in helping them learn valuable skills that you may have in exchange. There is a volunteer meeting each week, on Tuesday evenings at 7pm. which all volunteers are expected to attend. |
Orientation package |
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These are documents we email to each arriving volunteer feel free to read in advance. To save trees and costs we will only give you a hard copy of the volunteer map when you are here. |
Volunteer donations |
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Can I bring donations with me from home? We rely heavily on donations, both of supplies and money. Cash donations are always appreciated, you can put money in your account at home and withdraw it with your ATM card here to deposit into La Esperanza Granadas account. Many school supplies can be purchased in Granada for less than the cost of buying them at home and bringing them with you.(read our current what to bring list) We dont ask volunteers to do fund raising, but if you wish to we will of course appreciate it, and can help with any information that you require. We have a couple of power point presentations available as well as lots of video clips and photos. Most of our sponsorships for high school students and University students have come through from former volunteers and their families, as have a lot of our building funds, extra teachers funds, dental costs, school repairs, school supplies etc. We do ask that you dont bring supplies or cash to distribute directly to children or members of the community. This can cause ill will, and jealousy, can make it hard for other volunteers who may not have any money to spare, and basically goes against our motto of Give a hand up not a hand out |
Still have more questions? |
Here is a list of recent volunteers who have said they are willing to give their email addresses for contact by others
who are interested in volunteering. (To prevent spammers using this list we have replaced the ampersand with the word at)
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