Summary: ProWorld’s customized faculty-led program abroad are now available in Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, and Thailand.

San Francisco, CA – November 30, 2012 – ProWorld, a social enterprise that offers volunteer, internship, and study abroad opportunities for individuals and custom groups in developing countries, is proud to announce that its customized faculty-led study abroad programs are now available in nine countries on three continents.  

“Our university group projects abroad are perfect for faculty and students who want to do meaningful, sustainable and positive work related to their field of study,” said Adam Saks, director of custom group programs, ProWorld. “These short-term study abroad programs are co-created with local communities to ensure positive impact and long-term success. ProWorld staff provides faculty and students support and guidance throughout the process, to ensure an educational and transformational experience.”

Since 1998, ProWorld has partnered with more than 70 universities nationwide to provide service-learning abroad programs in developing countries. ProWorld projects are designed to have a real and positive impact on the communities while at the same time providing students the opportunity to both learn and contribute. Key university and college partners that have participated in long or short-term study abroad programs with ProWorld include University of Missouri, Princeton University, Iowa State, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, Duke University, and San Jose State University.

“The time we spent in Belize was especially meaningful to me in terms of seeing beginning nursing students interact with patients and actively solve problems independently,” said Arlene Spilker, RN, who led a group of nursing students from San Jose State University to San Ignacio, Belize for a clinical nursing project. “The opportunity for them to experience what it feels like to be ‘the nurse’ is one they will never forget, and also gave them confidence to take with them to their clinical settings.”

Faculty-led custom group projects are for groups of 10 or more and can be customized for most dates and any length. ProWorld provides pre-trip organizational support and materials, intensive onsite orientation, coordination and funding of group or individual development projects, group or homestay living with three meals per day, daily staff support and contact, local adjunct professors (upon request), curriculum development, weekly adventure and cultural experiences, post-program follow up from the community, and extensive safety and liability coverage.

“ProWorld provided the students with an experience that was cultural, educational, and offered various experiences that allowed the students to engage and learn to appreciate an entirely different culture and country,” said Ashton Judis, service learning program director, McMaster School for Advancing Humanity, who led a group of students from Defiance College who worked on an education project in San Jose, Costa Rica. “The students were able to have a better understanding of what it means to be a global citizen by stepping outside of their comfort zone and volunteering in a different culture and country.”

ProWorld’s mission is to empower communities, promote social and economic development, conserve the environment, and cultivate educated, compassionate global citizens. ProWorld was started twelve years ago with the vision of creating sustainable change by working closely and collaboratively with local communities to connect them with global volunteers. 

ProWorld volunteer abroad opportunities focus on important global issues: health, environment and social/economic development. To date, ProWorld volunteers have logged more than 800,000 hours of volunteer service and injected more than $7 million of needed capital into local economies.  

About ProWorld

ProWorld (www.proworldvolunteers.org) facilitates volunteer, internship, and study abroad opportunities for individuals and custom groups with community projects in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  In 2009 National Geographic Adventure magazine listed ProWorld as one of its “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth.” ProWorld is a division of Intrax, a family of organizations that provide a lifetime of high quality educational, work and volunteer programs that connect people and cultures. Intrax is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices on four continents.