We are looking for people committed to solidarity and social justice to be volunteers or interns with our programs supporting empowerment, education, organizing, small enterprises, and free and fair elections!
If you can commit at least 10 weeks in person or online, share your energy and skills with us in the following areas:
Teaching English (No Spanish required)
Marketing for the Language School - NEW
Election Observation Mission (fluent Spanish required)
Women’s Businesses and Empowerment
Marketing for Fair-Trade Crafts - NEW
Clean Water and the Environment
Youth Leadership Development and Scholarships
How You Benefit
Make a concrete contribution to advancing economic and social justice in El Salvador.
Build life-long friendships.
Strengthen Spanish language skills. The CIS offers half-price Spanish classes to all volunteers who commit to a minimum of 10 weeks of volunteer work.
Gain practical experience applying marketable skills, and teaching and facilitation techniques.
Participate in weekend excursions to various points of historical and cultural interest in El Salvador.
Be a part of the international solidarity movement.
Participate in cultural exchange with Salvadorans.
Gain practical knowledge of organizing and social justice issues. For university students, the CIS will coordinate with the academic programs where the student seeks course credit.
Dates
2025 Session 1: January 2 - March 14
2025 Session 2: March 25- May 30
2025 Session 3: June 10 - Aug 29
2025 Session 4: September 9 - November 21
These dates include a 3-day pre-service orientation and training for all volunteers.
Volunteers must arrive at least a day before training starts.
Requirements to Volunteer or Intern
Speak and write advanced Spanish (except English teachers and those in marketing for Salvadoran crafts or the language school)
English teachers must speak English as if it were their first language.
Must commit at least 10 weeks
Cultural sensitivity and interest in social justice
The ability to work collaboratively with program staff and the initiative to work independently on specific projects/tasks
Logistics
We provide orientation upon arrival.
We can provide assistance in finding housing within a network of Salvadoran host families.
All volunteers and interns in El Salvador -- except English teachers -- work a full-time schedule (8 hours per day, 5 days per week).
English teachers commit to a minimum of 10-15 hours per week: a 2-hour class that meets three evenings per week, a discussion group per week, and time for class preparation, meetings and workshops.
Program and Living Expenses
CIS Volunteer Program Fee: $100 (cover training materials, orientation program, some transportation for day-trip excursions)
Travel and Living Expenses: Volunteers must pay their personal expenses, including air travel, room and board, and local transportation. El Salvador uses the U.S. dollar as its currency.
Local Living Expenses to Anticipate:
Housing with Salvadoran families (organized by the CIS) at a cost of $90 per person per week includes breakfast and dinner (for a 4-week minimum stay). Shorter stays and stays for non-volunteers cost $105 per week.
Lunch in the local area costs about $2.50 - $5.00
Most family stays are within walking distance if the CIS office. A one-way bus fare is about $0.25 and Ubers are quickly available for about $2 - $5.
We recommend you budget $700 per month for in-country expenses.
Ask us about discounts for Spanish School classes, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – noon, or pay by the hour for private classes.
Volunteer has special discounts in Spanish classes.
English Teaching Volunteer
The Mélida Anaya Montes English School is looking for volunteers who want to teach English in El Salvador or online.
Check out Our Blog with testimonials from past volunteers!
The school is dedicated to teaching English while facilitating dialogue about social justice in El Salvador and the world.
Contribute to a unique, learning and hands-on educational experience with Salvadoran youth and professionals who want to learn English. It will undoubtedly be both challenging and rewarding and will shape the way you view the world.
Description:
English teachers provide instruction three evenings per week in the classroom or online to small-sized classes with 5 -7 students.
We provide training in teaching English as a foreign language and using the popular education methodology.
It is not a requirement that English teachers speak Spanish. For those interested, Spanish classes are available at half-price.
Optional: Participate in weekend excursions to various points of historical and cultural interest in El Salvador.
Additional teaching and volunteer opportunities are available.
Duties/Tasks
Use CIS training and course materials to lead a 2-hour class that meets three evenings a week.
Lead a discussion group one evening a week
Prepare for class lessons
Attend teachers’ meetings and workshops for volunteers and staff
Preferred/Required Skills
English teachers must be fluent in English. Native English is preferred.
Marketing Intern/Volunteer for Language School
Work principally with the Language School Coordinator to create a marketing plan to increase enrollment of Spanish and English students, and to recruit volunteers to teach English.
You have an opportunity to hone your technical skills and your Spanish, if you wish, in this position.
Tasks/Duties
Learn our model and the context of El Salvador: Understand the Spanish and English School experience including the classes, teaching methods, homestays and cultural exchange program.
Create profiles of people who have visited the school in order to better understand our target markets and effectively market to them.
Promotional materials: Create or suggest content for blogs, social media, websites, etc. Review current written promotional material and create new brochures or flyers where needed.
Outreach and follow up to possible clients, including universities, social organizations, youth travel groups and churches. Create templates for how to create first contact with new organizations.
Investigate opportunities in which contact can be made in person by CIS representatives in other countries (USA, Canada, etc.) at events such as university open houses. Develop corresponding marketing materials
Required Skills
Skills and experience in marketing, social media, graphic design, or communications.
Strong writing skills in English.
English fluency
Spanish skills are not required, but could be helpful to facilitate communication with staff and participants from El Salvador. Spanish classes are available at a discount and can count towards your required hours.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office and basic computer software applications. Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, and basic HTML is a plus.
Election Observation
Mission Volunteers
The CIS is one of few organizations that has coordinated international observers for every presidential and legislative election in El Salvador after the the Peace Accords were signed in 1992. The CIS International Election Observer Missions have earned a respected reputation both in El Salvador and abroad for their professional organization and commitment to a free and fair democratic election process.
The findings and recommendations from the CIS’s election observation reports have served to validate results and put a spotlight on weaknesses in the electoral process. They have been used regularly as a for electoral reform proposals presented by members of the Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), and other electoral institutions and organizations.
Election observers are volunteers who receive specialized training to observe and report on the quality of election processes and the implementation of election reforms. They serve to contribute to oversight of the electoral process, and facilitate a safe environment that enables broad participation. The experience deepens their understanding of the structures that govern the country.
Next Election Date: Sunday, February 28, 2021 (Legislative Elections)
Be a long-term volunteer (3 months): January 3 – March 26, 2021
Be a short-term observer (9 days): February 22 – March 2, 2021
The program volunteer fee is waived for long term volunteers. Some meals are provided during the 8-day observer mission. All volunteers pay for their own flights and living expenses.
Duties/Tasks
Long-term volunteers:
Observe the voting preparation and campaign season leading up to the elections.
Write reports from meetings with political parties, departmental and municipal election boards (JEDS and JEMS), and other institutions.
Coordinate observation in one or more municipal sites and make necessary logistical arrangements for observer teams (communication with election officials, housing, food, transportation, etc.)
Coordinate a small team of observers and translate the weekend of the elections.
Participate in meetings with representatives of political parties, electoral institutions, and local and national organizations.
Prepare training and logistics for observers for the week of the elections.
Assist in collating information for and writing the final electoral report.
Respond to media inquiries.
Synthesize information from recorded observations and synthesize conclusions and recommendations about the electoral process.
Conduct follow-up meetings with government agencies.
All Observers:
Participate in multiple days of training for election observation.
Observe election proceedings (without intervening in the process) in one or more municipality where you are assigned
Record observations and information to be compiled for the final report
Promote the Mission to possible observers in your organization or community.
Requirements
Advanced Spanish Proficiency: Long-term election volunteers must be able to speak Spanish conversationally. Weekly meetings and training leading up to the mission will all be conducted in Spanish. Observers are responsible for coordinating with voting poll sites and must be able to converse.
A commitment to respecting the electoral observation code and Salvadoran laws, and to maintaining objectivity and neutrality. Observers represent the CIS and the international community at all times.
Apply at least one month prior to your start date with a copy of your C.V.
Women’s Businesses and Empowerment Volunteer/Intern
Accompany CIS grassroots promoters to help women improve the performance of their small businesses in rural areas with few economic opportunities and low levels of formal education.
You will learn about the challenges to developing microenterprises, generating income and growing their businesses in these conditions. You will also learn about the strengths and resilience of the women who are persevering and succeeding.
You also have an opportunity to hone your Spanish and technical skills: analysis, writing, workshop development and facilitation, as well as basic business accounting, cost calculations, planning, marketing and strategy.
Leverage your relationships abroad and the CIS’s supporters worldwide to support their growth.
Duties/Tasks
Assist with evaluating the performance of women-led small businesses through interviews and reviews of their records
Write up assessments in Spanish and English
Assist in developing workshops on basic accounting, administration, commercialization, calculating costs, etc.
Assist in developing workshops with CIS grassroots promoters
Preferred Skills
Fluency in both Spanish and English
Strong writing skills, including experience writing blogs and/or reports.
Business, accounting, marketing, or other related skills
Facilitation skills
Social media and/or communications skills
Marketing Intern/Volunteer for Fair-Trade Crafts
Work with our Solidarity Crafts and Women’s Businesses and Empowerment programs to improve marketing and increase sales of crafts handmade by Salvadoran artisans who earn a fair price for their products. You have an opportunity to hone your Spanish and technical skills in this position.
The fair-trade model ensures that producers earn a larger portion of the sales revenues than they would on the open market, so that their income level affords a decent standard of living that includes clean water, food, education, healthcare, transportation and other essential needs.
Duties/Tasks
Learn our model and the context of El Salvador: Visit women’s businesses and fair-trade artisan cooperatives in the CIS network to become familiar with our model, the products the cooperatives produce, and their day-to-day struggles living as artisans in El Salvador.
Create promotional materials: Design and update marketing materials, promotional emails, and an orientation packet. Create a catalog of products for sale during the December Holidays. Update the profile for each participating business or cooperative and design product tags that denote each group.
Contribute to developing sales plans: Assist with developing a plan to promote sales, particularly for the end-of-year Holidays.
Conduct outreach and follow-up with fair-trade partners/clients: Identify new sales venues (fair trade/green stores, solidarity groups at universities and churches, etc.). Build and strengthen relationships with potential partners and customers.
Update the online store: Add new products and manage products that appear in the online store. Assist in collecting photograph images for all products.
Streamline operations: Assist with updating our management and records of inventory and artisan suppliers. Inventory our in-stock merchandise, assess pricing, and calculate the value of the products. Help to streamline the ordering process via the catalogue and internal processes for fulfilling orders.
Develop workshops: Assist the coordinator to develop a capacity building workshop for collective businesses (if bilingual). Plan and coordinate a capacity-building training for artisan collectives and women’s microbusinesses on a topic such as cost analysis, product design and presentation, sales and marketing, sustainable business plans, etc.
Preferred Skills
Strong writing skills in English and/or Spanish are a must. Translation skills are a plus.
Experience or knowledge in the areas of marketing, small business administration, sustainable development of micro-businesses, women’s empowerment, cooperative development, or fair trade.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office and basic computer software applications. Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Publisher, and Website design.
A conversational level of Spanish proficiency is strongly preferred. We strongly recommend enrolling in Spanish classes concurrent with or prior to the internship if your Spanish is not yet at a conversational level.
Clean Water and Environment Volunteer/Intern
Work closely with CIS grassroots promoters to support education, and training in environmental practices, hygiene, and the correct use of water filters in communities with scarce economic resources.
You will learn about water contamination, its impact on health impact, and obstacles to clean water access in under-resourced communities. You will learn about water rights in El Salvador and at the international level, and the impact of international solidarity.
You also have an opportunity to hone your Spanish as well as technical and workshop facilitation skills in this position.
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Duties/Tasks
Assist CIS promoters with workshops that raise awareness about clean water, the right to water, hygiene, the impact of contaminated water on health and the environment. If you have specialized expertise in the environment or related public health fields as well as facilitation experience, you may facilitate workshops.
Distribute water filters and teach households how to use filters correctly.
Visit communities to assess the use and impact of filters and the impact of different filter systems. Record detailed notes of these visits.
Write blogs in English.
Preferred Skills
Fluency in both Spanish and English.
Strong writing skills, including experience writing blogs and/or reports.
Facilitation skills.
Social media and/or communications skills
Expertise in environmental science, public health, chemistry, engineering is a plus, particularly in testing water for parasites, amoebas, bacteria, chemicals or other contaminants.
Youth Leadership Development and Scholarships Volunteer/Intern
Work closely with the CIS Youth Development and Leadership Coordinator to manage CIS records on each scholarship recipient and to develop workshops for youth scholarship recipients to advance their knowledge, analytical skills, and leadership capacity on topics including the environment, gender and human rights, economic and educational opportunities for youth within the Salvadoran context.
You have an opportunity to hone your Spanish skills in this position.
Duties/Tasks
Assist the program coordinator to develop online leadership courses and in-person workshops for youth of ages 14-25 years on diverse topics: the environment, gender equality, human rights, organic gardening, youth leadership, etc.
Synthesize lessons from youth workshops into reports and articles.
Translate the profiles of scholarship recipients from Spanish to English.
Translate program materials and manuals for youth from Spanish to English.
Assist the program coordinator to develop a database of scholarships recipients and manage the records of each student.
Write blogs and brief reports on community visits with scholarship recipients.
Required Skills
Fluency in both Spanish and English.
Skills or experience in online education and/or online course development are a plus.
Strong (English) writing and editing skills, including experience writing blogs.
Knowledge of Microsoft Office and basic computer software applications.
Experience creating document layouts and/or in graphic design with programs like Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Publisher is a plus.
Experience with database management or development is a plus.