Transitions Foundation of Guatemala

Planning on visiting Antigua sometime soon? Transitions is always looking for motivated, passionate and enthusiastic volunteers to add to our programs. All English speaking travelers or Antigua residents are invited to join weekly English Nights (Noches de Ingles), or practice One-On-One English with members of the Transitions Team.

If you would like to help out over a long-term basis, we invite you to volunteer in our Special Education Classroom in San Antonio Aguas Calientes. During your stay, Transitions can help you arrange a Guatemalan host family, Spanish classes, cultural activities and most importantly, the opportunity to truly make an impact in the local community by teaching children with disabilities.

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English Night (Noche de Inglés)

Help the Transitions Team practice their English during our weekly classes! Volunteers - of all Spanish and English levels - will be paired up with a Transitions member who would like to practice with their conversational English language skills. Every week we start with a group activity, and then each pair works together on a wide range of speaking, reading and writing activities. This is a great opportunity for Transitions members to practice their conversational English and for volunteers in Antigua to make a big impact by helping the team to develop a very marketable skill.

One-on-One English Tutoring

Help the Transitions Team practice their English through one-on-one tutoring! Volunteers - of all Spanish and English levels - can visit the Wheelchair Workshop and/or Print Shop for individual 30 minutes sessions to help with English homework and overcome nervousness. The volunteers will have the opportunity to get to know the Transitions team on a personal level and see the incredible work being done by our programs. These one-on-one chats provide the Transitions members with an opportunity to practice their conversational English, which is an incredibly marketable skill to have in Guatemala, especially in Antigua. If you are in Antigua for a week or two, spend a few short hours a day getting to know the Transitions team and truly augmenting your Guatemalan experience by helping the Transitions team develop their conversational English.

Special Education Classroom

Transitions’ Special Education Classroom is always in need of volunteer instructors. As a volunteer you will work in close collaboration with the program’s two main instructors to design lesson plans, facilitate classroom activities, and work one-on-one with the students.

You will immediately be welcomed into an environment that more closely resembles a family than a school. Because Transitions’ Special Education classroom is such a close community, we ask our volunteers to commit to a three month minimum in order to provide the stable environment that has proven crucial to the children’s development.

We are looking for motivated individuals who are eager to provide our students with the best education possible through the use of unique teaching methods, an open mind, patience and understanding.  Transitions can help volunteers find reduced host family living arrangements, Spanish language courses, access to cultural activities, as well as become a valuable part of the Transitions community!

Meet Past Volunteers

Brittany Murlas

"I moved to Antigua to join Transitions on a short-term volunteer assignment.  Nine months later, I had started working on development campaign fulltime and felt like a part of the family. I worked everyday to empower Guatemalans with disabilities but, in the end, they ended up empowering me."

Micky Kay

"When I came to Transitions, I had no idea what a wonderful group of people I'd be sharing the next six months of my life with. The Transitions family - and they really are a family - welcomed me into their midst and made me feel completely at home, as they do with all of their guests and clients. Furthermore, I soon came to see the importance of the work they do, and couldn't help but want to contribute as much as I could. Transitions' mission is unique among the many organizations I've worked with over the years: people with disabilities helping other individuals with disabilities, in a country where the need for such assistance is direly high. It's great cause, and I immediately wanted to support it as best I could. So, over the next half year, I worked with Transitions to do what we could. We worked together, we played together, we lived together, and in the end it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life."