Volunteer Organization for International Co-operation

International Volunteer Service Projects 

WORKCAMPS
MEDIUM TERM PROJECTS
LONG TERM PROJECTS
SUMMARY LIST WORKCAMPS MEXICO

SUMMARY LIST MEDUIM TERM PROJECTS MEXICO (MTV)

SUMMARY LONG TERM VOLUNTEER PROJECTS MEXICO (LTV)

VIVE MEXICO

A Brief Introduction

YEAR OF THE FOUNDATION

Vive Mexico is a non profit-making, non-governmental organization that has been organizing International Volunteer Service Projects since 1996.

Vive Mexico was officially born in March 1997 as a non-profit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Mexican laws and authorities as volunteer organization.

LOCATION OF THE CENTRAL OFFICE

Our head office is located in the city of Morelia, capital of the state of Michoacan in the South West Part of Mexico

Vive Mexico
Volunteer Organization for International Co-operation
Boulevard Garcia de León 734-A
Colonia Nueva Chapultepec
C.P 58260
Morelia, Michoacán
MEXICO
Tel/Fax.- +52(443)324-5170
WEB.- www.vivemexico.org

Vive Mexico E-mail contacts
incoming@vivemexico.org (for sending volunteers to the projects of Vive Mexico)
outgoing@vivemexico.org (for receiving applications of mexican volunteers in your projects)
ltv@vivemexico.org (for sending volunteers to the LTV programs of Vive Mexico)
mtv@vivemexico.org (for sending volunteers to the MTV programs of Vive Mexico)
international@vivemexico.org (for special requests and special projects with Mexico)

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

Our Philosophy consist of involving young people of different nationalities in projects focused in aid and cooperation with the objective to provide a space where the energy and creativity of them can be channeled in a background that promotes the brotherhood and solidarity between the nations of the world, and at the same time, help them to create a consciousness of the problems that are a human responsibility, by inviting them to take part in an activity to help our planet.

Our objectives are:

1.	Promote a cultural exchange between young people of different nationalities and backgrounds.
2.	Provide a unique and original way to discover all that Mexico has to offer.
3.	Give to the young Mexicans the opportunity to participate in international workcamps around the world through our partner organizations.
4.	Promote and develop voluntary service in Mexico as a mean of solving social, cultural and ecological problems in our country.

VIVE MEXICO NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

ACTIVITIES

Workcamps, Medium Term Projects, Long Term Projects and the Special International Cooperations

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

www.vivemexico.org

We are proud to present our program…

WORKCAMPS

GENERAL CONDITIONS ABOUT THE WORKCAMPS

1.- Volunteers must be 18 or older.
2.- English is the official language inside the groups but due to the nature of some of the projects a basic knowledge of Spanish could be required.
3.- It would be very good if volunteers could come with a preparation for projects in  Latin American countries in order to reduce the cultural shock, but also all volunteers will have an orientation session the first day of each workcamp.
4.-  We ask the volunteers to stay during the whole duration of the project. 
5.- The departure day for the group will be the last day of the workcamp.
6.- Volunteers will need to bring sleeping bag and air mattress.
7- Volunteers have to pay the Fee of the projects at their arrival on the projects
8- Volunteers are working 5 days a week between 4 and 6 hours a day. Generally on the week ends the group will visits different parts of the region where they will be.
9- In all the projects the volunteers will be self managed with the help of the leaders. They will cook their food, clean their lodging and decide together what kind of food to buy, and how to use their budget for the leisure time.
10- Volunteers have to be open minded and flexible about Mexican culture and food.

VIVE MEXICO does not count on any financial support from the Mexican government to run the workcamps. The only financial resources we count with are the extra fees of the participants, this year the extra fees are from 190 to 210 EUR0, which covers all the expenses of the volunteers during the duration of the project:
Food
Hosting
Some Leisure activities
Non personal equipment

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT VIVE MEXICO WORKCAMPS 2008

This year VIVE MEXICO is opening 31 international workcamps in Mexico.

The first project is starting in July 2008 and the last one will finish in March 2009. 

We will be very happy if you can publish all these projects in your international workcamp directory, we really need a lot of volunteers to make all these projects possible and to promote the International Voluntary Service activities in Mexico.

As we said in our introduction letter we will give to your volunteers an orientation session the first day of all the workcamps, to facilitate their good integration in the projects and in the Mexican culture don’t hesitate to send us volunteers, it will be very difficult for us and disappointing for the communities to cancel the projects for a lack of volunteers.

There are a lot of new types of projects this year, but also most of the workcamps we had in the past will take place again this year.

Don’t forget that we are proposing intensive Spanish courses in Morelia before all the workcamps for the volunteers who want or need to learn Spanish basic knowledge; all the dates of this training courses are mentioned in the summary list, as well as in all the info sheets. Your volunteers have to mention in the info sheet reply slip if they want to take part in them or not.  It is a really good course and we recommend it to your volunteers. Since we started our Spanish Courses before the workcamps in 2003 all the participants of were really happy, it was a great success.

In all the projects one to two leaders will be present. Generally we try to have a foreign leader with a national. Please look at our MTV program, and send us some nice volunteers interested to spend two months in Mexico leading projects. If you have any leader who wants to lead in Mexico for one or two months, please let us know.

VIVE MEXICO SUMMARY LIST OF WORKCAMPS 2008-09

VIVE01	Los Reyes	Los Reyes	Michoacan	9/07/08-28/07/08		ENVI	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host, is an institution that works toward the formation of the youngsters in such fields as: Computational Systems, Electro-mechanic engineer, Informatics BA and Administration; moreover, they organize many activities for the integral development of the youth so that the institute manages many ecological activities to promote the awareness toward the environmental issues. Last year, there was a fire that destroyed the trees in the green areas of the ‘Santa Rosa’ hill, and in this frame a group of International Volunteers, is invited to participate in co-operation with the Local Students, in different ecological activities such as the reforestation of the hill, and the Intercultural Exchange, among the participants and the local people.
WORK: The volunteers will help in reforestation activities at the ‘Santa Rosa’ hill. They will work together with Local Students, in order to reach such daily goal of planting 8 trees per person, and help to organize some cultural activities to promote the integration of the International Volunteers, with the Local Students, in an international atmosphere!
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one in Guadalajara city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp.

VIVE02	La Piedad I	La Piedad   Michoacan	09/07/08-28/07/08	CULT/MANU/SOCI	18+	10	190 EURO
VIVE09	La Piedad II	La Piedad   Michoacan	06/08/08-25/08/08	CULT/MANU/SOCI	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an institution which has as a main objective the promotion of the cooperation trough multicultural organizations, they want to host a Workcamp to promote a intercultultural exchange among the international volunteers and the local youngsters of the city to organize interesting and nice activities to promote the interaction of the youngsters trough cultural, sports and social activities that also can benefit the local inhabits of the region. 
WORK: Volunteers will help in the reforestation of a specific area inside of the local university as well as creation of special accesses for youngsters that use wheelchairs in the university, volunteers will also help in the restoration and cleaning of historical monuments, help to paint a house that is used as asylum and help in the organization of local workshops with youngsters of the city for intercultural learning, also there are activities planned in a local archaeological area in the surroundings of La Piedad city
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Guadalajara city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp
VIVE03	IJUM I		Morelia	Michoacan	16/07/08-04/08/08	SOCI/MANU	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The institute for the youth development of the City of Morelia (IJUM) is a part of the local government which has been working with Vive Mexico since 6 years ago, together VIVE and the IJUM  had carried out many activities to promote the active participation of the youngsters in activities where the youth can be a change agent and a active member of the communities, under this frame groups of International Volunteers are involved in many activities with the local youngsters of the city, in this project, the aim is to participate in activities related with children and  the ancient Purephecha culture. Every summer groups of Children participate in many workshops coordinated and organized by the local government to participate in many activities such as sports, community projects, old traditions and cultures, etc
WORK: Volunteers will work with helping in the maintenance of historical monuments of Morelia city which is catalogued as part of the World heritage by UNESCOS Word Heritage Center, also volunteers will participate in activities in local villages around the city doing activities with children, restoring and painting buildings that are used for the benefit of the communities. Volunteers will help in cleaning campaigns and maintenance of public spaces such as gardens and parks, and painting with local youngsters basquet ball courts
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a youth center with all facilities at disposal, beds, toilet, hot water, kitchen and showers. PLEASE BRING YOUR SLEEPING BAG
WORKCAMP PLACE: Morelia is a beautiful historic city, and capital of the state of Michoacán. Founded almost 500 years ago, the city has a wonderful central zone with buildings dating back to the time of the Spanish conquest as well as all the more modern attributes (shops, bars cafés etc). The city´s populations is over 1 million and the climate is moderately warm, with daytime temperatures ranging from 20-35º C. Morelia well connected to a variety of great places to  visit, such as Pátzcuaro, and the ancient Purépecha capital Tzintzunzan.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the workcamp is English. Some Spanish would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE04	Isla de Pajaros I		Michigan	Guerrero		16/07/08-04/08/08	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE11	Isla de Pajaros II		Michigan	Guerrero		13/08/08-01/09/08	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO

PROJECT: In Mexico, there are five different species of Marine Turtles which arrive to the coasts, and all of them are endangered. Many organizations and communities are working to protect these magic animals, and Isla de Pajaros, is a beautiful spot, close to nature, where a small community is settled, and they started a program to protect the Turtles. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in these activities, and help this wonderful program after very good experiences in the past.
WORK: The objective of the camp is to guarantee the preservation of the Marine Turtles, throughout actions to protect the Female Turtles and their nests. Day and night, International Volunteers will go to collect eggs and deliver them to the camp. Then, they will assure that the Female Turtles, return to the sea. Furthermore, they not only will put the eggs in the incubators and register data while others check the nests and register survival data, but also release the Baby Turtles, to the sea. 
In addition to it, International Volunteers will participate in workshops with other communities along the coast to speak about the importance to protect the Marine Turtles.
ACCOMODATION: The volunteers will be host in tents, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat; it is basic, but functional. There is no hot water or electricity. 
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico City.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO This fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE05	La Huacana I	La Huacana	Michoacan	23/07/08-11/08/08	CONS	18+	15	210 EURO
VIVE15	La Huacana II	La Huacana	Michoacan	20/08/08-08/09/08	CONS	18+	15	210 EURO
VIVE29	La Huacana III	La Huacana	Michoacan	21/01/09-09/02/09	CONS	18+	15	210 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an organization which works in many activities, such cultural and environmental, to promote sustainable development and divulgate the richness of the Indigent Communities, in Mexico. Vive Mexico has worked with them in different projects with good results. In this Workcamp, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in activities with the community called “Mata de Platano”, to help in a program that seeks to promote the creation of activities for the sustainable development.
WORK: The International Volunteers will help in the construction and maintenance of a Community Center, called: ‘La Casa del Volcan’. It has already been started by the Local People, but volunteers will help at the construction of a place able to   receive tourists as a Camping Zone, since ‘Mata de Platano’ is surrounded by very beautiful natural environment. Moreover, they will gather some elements for the openness of a community museum. 
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted at a place into the ‘Mata de Platano’ community, with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE06	Lazaro Cardenas 	Lazaro Cardenas	Michoacan	6/08/08-25/08/08	CULT/ENVI	18+	10	210 EURO

PROJECT: The local host, is part of the National System of Superior Education, which mission is: ‘To form professionals with high nationalist sense of social compromise and service to the community, compromised with the surround and identified with the development of his/her region and the country, getting skills which cover the range of the International competence’. At the Institution, the people are able to study five Engineers and two Bachelor degrees, with such Integral Development, which spread cultural, sport, ecological, and social activities, so due to the location of the University, they manage many ecological activities to promote the awareness toward the environmental issues. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different ecological and cultural activities with the students of the Institution. This project is aimed to promote the preservation of the ecological environment and to promote the intercultural exchange between the local students and the international volunteers.
WORK: Volunteers will participate in different activities, such as the creation of creative signs to promote messages to motivate the local people to take care of the beach and not to throw garbage. Moreover, they will help at the maintenance of the ‘Iguanario’, which is a place to breed Green Iguanas (since they are endangered and they are an icon of the local fauna), and at the Marine turtle conservation in ‘Barra del Tigre’. They will do all this together with local youngsters, and help in some cleaning activities.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Guerrero. Mexico.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE07	Morelia		Morelia	Michoacan	6/08/08-25/08/08	ENVI	18+	15	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an institution which offers three Bachelor programs, seven of Engineer, four of Master degree and one P.H.D. In addition to it, it also works toward the formation of the youngsters, and they organize many activities for the education of the youth. Moreover, the Institute manages many ecological activities to promote the awareness toward the environmental issues. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different ecological and cultural activities with the students of the Institution, after some years of successful Workcamps, in the campus.   
WORK: The volunteers will help in activities to rescue some natural areas in the surroundings of the campus and the city, such as reforestation activities, and help in the promotion of the sustainable tourism. They will participate in workshops and activities to promote the protection of the environment and awareness toward the voluntary service activities as a tool to help in the solution of these problems. Moreover, they will help in reforestation activities in an ecological ranch in the outside of Morelia city, this ranch is called: “La Planta” (the plant). It is a wonderful space where children can be close to nature and learn about the importance of taking care of the environment. At the Institution, the volunteers will make environmental signs to locate them in areas of the campus, and help on the reforestation.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico City.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE08	Ciudad Hidalgo	Ciudad Hidalgo	Michoacan	6/08/08-25/08/08	ENVI	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an institution which has four fields of studies: ‘Mecatronics’, Biotechnology, Informatics and Administration. Currently, there are 571 students at the campus, whom will have technical career once they finish their studies, or the opportunity to study more in a professional frame. With such cultural, sport, ecological, youth, and artistical activities, the Institution looks for the Integral Development of its students.
WORK: The volunteers will reforest diverse zones of the campus and visit schools of the town to speak about the importance of the nature. There will also be some informal language workshops, and all the activities will include students from the CECYTEM School.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE10	IJUM II		Morelia	Michoacan	13/08/08-01/09/08	SOCI/MANU	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The institute for the youth development of the City of Morelia (IJUM) is a part of the local government which has been working with Vive Mexico since 6 years ago, together VIVE and the IJUM  had carried out many activities to promote the active participation of the youngsters in activities where the youth can be a change agent and a active member of the communities, under this frame groups of International Volunteers are involved in many activities with the local youngsters of the city, in this project, the aim is to participate in activities related with children and  the ancient Purephecha culture. Every summer groups of Children participate in many workshops coordinated and organized by the local government to participate in many activities such as sports, community projects, old traditions and cultures, etc
WORK: Volunteers will work with helping in activities in local villages around the city doing activities such as painting schools or basquet ball courts, also volunteers will help by helping to improve the conditions of the ways to access these communities, participating in cleaning campaigns and painting signals to facilitate the access for the people who needs to use wheel chairs
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a youth center with all facilities at disposal, beds, toilet, hot water, kitchen and showers. PLEASE BRING YOUR SLEEPING BAG
WORKCAMP PLACE: Morelia is a beautiful historic city, and capital of the state of Michoacán. Founded almost 500 years ago, the city has a wonderful central zone with buildings dating back to the time of the Spanish conquest as well as all the more modern attributes (shops, bars cafés etc). The city´s populations is over 1 million and the climate is moderately warm, with daytime temperatures ranging from 20-35º C. Morelia well connected to a variety of great places to  visit, such as Pátzcuaro, and the ancient Purépecha capital Tzintzunzan.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the workcamp is English. Some Spanish would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE12	Leon		Leon	Guanajuato	13/08/08-01/09/08	SOCI	18+	12	210 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an institution that works toward the formation of the youngsters, and they organize many activities for the education of the youth. Moreover, they manage many ecological and social activities to promote the awareness toward the environmental issues in the region, and also to promote de development of the local communities around the Institution, as a contribution of the school to the improvement of the quality of life of the region where they work. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in co-operation with the local students in different ecological and social activities into the campus, and the surrounding communities.
WORK: The volunteers will help in reforestation activities inside the Campus and in the recollection of clothes and medicines to give to the inhabitants of the poor communities of the region. Moreover, they will do a literate campaign along with the Local Students, of the Institute.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico City.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE13	Zamora		Zamora	Michoacan	13/08/08-01/09/08	ENVI/CULT	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an institution that works toward the formation of the youngsters, and they organize many activities for the education of the youth. Moreover, the Institution manages many ecological activities to promote the awareness toward the environmental issues. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate (in co-operation with the Local Students) not only in different ecological and cultural activities, but also to learn how to make traditional pottery handicrafts and watch/ play “El Juego de la Pelota Caliente” – Game of the fire ball, a pre-Hispanic game of Mexican indigenous.
WORK: The volunteers will help in activities to improve the conditions of the Campus, such as maintenance of trees, reforestation activities, and designing/ making signs to set them at the green areas of the Institute.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airports are those located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE14	Cancun I	Cancun	Quintana Roo	13/08/08-01/09/08	SPORTS/ENVI/SOCI	18+	70	210 EURO

PROJECT: The local host of this project is a center that promote the social and sport activities in Cancun city, they realize over 34 cultural and sport activities with around 1,300 families in Cancun. 
Cancun is a marvel of nature but the population is growing very rapidly this is why it is very important to educate the children in a frame of awareness for the protection of the environment, and valorization of their local culture, history and roots. It is very important to create awareness that there is only one planet and the promotion of values such as flexibility, understanding other cultures, tolerance and team work is very important, this is why this project is organized, to promote voluntary service activities with the children and adults with the sports and cultural exchanges. A group of international volunteers is invited to help in the organization of a sports event and also to participate in social activities to support the local native people of the Yucatan Peninsula that at the same time engage the volunteers in a experience that show them the local culture, life of local people and the traditions of the Mayan culture.
WORK: The International Volunteers along with local people will organize sports events (aquatic sports, foot ball) and will help in the coordination of the events and the participants. After the sport activities volunteers will participate in a program for the protection of the marine turtles and a special specie of crab called “the blue crab” that is released in Cancun beaches to prevent its extinction, volunteers will help by releasing and counting the baby turtles and help in the transportation of the blue crabs to the place where they are released. Besides of these activities, the international volunteers will also participate in reforestation activities in local communities and parks.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in the facilities of the sports club, with all facilities at disposal (kitchen, showers, bathrooms, air conditioning, etc) please bring your sleeping bag and air mat!
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in the Cancun city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE16	Panindicuaro	Panindicuaro	Michoacan	27/08/08-15/09/08	SOCI/KIDS	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA, looking for more opportunities. The school gives tools and experience to the youngsters to develop their lives in the town, and help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecological but also cultural and social in the town together with the School Students and the people who lives in the village. Moreover, they are invited to participate in cultural activities to promote the awareness about the importance to take care of the environment.
WORK: The International Volunteers along with the Students of the Institute will paint some rural schools and realize dynamics with the children in order to get in touch one another and know/share such cultural backgrounds of each individual in the project. Moreover, they all will realize a cleaning campaign to teach to the people the importance of the environment and its preservation. 
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Morelia city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE17	Apatzingan	Apatzingan	Michoacan	27/08/08-15/09/08	REST/ENVI	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA looking for more opportunities. The school give to the youngsters tools and experience to develop their lives in the town and to help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecological but also cultural and social in the town together with the school students and the people who live in the village. 
WORK: The International Volunteers will be working shoulder by shoulder at the restoration of the city Arbors/ bowers with the aim of cleaning and painting them, and reforesting the green areas around.
 ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE18	Purepero	Purepero	Michoacan	3/09/08-22/09/08	ARTS/ENVI	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA, looking for more opportunities. The school gives tools and experience to the youngsters to develop their lives in the town, and help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecological but also cultural and social in the town together with the School Students and the people who lives in the village. Moreover, they are invited to participate in cultural activities to promote the awareness about the importance to take care of the environment.
WORK: International Volunteers and local youngters will paint a mural that communicates the importance of taking care of the environment; moreover, they will participate in workshops to speak about recycling, reforestation, compost, etc. In addition to it, Volunteers will organize informal chats with local indigenous people to research about their way of life and their culture inside the ethnic groups. Some language classes will also be organized in the town.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Guadalajara city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE:190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE19	La Piedad III	La Piedad	Michoacan	3/09/08-22/09/08	CULT/MANU	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host, is part of the National System of Superior Education, which mission is: ‘To form professionals with high nationalist sense of social compromise and service to the community, compromised with the surround and identified with the development of his/her region and the country, getting skills which cover the range of the International competence’. At the Institution, the people are able to study five Engineers and two Bachelor degrees, with such Integral Development, which spread cultural, sport, ecological, and social activities, so due to the location of the University, they manage many ecological activities to promote the awareness toward the cultural issues. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different cultural activities with the students of the Institution. This project is aimed to promote the preservation of the cultural heritage of the city and to promote the intercultural exchange between the local students and the international volunteers.
WORK: Volunteers with local students will work in restoration and maintenance activities in the local Kiosko the main square garden, they will help to clean and to make a restoration of this very important and historical monument of the city made with “Cantera” a beautiful stone from the region
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Guadalajara city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE20	Huandacareo	Huandacareo	Michoacan	10/09/08-29/09/08	ENVI/CULT	18+	15	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA, looking for more opportunities.  The Institute gives tools and experience to the youngsters to develop their lives in the town and to help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecologiclal but also cultural and social in the town together with the School Students and the people who lives in the village. 
WORK: The International Volunteers along with the School Students will reforest some areas of the town and organize not only cultural activities, such as theater, sing, and dance workshops, but also ecological with youngsters from the town.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE21	Cancun II	Cancun	Quintana Roo	10/09/08-29/09/08	CULT/ARTS	18+	10	210 EURO

PROJECT: Founded in 1997, the local host constitutes its Educational Platform, in a two-year studies program which enables the individuals to get a Technical Certificate, once they finish their courses. The house of the Culture (‘Casa de la Cultura’, in Spanish), was created in April, 1984, and currently is considered the place of the cultural divulgation of the north of the State of Quintana Roo. Among the objectives of this Cultural Institution, are: 1) to support the cultural manifestation of different local and regional groups, 2) to divulgate and preserve the ‘Mayan’ culture regard to the new age, and 3) to support the artists in the divulgation of their work. Consequently, based in these cultural and institutional frames, the Technological University is interest in the Cultural Exchange and Integral Development, of its students in such topics as: Customs, Beliefs, Gastronomy, Ideology, Religion, and etc. creating a multicultural space for the understanding of the people from different nationalities.
WORK: The International Volunteers along with the students from the Technological University will help to realize cultural, 	artistical and scientific activities, in poor communities, in order to strengthen the cultural expressions of the local people throughout the exchange of such different backgrounds of individuals from other nationalities and them. 
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in the Cancun city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE22	Tzintzuntzan	Tzintzuntzan	Michoacan	17/09/08-06/10/08	ENVI/CONST	18+	10	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA, looking for more opportunities. The school gives tools and experience to the youngsters to develop their lives in the town, and help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecological but also cultural and social in the town together with the School Students and the people who lives in the village. Moreover, they are invited to participate in cultural activities to promote the awareness about the importance to take care of the environment.
WORK: The International Volunteers together with local students will build a Botanical Garden, with the different medical plants which grow up naturally in the region in order to show to the people their different uses and properties of themselves. 
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airport is the one located in Mexico city.
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE23	Turtles Colola I	Colola	Michoacan	24/09/08-13/10/08	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE25	Turtles Colola II	Colola	Michoacan	22/10/08-10/11/08	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE26	Turtles Colola III	Colola	Michoacan	19/11/08-08/12/08	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE27	Turtles Colola IV	Colola	Michoacan	17/12/08-05/01/09	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE28	Turtles Colola V	Colola	Michoacan	14/01/09-02/02/09	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE30	Turtles Colola VI	Colola	Michoacan	11/02/09-02/03/09	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO
VIVE31	Turtles Colola VII	Colola	Michoacan	11/03/09-30/03/09	ENVI	18+	20	210 EURO

PROJECT:
The project has been founded in 1996 together with the University of Michoacan, now Vive Mexico organizes workcamps together with the locals all over the year. The international volunteers participate in a program to protect the Marine Turtles, this year the volunteers will work with the people of Colola village to protect the sea turtles. There are two kind of turtles that arrive in the beach, the Negra (Black Turtle) and the Golfina (Olive Riddle Turtle) the people involved in the project help by collecting eggs, burying them in the turtle camp, taking care of the baby turtles and doing some work collecting statistical information.
In this frame a group of international volunteers will be involved in the project, as members of the staff, which means that the volunteers will be very involved in the project and the work.
The goal of this project is to protect the turtles and to help to run the conservation activities of the protection turtle program promoting the international cooperation and international solidarity.
WORK: The main work consists in collecting turtle eggs, burying them again in a secure place, and transporting the baby turtles safely to the sea. This will be carried out at night since the turtles do not get out of the ocean during the day (because of their natural predators it is safer for the turtles go out the ocean in the dark), together with the people from Colola Village the volunteers will seek for the turtles and take care of the eggs and the baby turtles locals are very friendly and work with the group and explain them what to do. We need for this camp very motivated volunteers who really want to get involved with the work of protection of the turtle and willing to interact with the culture of the local people.
There are also some extra activities to do with the local people to help to improve the town like setting names to the streets of the town or helping to arrange a multi use play ground for the children and maybe some cleaning work but this depends on your initiative! The people of the town is very open to participate in other activities the group of volunteers can propose to them so your ideas will be welcomed!
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will stay at the turtle camp, it is a wooden construction made of coco tree palms, it is safe and very fresh (needed in the warm weather of the beach!!!) there are wooden beds (no mattresses!), a kitchen, a rustic bathroom and a place to store food. There is just some electricity (to ligth some lamps) and it is necessary to bring sleeping bag and mattress. The place is basic but functional and it is located 20 to 30 minutes walking from Colola town where you can find more services (see below).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: Mexico City Airport
LANGUAGE: The official language of the workcamp is English. Some Spanish would be appreciated and is necessary to really get in contact with the locals at work and eventually during further activities with them.
EXTRA FEE: 210 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs that are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

VIVE24	Tangancicuaro	Tangancicuaro	Michoacan	01/10/08-20/10/08	ARCH	18+	8	190 EURO

PROJECT: The local host is an Institution that works in different communities of the State of Michoacan. The education is an important tool to improve the life of the people in any country, and this school is aimed to bring formal education to isolated communities where there are many social problems, lack of work, and where youngsters immigrate to the USA, looking for more opportunities. The school gives tools and experience to the youngsters to develop their lives in the town, and help to improve it. In this frame, a group of International Volunteers is invited to participate in different activities not only ecological but also cultural and social in the town together with the School Students and the people who lives in the village. Moreover, they are invited to participate in cultural activities to promote the awareness about the importance to take care of the environment.
WORK: The International Volunteers along with the Students of the Institute will explore the Archeological site of the ‘Purepecha’ culture, in the ‘Tangancicuaro’ valley, in order to divulgate the zone not only locally but also regional and national to its preservation and care.
ACCOMODATION: Volunteers will be hosted in a private house with all facilities at disposal (there are no beds, so please bring your sleeping bag and air mat).
CLOSEST AIRPORT: The closest airports are those located in Mexico city. 
LANGUAGE: The official language of the Workcamp: is English, but some Spanish, would be appreciated.
EXTRA FEE: 190 EURO this fee covers the expenses of the camp, board and lodging, and SOME leisure activities as well as the administration costs, which are needed to organize and run a Workcamp

SPANISH COURSE (Only for Workcamps in MEXICO)
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS ACCEPTED IN THE VIVE MEXICO PROJECTS

Vive Mexico besides the workcamp it self; gives the opportunity to take part in an Intensive Course of Spanish for all the volunteers interested.

This activity is organized 7 days before the starting date of each camp. The volunteers MUST GO to the city of Morelia to take part in it. 

After participating, the volunteer must travel to his/her project meeting point.

The costs for the Spanish language course is:

SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSE			150 EUROS

This cost includes
•	Hosting for 7 days and 6 nights in one house of the city with all facilities at disposal
•	Materials needed for the course (books of theory, books for exercises, etc.)
•	Intensive Spanish classes given by a professional Spanish teacher in the city of Morelia for 3 hours everyday plus homework.

This cost is very cheap compared with the traditional language courses in the private Spanish schools in Mexico and the people giving the course are professional teachers of Spanish, the classes are 3 hours a day during 5 days and the participants have a lot of home work to do.

There will be a free day generally on Sunday, to give the chance to the participants to visit the nearby towns and interesting places and to know better each other.

The volunteers have to indicate in the confirmation slip if they will participate in these activities and in which dates.

This course was a really good success since 2003, we strongly recommend to your volunteers to take part in it. If they don´t speak a good Spanish, it will help them to enjoy even more their workcamps. It is also the opportunity to spend one week in the beautiful city of Morelia in a relaxing atmosphere. For any question don´t hesitate to contact us.

PLEASE GIVE THIS INFORMATION TO ALL YOUR MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS.

TO SEND APPLICATIONS OR IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US AT :

incoming@vivemexico.org

Waiting to receive applications from your volunteers, we wish you all the best.

MEDIUM TERM PROJECTS (MTV)

INTRODUCTION 

Dear partners, Vive Mexico is proud to present to you this MTV program, inside it; you will find the brief information of the Medium Term International Volunteer Service Projects in Mexico for the year 2008.

In Vive Mexico, we are always looking forward and working to offer more and better opportunities for your youngsters to have an educational experience, a formative trip and at the same time an enjoyable stay in Mexico as a volunteer.

We will be very happy to welcome your volunteers in Mexico, to show them our culture, our way of living, our history, our feelings and how we work to help in the solution of some of the problems of our Latin-American country and ultimately how we do it in international projects bringing a part of each volunteer and the local people in the task to build a better world. 

We thank to all of you again and we wish you a very successful season full of positive experiences¡

Greetings to all of you 

Vive Mexico Team

The world is like a puzzle… We just have to put the pieces together in order and the solution will show it self.

REQUIRMENTS TO TAKE PART IN MTV PROJECTS

1.- To be capable to speak in Spanish.
2.- To be 18 or older.
3.- To be in a good state of health.
4.- To have an open mind, to understand and live in a different culture, be adaptable and capable to work in teams.
5.-To have previous experiences working with teams (preferably in workcamps but is not a must)

GENERAL CONDITIONS ABOUT THE MTV PROJECTS

1.- Spanish is the language of the project; the volunteer must be capable to communicate in Spanish and write it fairly well.

2.- It would be very good if volunteers could come with a preparation for projects in Latin American countries in order to reduce the cultural shock, but also all volunteers will have an orientation course and a leader training seminar about the Latin American culture and International Projects in Mexico.

3.- An orientation meeting about the project will be given to all the volunteers as well as a leader training course in the city of Morelia.

4.- Volunteers will need to bring sleeping bag and air mattress.

WHAT IS A MEDIUM TERM VOLUNTARY SERVICE PROJECT

Voluntary service project is an exchange: An exchange between a person who gives his/her time, work and energy to a worthwhile project, and a host community, which offers the volunteer an opportunity to experiment, to learn new things and to develop personal skills and personal capacities.

The volunteer service movement is a way to propose creative solutions to many problems of many different issues such as ecology, recycling wastes, culture problems or even social problems, the volunteers face many facets of the culture where they are working in. And also, is way to have an international experience but also to open the mind to understand different cultures, different ways of living and different people concerned for our world.

The Vive Mexico Medium Term Volunteer Service projects lasts in average for 2 months during the year 2007 and some months in the 2008. The volunteers will be involved in the work of leading workcamps.

SUMMARY LIST OF MEDIUM TERM PROJECTS (MTV) 2008-09

THE MTV PROJECTS SHOWN IN THIS PROGRAM ARE THE SAME WORK; THE ONLY THING THAT CHANGES IS THE LOCATION AND THE DATES TO SEE MORE DETAILS SEE THE MTV PROJECTS INFO SHEETS
MTV PROJECTS

This MTV projects were born by the necessity to involve international volunteers in volunteer projects in Mexico to work together with Mexican youngsters.

Vive Mexico started to organize these projects in 2001 with excellent results this is why we have decided to open more places for International Medium Term Volunteers.
 
The volunteers in these projects will have the chance to interact with many local communities and will be working closely with Mexican youngsters, this is an experience of organization, work and at the same time make long lasting friendships, help communities and more than this, share a life experience with the people of Mexico.

Many things have to be made for the co-ordination of international workcamps and one of them is leading international groups of volunteers, and this is what this projects are all about; the volunteers will lead different groups of international volunteer in projects in Mexico.

The projects can vary in many ways Vive Mexico organizes every year a great diversity of activities

The MTV volunteer will be the camp leader of the international workcamps and will be in charge to coordinate groups of international volunteers to work in the activities of the projects but also to encourage the interaction with the locals and the intercultural exchange of the participants

This is a very demanding work and you will be working with a Mexican Co-leader in each camp.

The Mexican co-leader and the MTV will receive

1.-A Leader Training Course to lead international groups of volunteers.
2- A training to adapt to the Mexican culture, manage cultural shocks and motivation of work teams.
3.- Training to learn administration team tools, techniques to manage conflicts and to make teams of people work smoothly.
WORK: The work will consist helping to co-ordinate local projects in different communities in Mexico and to be the camp leader of groups of international volunteers (manage daily life, organization of the volunteers finances, etc) and also to co-ordinate the relationships with the local people in each place always will be supported by Vive Mexico staff and the local hosts of each project.
Each MTV volunteer will lead 2 or 3 groups of international volunteers in 2 or 3 different projects. Between each camp there is a vacation period before the next project starts and at the end of the MTV period will make a general evaluation of his/her stay in Mexico.

LOCATION: Each MTV project will be held in different parts of Mexico.
POCKED MONEY: Vive Mexico will pay for all the expenses of the MTV volunteer while in the international projects, between each project there is a 8 to17 days vacation period that will be used to rest but also to prepare all the necessary things before the next project starts, Vive Mexico will not cover any expense during these days but after each project the volunteer will receive a pocket money of 100 USD.
Details of the MTV projects and the Workcamps in each one:

VIVEMTV01	Leading Project Mexico I 		Los Reyes/Lazaro Cardenas  Michoacan		2/07/08-25/08/08
Projects to lead
VIVE01   	 Los Reyes  		Los Reyes	Michoacán  	ENVI	
VIVE06    	Lazaro Cardenas   	Lazaro Cardenas	Michoaca    	CULT/ENVI

VIVEMTV02	Leading Project Mexico II 	La Piedad		Michoacan		2/07/08-22/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE02	La Piedad I	La Piedad	Michoacan	CULT/MANU/SOCI
VIVE09	La Piedad II	La Piedad	Michoacan	CULT/MANU/SOCI
VIVE19	La Piedad III	La Piedad	Michoacan	CULT/MANU

VIVEMTV03	Leading Project Mexico III	Morelia			Michoacan		9/07/08-01/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE03	IJUM I		Morelia		Michoacan	SOCI/MANU
VIVE10	IJUM II		Morelia		Michoacan	SOCI/MANU

VIVEMTV04	Leading Project Mexico IV	Michigan		Guerrero				9/07/08-01/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE04	Isla de Pajaros I	Michigan		Guerrero		ENVI
VIVE11	Isla de Pajaros II	Michigan		Guerrero		ENVI

VIVEMTV05	Leading Project Mexico V		La Huacana	Michoacan		16/07/08-08/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE05	La Huacana I	La Huacana	Michoacan	CONS
VIVE15	La Huacana II	La Huacana	Michoacan	CONS

VIVEMTV06	Leading Project Mexico VI	Morelia/Purepero		Michoacan		30/07/08-22/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE07	Morelia		Morelia		Michoacan	ENVI
VIVE18	Purepero		Purepero	Michoacan	ARTS/ENVI

VIVEMTV07	Leading Project Mexico VII	Cd.Hidalgo/Huandacareo  Michoacan		30/07/08-29/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE08	Ciudad Hidalgo	Ciudad Hidalgo	Michoacan	ENVI
VIVE20	Huandacareo	Huandacareo	Michoacan	ENVI/CULT

VIVEMTV08	Leading Project Mexico VIII	Leon/Tzintzuntzan	Guanajuato/Michoacan	6/08/08-06/10/08
Projects to lead
VIVE12	Leon		Leon		Guanajuato	SOCI
VIVE22	Tzintzuntzan	Tzintzuntzan	Michoacan	ENVI/CONST

VIVEMTV09	Leading Project Mexico IX	Cancun			Quintana Roo		6/08/08-29/09/08
Projects to lead
VIVE14	Cancun I		Cancun	Quintana Roo		SPORTS/ENVI/SOCI
VIVE21	Cancun II		Cancun	Quintana Roo		CULT/ARTS

VIVEMTV10	Leading Project Mexico X		Colola		Michoacan		17/09/08-10/11/08
Projects to lead
VIVE23	Turtles Colola I	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI
VIVE25	Turtles Colola II	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI

VIVEMTV11	Leading Project Mexico XI	Colola			Michoacan		12/11/08-05/01/09
Projects to lead
VIVE26	Turtles Colola III	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI
VIVE27	Turtles Colola IV	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI

VIVEMTV12	Leading Project Mexico XII	Colola			Michoacan		7/01/09	-02/03/09
Projects to lead
VIVE28	Turtles Colola V	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI
VIVE30	Turtles Colola VI	Colola	Michoacan		ENVI

SPANISH COURSE FOR CAMP LEADERS
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS ACCEPTED IN THE VIVE MEXICO MEDIUM TERM PROJECTS

Vive Mexico besides the MTV Project it self; gives the opportunity to take part in an Intensive Course of Spanish for all the volunteers interested to develop their Spanish skills and to practice them in the project.

This activity is organized 7 days before the starting date of each project. The volunteers MUST GO to the city of Morelia to take part in it. 

After participating, the volunteer must travel to his/her project meeting point.

The costs for the Spanish language course is:

SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSE			150 EUROS

This cost includes
•	Hosting for 7 days and 6 nights in one house of the city with all facilities at disposal
•	Materials needed for the course (books of theory, books for exercises, etc.)
•	Intensive Spanish classes given by a professional Spanish teacher in the city of Morelia for 3 hours everyday plus homework.

This cost is inexpensive compared with the traditional language courses in the private Spanish schools in Mexico and the people giving the course are professional teachers of Spanish, the classes are 3 hours a day during 7 days and the participants have a lot of home work to do.

There will be a free day generally on Sunday, to give the chance to the participants to visit the nearby towns and interesting places and to know better each other.

The volunteers have to indicate in the confirmation slip if they will participate in these activities and in which dates.

We strongly recommend to your volunteers to take part in it. If they don´t speak a good Spanish, it will help them to enjoy even more their workcamps and their project. It is also the opportunity to spend two weeks in the beautiful city of Morelia in a relaxing atmosphere. For any question don´t hesitate to contact us.

PLEASE GIVE THIS INFORMATION TO ALL YOUR MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS.

THERE ARE NO DEADLINES TO APPLY, A SPECIFIC QUESTIONNAIRE WILL BE SENT TO FILL BY THE PEOPLE INTERESTED TO TAKE PART IN THIS PROGRAMME.

IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATIONS,  PLEASE CONTACT US AT :

mtv@vivemexico.org

Waiting to receive applications from your volunteers, we wish you all the best.

LONG TERM PROJECTS (LTV)

Introduction:

Dear partners, Vive Mexico is proud to give to you this LTV program, inside it; you will find the brief information of the Long Term International Volunteer Service Projects in Mexico for the year 2008-2009.

This program is made with the objective to provide a learning experience to all the volunteers but also to have something useful and positive in the communities. In Vive Mexico, we are always looking and working to offer more and better opportunities for your youngsters to have an educational experience, a formative trip and at the same time an enjoyable stay in Mexico as a volunteer.

We will be very happy to welcome your volunteers in Mexico, to show them our culture, our way of living, our history, our feelings and how we work to help in the solution of some of the problems of our Latin-American country and ultimately how we do it in international projects bringing a part of each volunteer and the local people in the task to build a better world. 

We thank to all of you again and we wish you a very successful season full of positive experiences¡

Greetings to all of you form a sunny day in Mexico

Vive Mexico Team

The world is like a puzzle… We just have to put the pieces together in order and the solution will show by it self.

REQUIRMENTS TO TAKE PART IN LTV PROJECTS

1.- To be capable to speak in Spanish and English or French.
2.- To be 18 years or older.
3.- To be in a good state of health.
4.- To have an open mind to be able to understand and live in a different culture, be adaptable and capable to work in teams for a long term period.
5.-To have previous experiences working with teams (preferably in workcamps but is not a must)
6.-It is important to bring medical insurance, we cannot provide it.
7.-To be active and proactive persons, capable to organize themselves

GENERAL CONDITIONS ABOUT THE LTV PROJECTS:

1.- Detailed info sheets will be sent for all the volunteers of each project.

2.- Spanish is the language of the project; the volunteer must be capable to communicate in Spanish and write it fairly well. (if the volunteer need it, can take the Spanish course given before the start of every LTV project)

4.- It would be very good if volunteers could come with a preparation for projects in Latin American countries in order to reduce the cultural shock, but also all volunteers will have an orientation course about the Latin American culture.

5.- An orientation meeting about the project will be given to all the volunteers.

6.- Volunteers will need to bring a sleeping bag and an mattress.

7.- The food is provided in the house where the volunteer will stay from Monday to Friday, the hosting in the community is provided during all the project, the volunteer must bring pocket money.

8.- There is an extra fee will be 250 Euros, that it is used to cover the expenses cost of the training, administration, and evaluations.

WHAT IS A LONG TERM VOLUNTARY SERVICE PROJECT

Voluntary service project is an exchange: An exchange between a person who gives his/her time, work and energy to worthwhile project, and a host community, which offers the volunteer an opportunity to experiment, to learn new things and to develop personal skills and personal capacities.

The Volunteer Service Movement is a way to propose creative solutions to many problems of many different issues such as ecology, recycling wastes, culture problems or even social problems, the volunteers face many facets of the culture where they are volunteering and it is way to have an international experience but also to open the mind to understand different cultures, different ways of living and different people concerned for our world.

The Vive Mexico Long Term Volunteer Service projects lasts for 6 months, during the year 2008 and 2009 volunteers will be involved in different works depending of the camp and the location, please read the information below…

PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR ALL THE LTV PROJECTS IT IS NECESSARY TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK SPANISH AND ENGLISH (OR FRENCH)

SUMMARY LONG TERM VOLUNTEER PROJECTS (LTV) 2008-09

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE LTV PROJECTS ARE THE SAME, ONLY DIFFERENT DATES, THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPECIAL ACTIVITIES BUT THEY WILL BE DISCUSSED WITH THE VOLUNTEERS ONCE THEY ARE IN MEXICO, THE MAIN FOCUS IS THE TEACHING ENGLISH AND/OR FRENCH IN MEXICAN COMMUNITIES, TO SEE MORE DETAILS OF THE LTV PROJECTS PLEASE REFER TO THE INFO SHEETS.
PROJECT: Vive Mexico has been working this Long Term Program since the year 2003 with excellent results. The international exchange and cultural understanding is a important part of the formation for every human being, this project is born from this philosophy, one Long Term Volunteer is needed to work inside of one school in a Mexican community helping with activities with the local youngsters by participating in activities to promote the cultural exchange and learning of the youngsters

WORK: The volunteer will be a part of the school staff, he/she will be giving English and/or French classes for the local youngsters, who are students of the school (the average age of the students is between 15 an 19 year old) and probably the local people of the town, also the volunteer will help to organize local groups of ecology or sports and organize some activities for the people of the town but most of them oriented to develop positive activities for the local youngsters the volunteer will do this together with the teachers of the school.
Please remember the detailed schedule and organization of the activities can not be given to you at this moment due to the long time you will be in the place and because you must agree it with the host project before starting to work in the school also please remember in Mexico the conception of time an organization is far more relaxed than many countries so please be flexible.
Vive Mexico also organizes projects for groups of international volunteers that stay in some communities for 20 days participating in activities for the develop of the town so, in the case the community welcomes a group of international volunteers the long term volunteer will help by participating in the organization of the activities the international group will do in the town.
This information will be given to you once you are in Mexico and this information can change but all the changes will be discussed with you and your local coordinator in the project place. You will also be supported by the local teachers of the school.

PLACE: The possible places of the volunteers are:
Acahuato, Cahulote, Churumuco. Epitacio Huerta, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Las Cruces, Manga de Cuimbo, Paracuaro, Penjamillo, Senguio, Tzintzingareo. There are many other communities but all of them are located in Michoacan State, once the volunteers are accepted the community will be designated to them depending on their skills and experience.

HOSTING AND FOOD: Hosting and food are provided for the period of the project, the volunteer will live with a family.

MONEY: THE VOLUNTEER WILL NOT RECEIVE POCKET MONEY only the food and the hosting so the volunteer should bring money to buy personal supplies and travel during the vacations and weekends and  so on

FEE: 250 EURO
Each Long Term Volunteer has to pay a fee when they arrive at the meeting point in the Vive Mexico Office, this fee is used to pay for the administrative expenses of the project for the time the volunteer is in Mexico,

IMPORTANT REMARKS:  NOTICE THAT IN VIVE LTV 01 THERE ARE 50 PLACES IN TOTAL AND VIVE LTV 02 HAS 50 OPEN PLACES IN TOTAL BUT THE VOLUNTEERS WILL BE HOSTED ONE IN EACH COMMUNITY AND IT WILL BE DESIGNATED DEPENDING ON THE EXPERIENCES AND CURRICULUM VITAE. 

THE PLACE WHERE THE VOLUNTEER WILL BE HOSTED WILL BE DESIGNATED ONCE THE VOLUNTEER HAS ARRIVED TO MEXICO.

SPANISH COURSE FOR LONG TERM VOLUNTEERS
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS ACCEPTED IN THE VIVE MEXICO LONG TERM PROJECTS

Vive Mexico besides the LTV Project it self; gives the opportunity to take part in an Intensive Course of Spanish for all the volunteers interested to develop their Spanish skills and to practice them in the project.

This activity is organized 7 days before the starting date of each project. The volunteers MUST GO to the city of Morelia to take part in it. 

After participating, the volunteer must travel to his/her project meeting point.

The costs for the Spanish language course is:

SPANISH LANGUAGE COURSE			150 EUROS

This cost includes
•	Hosting for 7 days and 6 nights in one house of the city with all facilities at disposal
•	Materials needed for the course (books of theory, books for exercises, etc.)
•	Intensive Spanish classes given by a professional Spanish teacher in the city of Morelia for 3 hours everyday plus homework.

This cost is inexpensive compared with the traditional language courses in the private Spanish schools in Mexico and the people giving the course are professional teachers of Spanish, the classes are 3 hours a day during 7 days and the participants have a lot of home work to do.

There will be a free day generally on Sunday, to give the chance to the participants to visit the nearby towns and interesting places and to know better each other.

The volunteers have to indicate in the confirmation slip if they will participate in these activities and in which dates.

We strongly recommend to your volunteers to take part in it. If they don´t speak a good Spanish, it will help them to enjoy even more their workcamps and their project. It is also the opportunity to spend two weeks in the beautiful city of Morelia in a relaxing atmosphere. For any question don´t hesitate to contact us.

PLEASE GIVE THIS INFORMATION TO ALL YOUR MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS.

THERE ARE NO DEADLINES TO APPLY, A SPECIFIC QUESTIONNAIRE WILL BE SENT, TO BE FILLED OUT BY THE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN TAKING PART IN THIS PROGRAM.

IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT US AT:

ltv@vivemexico.org

Waiting to receive applications from your volunteers, we wish you all the best.

VIVE MEXICO TEAM