Global Vision International

Overview

Description

Volunteer abroad with Global Vision International (GVI) in South or Central America and play a crucial role in a wide range of conservation, education, and community projects. GVI's programs are available from one week up to one year.

GVI is guided by a unique commitment to its volunteers and to its partners. We offer safe, responsible travel experiences and exceptional training and career development opportunities so that our volunteers can make a real difference. Volunteering abroad with GVI is an amazing way to make a difference while having adventures and being fully immersed in a foreign culture.

Here's an example of one of our programs in the Ecuadorian Amazon:

Volunteers work from the GVI Amazon base camp within the Yachana Reserve. The Reserve belongs to our in-country partner, the Yachana Foundation, who run Yachana Lodge and an ecotourism-focused high school across the river and upstream from our base camp. GVI was invited to work with Yachana to help them understand more about the biodiversity found in their reserve, create a species list, and monitor biodiversity levels, and gathering data used to obtain and maintain the reserve’s status as a protected forest under the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment. Through our Amazon Charitable Trust project, we have a scholarship program where two to three local students participate in our activity on site. Our long-term goal is to manage a permanent, full-time biological field station and establish strong relationships with leading scientific and development agencies and universities.

Making a Difference

Global Vision International is a non-political, non-religious organization that runs more than 100 projects in 25 countries. GVI volunteers fill a critical void in the fields of environmental research, conservation, education, and community development.

GVI was formed in 1997 to provide support and services to international charities, non-profits and governmental agencies through volunteering opportunities, internship programs, training, and direct funding.

Our organization is globally renowned for sustainability and for providing safe, friendly, and inspiring experiences. By and large, we run our operations from the application process to the field work, which means the leaders you meet on-site are employed by GVI, living and working at our locations year-round to ensure the longevity of our work. Our projects are designed to adapt to the communities’ most urgent needs, from education to construction, to conservation. We include local community members in our efforts and decisions, fostering these relationships to build stronger, healthier communities for the future.

Additional Information

Awards or Recognitions

• 2011 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism award for Best Volunteering Organization.
• Our local partners, Amigos de Sian Ka’an (Mexico) and the Yachana Foundation (Ecuador), have both won the Whitley Award for Conservation.

Additional Web sites

• www.gviamazon.blogspot.com/ (available in English). Program blog with continuous updates from the field added regularly.
• www.gvi.co.uk/resources/ecuador-training (available in English). Ecuador training materials website, shared with all booked volunteers. Includes an Amazon Bird Call Training section and an Amphibian Field Guide to the Yachana Reserve.

Date This Information Was Provided

February 2012.

Photos courtesy of Global Vision International, Mexico, for SustainableTrip.org.