Amigos de las Américas

Amigos de las Américas (or AMIGOS) is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas dedicated to creating opportunities for young people to excel in leadership roles promoting public health, education, and community development throughout the Americas.

History

AMIGOS was founded in 1965 by Guy Bevil, Jr. Bevil served as the youth director for River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston and in that capacity took over 250 young Houstonians to Honduras by caravan with the intention of giving polio vaccinations. Out of that initial summer, what was known as Amigos de Honduras grew to become Amigos de las Américas. Since the initial project in Honduras, AMIGOS has expanded to many different countries including Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, The Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Peru, though some countries do not currently have active projects.

Other founders recognized by AMIGOS are H. Kirby Atwood, Sr., Searcy Bracewell, Raymond Cook, Ed Frank, Jr., Carlos R. Hamilton, MD, Victor Huvelle, Mariann and John Marshall, Ed Morris, and Wilson J. Pais.

Today

Currently, the organization is officially non-religious and unaffiliated with any government or educational institutions. AMIGOS' primary function is holding summer programs in various countries, in which high school and college-aged volunteers live with host families in rural villages for five to eight weeks. Volunteers are partnered with one or two other volunteers in carrying out health, education, and environmental programs, ranging from latrine construction to formation of youth groups to teaching HIV prevention and dental hygiene. Amigos offers a range of programs that volunteers can participate in - Healthy Households/Healthy communities, Youth-to-Youth Development, Digital Media/Technology and Community Nutrition/Agriculture. The programs are carried out in partnership with host agencies, which have included Save the Children, Plan International and the governments of the various countries above. Asset-based community development is at the core of AMIGOS projects.

Each year, over 700 young people take part in AMIGOS' various Latin American programs. The AMIGOS International Office hopes to double that number within the next ten years- by its 50th Anniversary. Over 20,000 people have participated in the program since it began.

Program Organization

Although the organization began in Houston, it now has chapters all over the United States, including six in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento/Davis, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Tucson, Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, three in the Houston Area, Austin, Madison, Minneapolis/St. Paul, 2 chapters in Chicago Area, Kent, Ohio, Kansas City, Washington, DC, Boston, Orange County, and New York.

The international office is still located in Houston and employes a small staff year-round to manage the programs. Emily Untermeyer, who was the first female project supervisor in the late 60's, is the President and CEO.

AMIGOS encourages returning project volunteers to take leadership roles within the organization. Each project (generally organized geographically and thematically) is led by a Project Director (PD), who is aided by an Assistant Project Director (APDs). Senior Project Supervisors (SPSs) and Project Supervisors (P-Sups) oversee individual community projects and act as liaisons between the senior staff and the volunteers. Veteran volunteers can also stay active by joining a local chapter board.

External links

* [http://www.amigoslink.org Official website]
* [http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=5662 Charity Navigator page]
* [http://community.amigoslink.org AMIGOS Alumni Online Community]