central & south
america

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.

—Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick

Latin America is wilder than its North American cousin, with the world’s largest rain forest and a rainbow of indigenous cultures and ruins—both well known and yet to be discovered—of ancient civilizations.

Unfortunately, the economic gap between the haves and the have-nots is wide in this developing realm, where makeshift shacks and slums sit next to skyscrapers and luxury apartments. The region’s extraordinary biodiversity is under constant threat as its wild places are impacted by its burgeoning economy. Needless to say, Latin America has lots of endangered animals and cultures that could use your help.

In this chapter, look for opportunities to track jaguars, collect butterflies, work in a soup kitchen, harvest coffee, help at-risk preschoolers, and fight AIDS.

Can one person really make a difference? The truth is that most of the problems addressed by volunteers here are complex and caused by years of social and political upheaval. Your stint as a volunteer is perhaps best served by devoting yourself to learning about the myriad forces that keep people impoverished and focusing on the unbridled development that wreaks havoc on habitats. Enhancing your appreciation of other cultures and other landscapes will hopefully inspire a lifelong commitment to creating the just and equitable world that we all really want.