Construction Programs—Volunteer in Costa Rica!

Best experience ever. Wonderful to see a country from the inside out. All Maximo people and host family were excellent. Hope to do this again in a few months

This was my first experience volunteering outside the US. My daughter has been wanting to do a trip like this for a long time. She did all of the initial research, picked Costa Rica and IVHQ. Being a careful father, I dug a little deeper. Beyond a few small issues, both organizations seemed credible. From the beginning IVHQ was responsive, professional and helpful. Once we were registered for the Costa Rica program Maximo NIvel (IVHQ's partner in Costa Rica) came into the picture. Between the two of them we received a lot of information and they were quick to answer questions and respond to requests. As we got closer to the trip Maximo Nivel took over. Upon arriving in Costa Rica everything happened pretty much as planned. As their instructions state, be patient and flexible. Unexpected things happen but it is part of the adventure. Part of the program is staying with a local family. Our family was great. The home was clean, safe and comfortable. And the food was great. We enjoyed getting to know them and it definitely was an enriching part of the experience. I worked on a construction project in a town outside of San Jose. It was a center for woman in recovery with their children. We built a closet, replaced a sidewalk, painted and did a few other things during the week. It was a great experience and required a lot of ingenuity, which I enjoyed. In the afternoon I took Spanish. Maximo provides classed for all levels. I am a beginner and I ended up with private lessons. I was apprehensive, but this ended up being a favorite part of my trip. Excellent experience and I can continue on-line if I choose. Maximo Nivel also partners with a tour agency that picks you up from the airport, can return you for a a reasonable price and will help you with almost any conceivable tour of Costa Rica in which you are interested. My daughter and I took two tours together that were quite good. She went on two adventures with friends she met here. Overall the the trip was a great adventure and a wonderful bonding experience with my daughter. I would highly recommend IVHQ (at least for Costa Rica) and most definitely Maximo Nivel. I have been very impressed with their professionalism, attentiveness, friendliness (no dumb questions) and they helped us with a challenging situation with our host family. If you have been thinking about doing something like this. This is a great way to do it. Dixon Smith

I volunteered in the field construction and renovation in San José, Costa Rica. The project was outside of the city. I felt safe because i had the best instructor ever. His name was Danillo. I enjoyed being a part of this group. We were building a classroom for kids. It was such a delight to see the progress we made. It just makes you feel good. So girls don't be afraid for signing up at this field. You will not regret it!