Amigos de las Americas trains student volunteers to work with partners in communities throughout Latin America, then supports them in community-led service projects that immerse them in the real work of grassroots local development. Work in these communities challenges our volunteer participants into a deeper knowledge of the world, of their partners, and of themselves. They return home not only inspired, but empowered, to pursue careers as catalysts for social change.
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Vision:
A world where each young person becomes a life-long catalyst for social change.
Mission:
AMIGOS de las Américas inspires and builds young leaders through collaborative community development and immersion in cross-cultural experiences.
Values:
Safety First and Always: We prioritize the health and safety of AMIGOS participants above all else.
Youth Leadership: We believe in the capacity of youth to become leaders for positive change.
Transformational Outcomes: We strive to transform participants and communities in measurable ways.
Community-Led: We create socially and environmentally conscious partnerships, through collaboration with communities throughout the Americas.
Diversity Throughout: We promote diversity of participants and stakeholders and work to break down barriers.
Respect: We maintain respect, transparency and high standards in everything we do.
Colorado Chapter participants receive extensive leadership, health and safety and multi-cultural awareness and sensitivity training locally from October until departure to the field program in June. Training is delivered by Training Directors who typically have previously participated in the program and who serve as inspirational mentors. The training activities participants engage in emphasize character building, improving self-esteem, confidence building, leadership skills and healthy living practices. Training topics include community development theory and practice, goal setting, health and safety, youth leadership concepts, multilingual communication skills and multicultural awareness and sensitivity training.
"I remember the nervousness that plagued me before doing AMIGOS. I didn't know what my experience would be, and seven weeks in Ecuador away from my family seemed like an eternity. While I was incredibly excited, I was still apprehensive.
This general unease extended to other parts of my life. As a student in between my junior and senior years in high school, I was faced with making decisions that would impact the rest of my life, and quite frankly, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I am now eighteen, and while I in no way have all the answers, my experience through AMIGOS helped me find parts of myself I never knew existed.
I have learned about my own resilience, how capable I can be, and most importantly, the depths of human compassion, which was largely taught to me by my host family. They helped me and my partners feel at home in a place so different than our own, and they provided constant support and encouragement.
Throughout my time in Ecuador, I fell in love with the Spanish language, the rich culture there, and the work that my partners and I were doing alongside our host community. I realized that was what I wanted the rest of my life to look like. While I do not know the specifics, I want to spend the rest of my life serving and working with others in the way AMIGOS empowered me to do. I hope to never forget the compassion I was shown by my family and to take what I learned and share it with the world." -Leigh, AMIGOS Alum, Ecuador 2014
"This is not only an opportunity to take hold of your independence and best self to change yourself, but an opportunity to make a sustainable impact, however "small", in the world. It is a chance to gain a second family, a second homeland, more friends than you'd thought possible and most valuable of all a broadened world view and understanding of the differences that contribute to the impossibly rich and beautiful diversity of the world. It is a chance to make a summer of memories you'll never forget and make a powerful difference as that it will never forget you." - Perez Zeledon, AMIGOS Alum, 2014
2014 Colombia Alums:
"I've learned that I can't always control of everything and to take risks."
"I'm more comfortable with myself. I have more confidence in my abilities to do just about anything."
"AMIGOS has exposed me to the world. Living in the US is an extremely sheltered way of life. AMIGOS gave me the opportunity to take on a leadership role while learning and integrating into a new culture. I'm a stronger, more confident leader and catalyst for social change because of AMIGOS." - Perez Zeledon
