International Sites
- Corozal Town, Belize: In our seventh year of partnership with The Belize Project and first year partnered with the MicroFinance Club, volunteers will work with the organizations on one of several projects in small villages near Corozal. Participants will be interviewing potential microloan recipients, working in small businesses or on farms alongside current loan recipients, and helping educate rural communities about entrepreneurship and business strategy. The trip also concludes with a weekend at a beach resort.
- Jacob's Farm at Corozal Town, Belize : Manna is very excited to announce we will be offering TWO trips to Corozal Town Belize. This group will work with the Belize Project on one of several projects. Options include constructing a new house for a women’s group that supports single and abused Belizean women, working with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and working alongside patients at Jacob’s Farm, the country's only drug and alcohol rehabilitation farm in a rural village called Patchakan. This trip also includes the weekend flight to San Pedro Beach for a day!
- Altamira, Costa Rica: Altamira is a beautiful, small village located in the southern mountains of Costa Rica, where people live as if they were one big family. Volunteers stay at the ASOPROLA Lodge and work on various community improvement projects including planting coffee (the village’s main product and source of income) and constructing outdoor game fields. The leaders of ASOPROLA have worked very closely with site leaders in the past to cater the service trip to what that site leader and group enjoy. Volunteers also get to spend quality time with the local people, take trips to a few waterfalls and rivers around the area!
- MPI Ecuador: Quito, Ecuador is one of Manna’s permanent sites. The organization here offers great opportunities for volunteers to work directly with members of the community in educational, agricultural, and literacy pursuits. Participants also provide support for the site’s business development efforts. For the weekend, there are lots of great activities, including visiting local markets and different day trips to Quito! Volunteers live right in the Manna house and interact with the program directors.
- De La Gente at San Miguel Escobar, Guatemala: De La Gente offers amazing service opportunities with the community in San Miguel Escobar. As a center for growing coffee, participants will work with local farmers to learn the trade and help with the coffee making process. Activities will also include construction projects, artisan workshops, and eating meals with locals in the community.
- Xela, Guatemala: Primeros Pasos is a medical clinic located 15 minutes outside of the city of Quetzaltenango (Xela), the second largest city in Guatemala. The clinic serves as the primary location for health care services for the rural population surrounding Xela, and has implemented education programs for both the women and children of the area. Participants have the opportunity to fix up the medical clinic, meet local villagers, and partner with local schools to teach students healthy sanitation practices. Situated at around 8,000 feet above sea level, the city is surrounded by a beautiful volcanic mountain range – so when teams aren’t doing service, they often take a day to explore or hike.
- MPI Nicaragua: MPI Nicaragua was Manna’s first permanent site. Volunteers work with young kids and students in two different communities helping with the Manna English and Mathematics programs, along with other fun, cultural classes.There are also opportunities to provide assistance for the community’s MPI-run medical clinic, La Chureca, and to contribute to local community development projects. Volunteers live in the Manna house in rural Managua with current program directors and can visit the beach and a nearby volcano for a weekend trip.
- Panama Trails at Penonomé, Panama: Volunteers travel to Penonomé, the capital of the Panamanian province of Coclé. In Penonomé, volunteers will work with the Asociación Panameña de Turismo Sostenible. This organization seeks to promote sustainable tourism in Panama. Participants will themselves experience all the adventures Panama offers to tourists first-hand. Participants will also fly into Ciudad de Panamá, the only capital in the world with a rainforest within its city limits.
- The Dominican Republic: Volunteers who travel to the Dominican Republic will work with Niños Con Una Esperanza, which employs the overarching motto that children have the right to hope, dream, and live. Founded in 2003, the organization works in a marginalized community in Santiago. Members of the community, including children, work in a nearby garbage site to find recycled items to resell. Niños provides a structured alternative for these children by providing academic learning and social development. When they aren't working on a service project, trip participants will have the opportunity to explore local beaches and towns.