Hogar Los 4 Vientos

About Hogar Los 4 Vientos
Hogar 4 Vientos is an orphanage located in the 7th ring of the city of Santa Cruz. There is currently 42 children, having been placed there after being abandoned, orphaned or found living in the streets. The children are aged 4 to 14 years.

The home is their house, their family, and their school. Cuatro Vientos provides all their necessities from the very basic needs to nutrition, education, health, and psychological assessment.

More information about the charity can be found on their website http://www.hogarcuatrovientos.org – note that it’s written in Spanish only and has not been updated in a while.

Volunteering
Prospective volunteers should be ready to help in a manner that assists the regularity of and does not disrupt the lives of the children (i.e. you are not always there just to play with the kids!). During the week the home is very academic, the children have college in the mornings which is followed by lunch. On these days, assistance is required between 3 and 5pm to assist the children with their homework. Weekends are more fun with assistance needed to supervise the children as the play – now is the time for more fun and games! They are particularly interested in volunteers happy to work on Sundays when just 1 supervisor is currently available for all the kids. You would be able to negotiate you volunteer hours for example choosing to work Saturdays and Sundays then 2-5 Monday to Wednesday with Thursdays and Friday to rest. We should note that volunteers willing to work on Sundays wil be favored over those who are not.

Prospective volunteers should be experienced in working with children, either in the education or other fields and speak a reasonable level of Spanish. Assistance is also sought in the health areas – particularly if you have skills in the area of psychological diagnosis. Other skills are also welcome – please email your enquiry.

Level of Spanish Required and Minimum Volunteer Periods
PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST THIS VOLUNTEER POSITION IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF SPANISH. Volunteers should have at least a high level of Spanish (or be learning and almost there) and be able to deal authoritatively with the children so they do not run amuck! To ensure there is minimal disruption to the children’s daily lives, minimum volunteer period is 3 months.

Costs or Inclusions
Volunteer assistance is very much appreciated and there are no fees or participation costs to volunteer. In most cases volunteers will need to organise and pay for their own accommodation and support themselves financially while working with this charity. In some cases, where a volunteer will be long term (3+ months), accommodation on site may be organised.

Apply
Send enquiries to info@jodanga.com 

How I got in contact with this charity
I found this charity while roaming the 7th ring trying to find another orphanage, Hogar de la Esperanza, located nearby. I was lucky enough to meet the director, Spaniard Pedro Bermejo and discuss his volunteer program. He frequently receives volunteers through ONG organizations in Spain and we hope to fill the gaps with volunteers through this site.