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Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Credibility – Compañeros has been operating as an international social enterprise since 2001, long before either social entrepreneurship or Nicaragua were popular. Compañeros is truly making a difference, not simply selling a story. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Focus – Compañeros walks the talk in Nicaragua. It's not commercializing volunteer trips as a consumption item from which Canadians can select a cross-cultural flavour of the month, but actually growing lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. 100% of our focus is on Nicaragua. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Accountability – Compañeros is financially transparent and spends the vast majority of its revenue in Nicaragua on people, programs, and projects, not property, public relations, or foreign personnel. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Fairly Affordable – Compañeros offers a high quality experience for fair price that intentionally distributes tangible (e.g. short tern employment) and intangible (e.g. cross-cultural learning) benefits through its entire supply chain. Unlike some other organizations in this field, it exploits neither Canadians nor Nicaraguans. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. License to Operate – Compañeros has been invited by communities to work with them and collaborates with, not sidesteps, Nicaraguan public, private, and non-governmental organizations to achieve common goals with a public purpose. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Program Results – Compañeros has operated safe, meaningful, and fun volunteer service and cross-cultural learning experiences for 1,054 participants from private, faith-based, and academic institutions that have positively influenced people’s studies, careers, faith, and life perspectives. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Project Impact – Compañeros has proof of success -- 14 partnerships, 149 projects, 12,135 beneficiaries – in community-driven infrastructure, education, health, and well-being projects. See our Summary of Impacts. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Network – Compañeros´ extensive network across Nicaragua and Canada provides width, depth and multiple points of access and entry for participants, partners, and prospective friends and allies. Due to the current crisis in Nicaragua, we have paused our Canadian participant programs. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will resume activities when it is safe and productive to do so. Please contact us to discuss how you can support Nicaraguans at this time. Staff – Compañeros uplifts and employs under favourable working conditions local, qualified, knowledgeable, skilled, committed Nicaraguans who exemplify the qualities and potential of the country.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua, a beautiful country with almost 6 million young citizens, and the largest land mass in Central America comparable to the size of New York State, is ranked by the United Nations (http://hdr.undp.org/en) as the second poorest country, after Haiti, in the western hemisphere. Natural disaster and a storied... 

Financial

As a social enterprise registered in Canada and Nicaragua, Compañeros Inc raises private funds for public purposes. It is a business that leverages human and financial capital with a variety of stakeholders to voluntarily achieve social goals.YE17 Financial StatementsYE16 Financial StatementsYE15 Financial Statements2010-2015... 

Projects

Since 2001 Compañeros Inc has coordinated 1,184 participants in 179 community development projects, each identified in close collaboration with local leaders, agencies and organizations in North and Central America. In 2015 Compañeros Inc will be focusing on education projects at Los Quinchos School in Managua, the construction... 

About

About us

Founded in 2001, Compañeros Inc is a private social enterprise legally registered in Canada and Nicaragua. It is dedicated to organizing respectful volunteer service and cross-cultural learning programs resulting in the development of better communities in Canada, the United States, and Nicaragua.With its proven track record of leveraging capital and catalysing volunteers, local labour, individual and corporate contributors, civic agencies, and academic institutions, Compañeros... 

 

Participants

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Group Leaders

Thanks usually to the initiative of a few highly motivated and committed individuals in a school, a university, a business, a civic organization, or a faith-based site, 90% of participants join our programs in a group of some sort. Group Leaders are the good folk who voluntarily communicate, organize and implement the experience collaboratively with Compañeros on behalf of the group. Please read, download, or print the following documents for Group Leaders: Group Leaders Checklist Host Family Form Email Contact Form Emergency Contact Form T-shirt Order Form List of Cash Donations List of Material Donations Compañeros participants come from... 

Preparation

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Please use the many valuable resources available to assist your pre-departure, in-country, and post-travel integration experience. In our Pre-Departure Guide you can find helpful checklists of What to Bring, Health and Safety Advice, and Emergency Contact info. As well, gain insight into What This Trip is About, Roles & Responsibilities, Group Dynamics, Expectations, Nicaragua, Fundraising Ideas, and Useful Spanish Phrases. To read, download, or print, click the Pre-Departure Guide The following Reflection Tools provide some thoughtful suggestions for both preparing for and following up on your experience.... 

Host Families

For many participants, one of the most anticipated aspects of their program is living with a Host Family. Compañeros has screened and worked with the same trusted Host Families for years. Between 2-6 participants are placed per home and share meals, bedrooms, and bathrooms.Host Families are contracted to provide each person with safe and comfortable accommodation, meals, water, and cross-cultural contact. All families have previous experience hosting and are supporters of the program and project you are involved in Nicaragua. English speaking skills ranges from none to some.The Host Families are not located in the barrio where the service project takes... 

Reviews

Read what past participants have said and written about their Compañeros experience. “Comfortable cultural immersion, rewarding work, and a worthwhile intern experience that gave me plenty of personal and career insight about my place in the world” – Toronto, Ontario “Preparation, organization, and execution of the trip were all of the highest quality and made our service learning program in Nicaragua a success” – Montreal, Québec “Challenging socio-economic conditions offset by an effective volunteer placement, incredible landscape, and inspiring people who showed me how to make a difference” – Vancouver,...