Peace Corps, Lite
Volunteer Adventures help save the world, two weeks at a time.

By Kazia Jankowski
Published: July 2006

STICKY BRAZILIAN HUMIDITY hangs in the midafternoon air of Hannah Allen-Yeager's classroom.   In the middle of Rio's drug-torn slums, the 24-year-old American is teaching English to students ages 12 to 14. The lesson is grammar. The unit, food.

"How do you say 'chocolate pizza' in English?" a student asks, referring to the flaky chocolate-smeared, banana-topped pastry common in Brazil. Allen-Yeager explains that in America there's no such thing. "Que Chato," how boring, declares the student, and the class roars in agreement.

Allen-Yeager doesn't disagree. She's happy, having introduced her students to the English phonetics of banana and chocolate. And that means she is one step closer to meeting the long-term goal: making sure these kids speak English well enough to get out of the slums and into college.

It's a monumental task–one that will need maintenance long after Allen-Yeager leaves Brazil. For that, there's Solar, the Brazilian nonprofit school where Allen-Yeager teaches, staffed in part by a Denver-based company that sent her and other volunteers.

Volunteer Adventures is a cultural-immersion/humanitarian program that, since its inception in 2005, has paired 500 volunteers worldwide with about 25 organizations in need. Its purpose is twofold: provide crucial aid to the foreign organizations that would not otherwise have international volunteers, and give participants the opportunity to learn about a culture and a new language in a nontraditional setting. It's like the Peace Corps, with a much shorter time commitment.

Before these volunteers jet across the globe for their two-week or multimonth stint, they have to decide on a program. Fund-raise with public-health educators in Buenos Aires? Sweat in the trenches in Zimbabwe's national parks? Work at a rural daycare center in India?

With such variety, the choice can be tough. And it's not cheap–the fee ranges from $1000 to $2000 for two weeks, buying you guidance through the visa process, home-stay arrangements, a job, health insurance, and language classes. Money aside, you'll get the sense of accomplishment and purpose that only the traveler-turned-volunteer can feel. For more info, call 303-785-8887 or visit www.volunteeradventures.com.

Kazia Jankowski
5280 Magazine