Diabetes Volunteer Abroad

Are you seeking to travel abroad to join thousands to help fight diabetes? Are you a health care worker, a diabetic patient, medical personnel/student or a casual volunteer looking to come to Jamaica to help provide diabetes education? Or perhaps you wish to teach Jamaicans about diabetes awareness, management, and prevention? If so then this project was made with you in mind.

Jamaica International Projects has partnered with diabetic associations across Jamaica to have our volunteers lend their skills, time and knowledge to help locals who suffer from diabetes. There are many ways that volunteers can help, from administering blood sugar tests, educating locals on the dangers of diabetes and how to prevent it, and so much more.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you to help prevent the growing cases of diabetes diagnosed in Jamaica each year, and also to reach out to the thousands of Jamaicans living with this disease and help them to manage it. By joining our volunteer for diabetes program you will be helping to set the foundation for many generations of Jamaicans for years to come.

• 10% off all tours & adventures
• Diabetes volunteering certificate
• 40 or more volunteer hours each week
• Daily mentorship sessions
• Jamaican culture course
• Patois (local dialect) language course

No qualifications or experience is required if you are a high school student, or a dental/medical student looking to learn more about the field of dentistry while observing and performing basic tasks.

Dentists, dental hygienists, or other dental professionals seeking to do more advanced procedures, or to fully practice must be certified by a reputable institution in your home country. You are required to submit proof of your qualifications along with your application to join advanced volunteer dentistry abroad projects.

• Students studying Dentistry
• Medical students
• Teens and young adults with an interest in the field
• Mature volunteers
• Couples and families, with at least 1 member being qualified to join
• Corporate groups who operate in the medical/dental field
• Business owners with an interest in dentistry, or who operates in the field

Once you are accepted to join our dental volunteering abroad project, your Project Advisor will get in touch with you to discuss your goals for your project, and the various activities you would like to engage in. You should begin thinking about these activities from now so that your project can make the best impact as possible.

Some ideas you could think about include:

• Go to clinics, schools, and orphanages to educate and train Jamaicans on proper dental practices
• Practice in a private dental firm with a certified dentist to shadow them and assist in dealing with serious oral diseases
• Join a team of dentistry volunteer workers in a clinic to provide practical work in general dentistry, such as scaling, extractions, fillings and root canal work
• Conduct dental health and hygiene expos and presentations
• Provide free dental check-ups in poor communities, schools, and orphanages
• Do a fundraising campaign back home to raise cash and kind to donate to the dental care facility where you will be volunteering
• Plan special activities based on your career, skills, and talents

These are just some examples. Feel free to discuss any other activities you would like to engage in during your project.

Your Project Advisor will accompany you to your volunteer site on the first day of your dental volunteer abroad project to introduce you to the local team you will be working with, show you around the property and assist you with making lunch arrangements. You will get orientation and training from your direct supervisor, who will guide you during your project.

During weekends and some weekdays after you have completed your volunteer dentistry abroad project, you can embark on fun cultural immersion activities and excursions to see some of the top attractions in Jamaica, while you are immersed in our culture. Visit our tour and adventure website to browse all our amazing packages to add some excitement to your dentist volunteer opportunities.

When your dental volunteering abroad project is complete, you will be awarded a Dentistry Volunteering Certificate, signed by our Managing Director. We will also sign any documents that you need to certify volunteer/service hours completed on your trip.

You may collect or purchase cash or items back home that you can take along with you to Jamaica. These resources could range from medical supplies to help with your volunteer work, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, pamphlets/guides, equipment and more.

We will send you a list of needed resources for the facility you are placed in, as well as those needed for the activities you have chosen to do during your dentist volunteer abroad trip.

• Money to purchase lunch ($3 – $5 USD per day)
• Insect repellent to prevent mosquito and bug bites
• Supplies to assist with your project
• A camera to take pictures
• Sunscreen if you intend to play in the sun or sunbathe
• A reusable water bottle
• Comfortable shoes
• Notebook or electronic device to take notes
• Cash for any shopping or excursions
• Water shoes if you plan on swimming

During your volunteer dentistry abroad project you can stay with Jomo, the owner of Jamaica International Projects and his family. This option houses up to 5 people comfortably in a dorm room equipped with air conditioning.

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Couples and groups may choose this 3-star hotel as their accommodation for their dental volunteer programs. We will still provide you with our full support services with this option.

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For groups, you will be able to choose from a wide list of guest houses or hotels close to your project to accommodate your members. You can choose from small guest houses to fancy business hotels, depending on your group’s budget. Of course, we can handle the booking of group accommodations for you if you desire.

Our dentistry volunteer opportunities include daily breakfast and dinner. You will receive mostly Jamaican cuisine, and we cater for all diets and special eating requirements such as gluten allergies, diabetics, vegans and more.

Dentistry volunteering programs include daily 30-minute training sessions on the different aspects of the Jamaican culture. We will cover food, history, traditions, religion, economy, government and more.

Included in your dentist volunteer opportunities are lessons on how to speak, write and understand Patois (pronounced Pat-Wah), which is our local dialect.

All volunteers joining our volunteer dentistry abroad project will receive orientation and support documentation on your date of arrival. Once you are settled into your accommodation, you will be given your finalized itinerary and your orientation guide. During orientation, we will go over project dates and times, transportation, meal times, cultural/excursion activities and you will be given tips on Jamaica.

We also provide daily mentorship sessions for teenagers or a general review of your day’s activities for more experienced volunteers. You are free to discuss the challenges you faced that day, the activities you completed at your project site, your plans for the following day and ask any questions you may have. This is roughly 30 minutes daily.

Our dental volunteering abroad package includes pickup at the Airport closest to your accommodation. We will meet you at the airport with a sign marked “Jamaica International Projects”. You will be transferred directly from the airport to your accommodation.

Each day, you will be transferred from your accommodation directly to your project by a team member. We will also pick you up at your project at the agreed upon time and transfer you either back to the accommodation, to change money/purchase supplies or to a cultural immersion activity/excursion, depending upon your itinerary.

If you book any tours on your dental hygiene volunteer abroad project, you will have a Project Advisor accompany you to point out important landmarks and to function as a guide. You will be transferred to and from all excursions and outings.

Following the conclusion of your dental volunteer abroad program, we will take you back to the airport to catch your flight back home.

NB: All prices below are quoted in USD and are based per person

Once you have decided to join our dentist volunteer opportunities, proceed to the booking form, enter the relevant info, select your preferred payment option (30% deposit or full payment) and submit. After submission, you’ll be sent a list of documents to be submitted, payment instructions and a link to the volunteer application form.

If you are interested but not ready to book, please contact us or submit a message using the enquiry form.

Note: By submitting the booking form you will NOT be making a binding commitment to join the project.

We will review your booking and application within 24 hours and reach out to you via your preferred means of contact. You will get to discuss your goals, skills and ask us questions. This is where you will learn of your acceptance into the program.

If you are accepted into our dentistry volunteering projects, your documents will then become due for submission so that we can fully arrange your placement. These Include:

• 2 Reference letters (1 personal, 1 professional)
• 1 recent photo id (passport, national id, school id or driver’s license)
• 1 police report/criminal background check
• Proof of travel insurance (You can purchase affordable IMG travel medical insurance here)
• Flight itinerary
• Completed volunteer application form

You will then be notified to clear up all outstanding fees and balances (if you made a 30% deposit or made any additional changes to your package).