Scholarship and Youth Formation Assistant

The general objective of the Youth Formation and Scholarship Program is:

To ensure that economically disadvantaged youth from organized communities have access to a formal education (High School and University) and reach a level of social awareness in order to contribute to the development and transformation of their communities and El Salvador.

The volunteer program can be flexible depending on each volunteers skills and interests, but it often involves translating profiles for scholarship students, visiting communities, participating in meetings for the scholarship committees, preparing information in both English and Spanish about student progress, and the situation in each community/program.  Volunteers can also participate in the planning of events, forums, workshops, and training sessions given to scholarship recipients.  On any given week, you may spend a couple days planning a workshop in the office, one or two days out making visits and doing the workshops and then spend the following days in the office reporting on those visits, recording in both English and Spanish what happened and looking for ways to improve the program or experience for scholarship students.  

The work will be based out of our San Salvador office, but volunteers must be prepared to travel to small rural communities all over El Salvador in trucks together with other employees to visit scholarship students. You will work under the supervision of the the Scholarship coordinator and the Director of CIS.  The material produced by volunteers is usually either sent to sister organizations who donate the financial support for scholarships or is used as part of the formation

8 afternoon outings are also provided with our PPC program, which provides a bilingual guide who can take you around the San Salvador area to share Salvadoran history, culture and current reality.  This is done to provide context to your work.

El Salvador is a beautiful country with many attractions close by. The CIS employees and homestay families are both happy to help you find things to do in your spare time that interest you most.
Some of the highlights include:
The 'Ruta de las Flores' or the flower route, which is located in a mountainous coffee area and is known for hikes, waterfalls and crafts.
The beaches of La Libertad: A string of beaches about an hour away from San Salvador, known for surfing and tourism. El Tunco beach specifically is a hotspot for nightlife and surf lessons
El Boqueron is a volcano on the edge of San Salvador with a place to walk near the top of the crater and has great views. On the way up the volcano, there are many beautiful restaurants with great views and also an eco-park for nature walks.
Volcanoes Santa Ana and Izalco are great hikes. They are in the same area and hikes leave from the same park. Izalco is a steep uphill climb on gravel, and Santa Ana has a breathtaking view of a turquoise sulfur lake from the top.
In addition to these, there are many beautiful other places. Some people even zip over to Guatemala for the weekend!