Outreach 360 Nicaragua

Whether you’re traveling with your family, school, or by yourself, you’re welcome to join Outreach 360, a service program and fundraising organization.  During the winter break of my junior year, my mom and I volunteered in Jinotega, Nicaragua through Outreach 360. After learning that Nicaragua is considered the poorest country in Central America, I wanted to fly down and offer any assistance I could. Not only did I want to volunteer, but I also wanted to explore a new country and believed that a service trip was the perfect way to do so.

Outreach360 requires volunteers to fulfill a minimum program donation that covers meals, housing, ground transportation, insurance, and professional team leadership. I raised funds through the sponsorship of family and friends along with contributing some of my personal savings. With the donation paid for and plane tickets purchased, my mom and I flew down to the rural, central highland town of Jinotega. Since our winter volunteer group was only the second in Nicaragua for the organization, we stayed in a hotel for the week. Now, volunteers stay at the Outreach360 volunteer facility, that we actually helped paint and clean up during our stay.

We started our week with an orientation, where we got to meet our fellow volunteers. During the week, we spent our mornings at a nearby community center where we served the elementary school aged children breakfast and lunch and taught them English and Spanish literacy. By teaching them to read and write, I also improved my Spanish! During our free time, we explored local Nicaraguan culture. We walked through the town’s cobbled streets, strolled through the outside markets, and played cards and board games with the other volunteers.

During our last day at the learning center, we celebrated with presents and a piñata in a post-Christmas and Pre- New Years party. I had gotten so close to the kids in such a short amount of time and they had grown attached to us too; some of them even started crying as we said our good-byes. The following day, we hiked through the cloud forest and then got a taste of the popular Nicaraguan coffee industry. Ultimately, I loved my service trip experience and took the volunteer route again when I traveled to Peru.  Not only will the place you’re traveling to benefit, but you’ll find yourself transformed as well.