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An excellent starting point to search for current volunteering opportunities is at www.idealist.org, part of global NGO, Action Without Borders. The website contains a comprehensive list of local organizations, and allows users to sign up for alerts when new opportunities for jobs or voluntary placements appear.

Another useful resource centre is South American Explorers. Annual membership of this ex-pat club costs US$50, and entitles the individual access to its database of volunteer agencies, amongst other things. The website also contains information about volunteer and intern positions at the clubhouse itself in Buenos Aires (Estados Unidos 577, Tel:(5411) 4307-9625).

There are hundreds of small, grass-roots organizations in Buenos Aires that can be found if you are already in the country and have an advanced level of Spanish. Such places are difficult to locate, will not always be able to accommodate foreign volunteers or offer a wide range of projects to work on, but can be equally rewarding, and certainly off the beaten path.

A good place to start looking is in the ‘solidarios’ section of the classifieds in national daily La Nacion, which also has a more comprehensive ‘Comunidad’ monthly supplement. The local government website also provides information on volunteering in the capital. If a religious connection is not a deterrent, then many churches and synagogues run outreach programs in the poorer neighborhoods. You can also visit Volunteer South America which lists a lot of free and low-cost volunteer oportunities

Finally, the best way to find these more obscure opportunities is through contacts on the ground: in Buenos Aires there is always somebody who knows somebody who is friends with an NGO worker or volunteer, so it’s worth asking. Good luck!

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