Volunteer with Grounds for Health

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Grounds for Health. Our volunteers are essential to the success of our work. Aside from our local collaborators and small Grounds for Health staff, our in-country training and screening activities depend almost entirely on the dedication and expertise of our volunteers.

If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer, please read this page and complete the volunteer application.

Who can volunteer?

• Licensed health professionals and non-medical general volunteers

What do volunteers do?

• Our medical volunteers are licensed health professionals with expertise in their respective fields. This dedicated cohort includes nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives, physican assistants, physicians, OB/GYNs, pathologists and cytotechnologists. The clinical volunteers participate in our didactic training as participants and facilitators. They then move to the clinical setting and assume key roles as preceptors and clinical mentors of the in-country doctors and nurses.
• Our lab team consists of cytotechnologists and one pathologist. This team collaborates to process all of the Pap smear results generated during the clinical training and screening campaign.
• Our general volunteers are enthusiastic supporters with myriad skills. They assume many essential roles to ensure a successful training and screening campaign. Some of their roles may include: participating in the training of health promoters, assisting with patient registration and clinic flow, running errands, entering clinic results into the computer database and washing instruments.
• Our volunteers typically return every 1-2 years to collaborate with us.

Are there any requirements?

• Spanish language proficiency is required for clinical providers in our Latin America programs. They must speak Spanish with enough fluency to participate in clinical training courses, interact comfortably with patients and serve as effective clinical preceptors and coaches.
• Spanish language proficiency is preferred, but is not required for the lab team.
• For Tanzania, Kiswahili language skills are helpful but are not required.
• All volunteers need to be tolerant, flexible and possess solid interpersonal skills.
• An ability and willingness to interact with people of different cultures is essential—hours are long and the living conditions are simple, but our volunteers consistently report deep satisfaction with their experience.

How much does it cost to volunteer?

• Volunteers pay for their own airfare and lodging.
• Grounds for Health finds lodging for all volunteers in small, clean, modest hotels.
• Volunteers generally budget $500-700 for in-country expenses plus the cost of airfare.
• From the United States, airfare to Latin America costs approximately $800 and to Tanzania it costs approximately $2,000 to $2,500.
• Many volunteers choose to combine their trip with some personal time and arrange their travel accordingly.

How do I apply?

• Mail your Grounds for Health Volunteer Application to:
  • 92 South Main Street #2
  • Waterbury, VT 05676
• Once we receive your application with all required information, we will let you know if your skills match our needs.
• We conduct a phone interview with you and then contact your professional references.
• If you are accepted, we will discuss the dates of our upcoming trips and match you with an upcoming training and campaign.

Have more questions?

Chances are someone else does, too. Please insert your question in the comments below or email volunteer@groundsforhealth.org