If you’re interested in working as a volunteer in Argentina there are a lot of opportunities in various programs, charities and institutions. For many you don’t need to have any particular skills or even know Spanish, although that often helps.There are so many organizations from which to choose – depending on what your criteria are and how you want to help; for example, whether you want to teach street children or serve up food in one of Buenos Aires’ soup kitchens, whether you are able to pay for the experience, what type of accommodation you want and if you want to study Spanish at the same time. Some organisations can arrange everything for you: a volunteer position, accommodation and language tuition, etc. Many language schools can also arrange volunteer work and it is not always obligatory to have attended a Spanish course. Within Argentina itself there are several volunteer organisations, of which the following are but a few – for further information and details of programs and price check their websites.

Argentine Volunteer Organisations in Buenos Aires

Conviven is a non-profit, non-governmental social organization that promotes the social development of children, teenagers, youths and families, who live in one the well-known shanty town of Ciudad Oculta, where some 10,000 people live in acute poverty and isolation. Volunteers help teach English, mathematics, music, art etc.

LIFE Argentina helps street children and the homeless particularly in the Ciudad Oculta and Villa Inta in Buenos Aires, but also works with the Guarani Indians in the village of Peruti in the northern province of Misiones.

The Academia Buenos Aires offers volunteer work to those students who have completed a three-week Spanish course. Volunteers work with the underprivileged and the disabled, in soup kitchens or teaching English and computer skills. The Academia asks for at least a four-week commitment on any project.

Help Argentina runs a volunteer program Insight Argentina and organises volunteer placements in a variety of social organizations throughout the country. You can learn about Argentine life, experience Argentine culture, and get intimately acquainted with Argentina's most pressing social issues.

Fundación Leer welcomes volunteers to help promote reading among underprivileged children, particularly in Buenos Aires.

Fundación Vida Silvestre recruits volunteers in late November beginning of December each year. Volunteers, who need to be older than 21, receive training before taking up a position in General Lavalle or Mar del Plata in the province of Buenos Aires or in Puerto Iguazu in the northern province of Misiones. Volunteers undertake tasks such as filing photographs, answering letters, emails and the telephone, updating facts on flora and fauna, surveys etc.

Fundación Agreste is a non-governmental organisation in Buenos Aires dedicated to helping and educating communities as well as protecting the environment. It runs several Eco-Solidarity trips throughout the country to distribute donations and provide education and training. Work includes translating, classifying donations, fundraising and updating databases. Agreste can arrange accommodation, Spanish lessons and airport transfer.

Or see Volunteering in Patagonia and Volunteering in Northern Argentina