Professional Volunteers

A Double Impact Program: Learn, Teach, Serve

Volunteering at CASA can be a rewarding cross-cultural experience. Volunteers may be able to observe the practice of medicine at our maternity hospital and clinic and to visit and/or work in rural communities surrounding San Miguel. If you are a recent graduate or have only a few years of experience in your field, your role with CASA will be more of an observational and administrative one. If you are a seasoned professional, you may have the opportunity to see patients, use our O.R. facilities or teach classes in rural areas. In any case, CASA will help you arrange a schedule and appropriate project that will aid CASA and enhance your experience.

Having international professionals visit and volunteer with our organization is a wonderful experience both for volunteers and for our staff, students and clients. However, we have set up specific requirements so as to not disturb or disrupt the normal function of our services, to achieve continuity of care for our clients and to provide the best possible experience for you. To be a professional volunteer you must:

• Speak Spanish at an intermediate or higher level
• Have several years of professional experience and/or be a medical doctor with at least a year of residency training completed
• Commit to a minimum of 3 weeks, working a minimum of 35 hours per week
• Cover all your expenses, including airfare, local transportation, housing, telephone, fax, e-mail, food, and personal costs
• Submit an application and complete an interview to be considered for the program
• Be willing to help out where help is needed (*see note below)
• Coordinate your own work activities and projects with the staff while functioning with minimal supervision
• Maintain an open, non-judgmental attitude; listen, learn, and experience another culture
• Understand and comply with CASA's rules, principles and operating philosophy

As a host organization, CASA agrees to:

• Read and evaluate your application within two weeks of its receipt
• Provide you with an orientation manual with information about traveling to and living in San Miguel de Allende
• Assist in your orientation to the agency and introduce you to the staff
• Assist you in developing a schedule that will utilize your skills and background

Because our hospital is usually fully staffed, many medical volunteers do not have the opportunity to treat patients there. In addition, midwifery students performing their clinical rotations are often observing the staff, making it difficult for us to accommodate other observers. In the past, some medical volunteers have examined children in our Child Development Center, worked with women in rural communities, or provided continuing education on health-related topics (in Spanish) to midwifery students and lay health advisors. Often, however, medical volunteers have been called upon to work in non-medical areas of the agency. Tasks have ranged from organizing the library card catalog to assisting with development activities.
 
This is the basic outline of our volunteer program. There is always some flexibility for volunteers with specific skills (specialty training, English-Spanish translation level fluency, etc.) and for those volunteers who can commit for a longer amount of time (3-4+ months). If you do not fit one of the volunteer types outlined above, you may qualify for our International Internship Program, which provides internship opportunities to high school graduates and college students or graduates. For more information on the International Internship Program please contact the current interns at CASA.
 

CASA is located in San Miguel de Allende, a small city in the state of Guanajuato in the central highlands of Mexico. Due to the large American resident population in San Miguel, there are many furnished apartments and American amenities available, and rent here is generally expensive compared to other towns in Mexico. You can expect to pay approximately $400 US and up a month for a small furnished apartment with phone line. Food and transportation are fairly cheap, however. San Miguel is a great location for families and children, as there are many schools and activities for families.
 

We are excited about your interest in CASA and look forward to hearing from you soon. In order to begin your application process, you will need to download the application, fill it out, and send it to the current CASA interns by email to be accompanied by 2 recommendations, your résumé (or curriculum vitae), and two essays in Spanish (questions in application document). We will confirm all complete applications upon their receipt and inform you of our decision within a month. Best of luck, and thanks again for your interest.
 

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