About the Organization

Feed The Hungry is a non profit agency whose mission is to provide hot, nutritious meals to children in need. They operate 35 kitchens, and feed several thousand children in kindergarten and primary grades every school day of the year. In many cases, this is the only hot meal the children receive; and, once a kitchen opens in San Miguel or one of the surrounding ranchos, attendance at school increases by as much as 20%.

Local women are hired and trained as cooks. They are paid year round, given health insurance and a retirement program. Feed The Hungry also employs a program director and supervisors who visit every kitchen every week.

Job Description

Feed the Hungry (FTH) has more than 100 volunteers who work weekly in their warehouse, and who drive their personal vehicles with supplies to the kitchens they operate.

They have a critical need however, for an intern to help in their office, especially with public relations and event planning activities for Feed The Hungry. Because they keep their administrative costs to a minimum (between 10 and 15%) this allows the large majority of their resources to go directly to program delivery. But it also means that the management team (there are only three) can and does get overwhelmed at times.

The intern will spend at least one day a week in the field, visiting the kitchens, meeting the cooks, teachers and principals, and especially interacting with the children they serve. On those days, the intern will report to the Operations Director.

The other three to four days per week, the intern will report to the Development Director for FTH. Fundraising events are more critical this year than ever before, due to the worldwide economic crisis. Donations have fallen off. As a result, several events are planned for 2009 and the intern will be needed to help organize, plan, publicise, recruit event volunteers, develop promotional materials, and plan and attend meetings.

Office space, a computer and necessary work supplies will be provided. Days and hours vary; some evenings and weekend work will be required, but the successful intern candidate will be given two full days off per week.

During the winter term (January to March), there are also opportunities to teach English a few hours per week in one of the rural communities called Los Ricos de Abajo.

Note: it is possible to do a combined internship with Casa de los Angeles.

# of Positions per term

1

Start Dates

at the beginning of any academic term/semester

Duration of Internship

10-14 weeks

Academic Background

Non-profit managment, event planning, public relations, business administration, human development and family science, sociology or related major.

Skills/Experience

General office skills needed. Experience writing grants would be desirable.

Language Ability

Completion of 3rd year university Spanish or equivalent.

Other Requirements

Interns need to be self-motivated and take initiative.

Total costs vary depending on how long you plan to be abroad, where you will be living, your personal spending habits, and current exchange rates. The following estimates will give you a ballpark figure for this internship. Get help with the math from our handy Cost Calculator.

IE₃ Program Fee

The program fee for the first term of any internship is $2,750 - $2,950. You do not pay tuition in addition to the program fee. Visit your University's IE₃ page for details, costs for additional terms, and campus administrative fees.

Estimated One-Time Expenses

Expense Type	Price
International Travel	$600-$800
Visa Fees
Recommended Immunizations

*See Additional Cost Information below.

Estimated Monthly Expenses

Expense Type	Price/month
Housing	$150-$350
Food	$150
Local Transportation	$50
Recreation	$50
Personal Expenses	$50

Compensation

Small stipend of $6000 pesos to cover housing expenses.

Additional Expense Information

An airport pick up can be arranged which will meet you in Leon and take you directly to the day care center or apartment. (Costs about $40). Note: here may be less expensive flights into Mexico City a ($500-$600) and then a 4 hour bus ride to San Miguel de Allende.

Feed the Hungry website

San Miguel de Allende is one of Mexico's loveliest cities in Colonial Central Mexico and has many sites on the Internet. Two suggestions are INFO San Miguel and Portal San Miguel

About Feed the Hungry's community:

Many people are under the impression that San Miguel de Allende is a wealthy community, and it is when you take into account the numerous grand homes owned by foreigners and Mexicans. However that is only part of the story. When you look at the municipality (similar to a county in the USA) of San Miguel de Allende, some interesting and discouraging statistics emerge.

Of an estimated population of 130,000:

60 % are indigenous

28 % have insufficient food

16 % cannot read or write

61 % have attended only primary school

65 % do not have access to basic health services

15 % live in homes with dirt floors

13 % do not have running water

26 % use latrines

Infant mortality (under 1 year) is 61 per 1000 births

Source: CONAPO (El Consejo Nacional de Población) 2005 That’s why the Feed the Hungry programs and others such as Patronato pro Niños and the state development programs, such as DIF (Desarrollo Integral de la Familia), are so important.