Category: YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

In Case You Missed It: Liz, Adelante Benefit Youth Speaker Liz Guerrero went to Nicaragua with AMIGOS for a Gap Program in 2017. She spoke at the Adelante Benefit in San Francisco on April 28, 2018. Below is a transcript of her speech.   Good evening, my name is Liz Guerrero, I am 19 years … Read More

What you need to know before you go abroad Are you or your child considering a summer or gap program in another country? Here are some questions to ask providers (and our answers!) to help you find the right program.   How long have you been running programs? More than 53 years! AMIGOS was founded … Read More

TOUCHING THE SKY By Alyssa Kurke   Alyssa is one of nine students from American University’s Community-Based Research Scholars program who traveled to Cuenca, Ecuador this January. The trip, led by AMIGOS and American University staff, focused on multicultural collaboration, service learning, and models of asset-based community development. Students visited AMIGOS partner organizations, participated in … Read More

Snapshot: Youth Ambassadors The Youth Ambassadors Program, funded by the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, offers community service-minded students the opportunity to travel abroad, stay with a host family, and begin training on a community project they design and implement . After the international exchange, students return home where they implement a … Read More

  Ernesto spent his summer in Maguana, a community in the Dominican Republic. He lived with a host family and worked with people in his host community to complete a project. We got a chance to ask him a few questions about his experience.   Tell me about your CBI (Community-Based Initiative). What did you … Read More

Kirsten: The Value of a Second Summer In 2009, my sister went to Honduras with AMIGOS and in 2014, my cousin went to Nicaragua. I saw how greatly it impact their lives and shaped them into the wonderful people they are today. So I knew I wanted to do AMIGOS for a while growing up! … Read More

  This summer, AMIGOS participants spent their summer in 192 different communities throughout Latin America. In addition to starting or expanding 25 microenterprises, planting 569 trees, constructing 5 bus stops, renovating 7 community kitchens, building 6 sports fields, and refurbishing or laying 5.9 km of trails, AMIGOS participants lived like locals, improved their Spanish, and … Read More

Our 53rd summer in communities throughout Latin America has come to a close, and it’s been a whirlwind! More than 550 participants spent their summer with AMIGOS on 10 different projects in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Local youth participated in AMIGOS programs alongside students from the US … Read More

Discover AMIGOS is a two-week facilitator-led group trip to Nicaragua for students ages 13-15. Participants get an introduction to global leadership by learning about Nicaraguan culture, getting hands-on conservation experience at a sea turtle estuary, spending a weekend with a host family, and collaborating on a community project. This summer’s participants sent updates from the … Read More

Help us tell your story! We invite all Summer 2017 project leadership team members and participants to submit photos, videos, and/or essays about their AMIGOS experience. We’re looking for amazing action, cultural, and scenic photos that tell your AMIGOS story, videos that spark interest in the program, or essays that capture what AMIGOS means to you. … Read More