Amigos de las Americas

Amigos de las Américas (or AMIGOS) is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas that creates opportunities for high school and college-age students to collaborate with local communities in leadership roles to promote public health, education, and community development throughout the Americas. Amigos trains and sends young volunteers from the United States to various locations in Latin America where they live with a host family for five to eight weeks.

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...
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