Description

AYUDA volunteers work with children from low income communities in the Dominican Republic or Ecuador, many of whom suffer from alienation and preventable complications as a result of their diabetes. AYUDA helps bring these children and families support in the form of medical resources, emotional and peer support, and education so that these children may grow into happy, healthy leaders in their own communities. AYUDA volunteers engage in diabetes education and an empowerment camp for kids, Campo Amigo, youth leadership training, rural community outreach projects and family workshops.

Highlights

* Dominican Republic:
1) Empower youth to be role models & leaders of social change who share their knowledge with others
2) Parents and children realize that type 1 diabetes is a manageable condition
3) Strengthen current diabetes knowledge, beginning with the themes of leadership and self-esteem

* Ecuador:
Build capacity, teach and train children, adolescents and their parents how to control type 1 diabetes in order to give them the tools to live a better quality of life.

Qualifications

- Minimum age: 16
- All education levels can apply (from high school students to medical professionals)
- All backgrounds
- No prior diabetes knowledge required
- Intermediate Spanish
- Must fulfill program requirements (attend training, complete fundraising etc)

Languages

• English
• Spanish

Cost in US$:

Volunteers fundraise for these programs.

Cost Includes:

• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• In-country staff support
• International travel
• Pre-departure orientation/Training

Credit Available

yes

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

Age Range

16 and Up

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

in Groups of 8-10

Application Process Involves

• Letters of Reference
• Phone/Video Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Typically The Application Process Time is

Varies

AYUDA (American Youth Understanding Diabetes Abroad, Inc.)'s Mission Statement

AYUDA is a non profit organization whose mission is to empower youth to serve as agents of change in diabetes communities around the world. AYUDA operates under two guiding philosophies: youth can serve as agents of change and a lack of education is just as dangerous as a lack of insulin. By investing in our volunteers and employing a youth-to-youth empowerment model, our programs provide young leaders the opportunity to transform themselves as leaders of social change in the international diabetes community. Their mission is to travel to developing countries where they carry out programs to educate and empower children and adolescents living with diabetes so that they may live happy, healthy, and long lives, and in turn become leaders in their own local communities. AYUDA carries out programs in Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Belize and Bermuda, where volunteers help create and administer national camps for children with type 1 diabetes to provide life-saving education on nutrition, exercise and bloodsugar control to teach critical skills and empower children as they connect with others just like them.

Year Founded

1996