This assignment improves confidence and communication skills and is the perfect outlet for your energy and creativity! Schools are overcrowded, so teachers are a precious resource and are always welcome. One constant options is to lead spoken English classes. Some English classes are run through Santa Elena's "Casa de Cultura," a cultural center located in the library. Classes vary in size and can be arranged with children or adults. Fluent Spanish is not necessary. Another option is to involve yourself in the "Socialism of the 21st Century" through President Hugo Chavez's Misión Ribas program. Misión Ribas provides remedial high school level classes to some of the five million Venezuelans who dropped out of high school. Many of these classes are taught by Cuban videos and a small workbook. Therefore even high school-level knowledge in any subject would be a great improvement and very well received. This option is only for those willing to make a longer term commitment (so that students can be taught a good amount before the volunteer leaves.) You could lead spoken English classes, improving the pronunciation and conversational skills of young children and adults. You can let your creativity run wild with songs, games and role play activities in classes of about 6-12 pupils. One of the main goals within the educational area is that our children learn English. As our children are from 4-14 years old, they will learn English immediately without Spanish accent. Therefore you do not necessarily need to speak fluent Spanish. On this conversational English teaching project, you can pass on a valuable vocational skill that will help Venezuelan teenagers. Different Teaching & Tutoring opportunities are teaching at the local music school or assist teaching arts, craft and ceramics or help with computer classes for children and teenagers at the local computer centre with internet-connection or teach sports and help with homework. Assist with Play Therapy or recreational and developmental activities and help organize special events with our Mobile School.
ACTIVITIES CAN INCLUDE:
• Teaching English, math or science classes in local schools (likely to a large class)
• Help teach computer classes for children and teenagers at the local computer center
• Teaching English classes at Chavez's Misión Ribas program
• Organizing special educational events
• Teaching English classes to children aged between 4 and 14 years old
• Assist teaching at the local music school or arts, craft and ceramics at the cultural center and our Community & Therapy Center
• Help teaching simple wood work to young people at our Community & Therapy Center or by passing on vocational carpentry & building skills
• Helping with homework
• Assist with supervising recreational, developmental and therapeutic activities for special need kids who visit our Community & Therapy Center
• Help with our Mobile School as Teacher assistant
REQUIREMENTS:
No previous experience or special skills are required, but participants need to be enthusiastic, willing to learn, ready for a challenge and have a desire to work with children. Friendliness, care, commitment and patience are among important qualities. Take delight in the children’s progress through interaction and play, as well as the charming nature of the bonds formed between children and volunteers. You do not necessarily need to have previous teaching experience. Staff and other volunteers will support you when you start teaching and tutoring. You do not necessarily need to speak fluent Spanish to be involved in our day cares or at your classes as a teacher, however basic Spanish is very useful. Volunteers with experience are strongly encouraged to apply. To prepare yourself you might want to take a teaching course at home and find supplemental teaching aids. This gives you the confidence to face your first class knowing you have the practical skills you will need throughout your work placement. However, we have various materials available that will help you plan your lessons and you will be accepted as a teacher even if you do not have any TEFL certificate. Creativity and enthusiasm go a long way! Also in schools you may be working with other teachers and/or other volunteers. A typical volunteer with this program comes without a lot of previous experience but has a number of ideas and enthusiasm, takes initiative and dedicates a lot of caring and passion to the position.
AVAILABILITY:
Ongoing throughout the whole year. Mobile School and educational/recreational activities run by our Foundation are ongoing throughout the whole year. Public school related activities are not taking place during holidays
VOLUNTEERING WITH PEACE VILLAGES
Volunteering is a great way to experience another culture, make new friends and learn new skills. The beauty in volunteering lies in the fact that you are not simply passing through as a tourist. You are interacting with the community, building relationships and making a positive impact. It is an experience that may well change your life! Volunteers are the driving force of Peace Villages' work, both through their volunteering and through their financial contributions. We have various programs currently underway and run by volunteers, as well as the long term expectation of opening a large multi-faceted Therapy Center. Volunteers, through their donations and through volunteer work done on the Foundations grounds are helping us to create this center. We encourage volunteers to form schedules which work for them, and to work in any combination of programs. Volunteers decide how many hours they want to work. We recommend a minimum of 4 hours daily for 4 days a week. You may work as many days/hours you wish. We emphasize that we focus on excellence and not on quantity! All travel costs to Santa Elena, Venezuela must be covered by the volunteer. Budget at least 35 € Euro for in-country travel (including meals along the way) on top of whatever your plane ticket costs (likely at least 330 € Euro depending on where you´re coming from).
Costs depend on length of stay. There are three accommodation options which include:
• Volunteer placement in the program/s of your choice
• Accommodation, meals and laundry depending on the accommodation option of your choice
• Placement introduction and hand-outs, supervision, regular briefings
• Regular supervised Spanish language conversational opportunities
• Certificate and/or written reference upon successful completion of volunteer placement
• Free participation with weekend excursions and opportunities for cultural exchange whenever scheduled and organized by Peace Villages volunteers
• Full support and 7 days, 24 hour back-up from our local staff
• Peace Villages T-shirt
• Santa Elena bus terminal pick-up. Our staff will welcome you to the Peace Villages home-base upon arrival to Santa Elena and ensure that all of your needs are met - from a safe and comfortable place to stay, to unparalleled access to perspectives and insight about the local culture
Most volunteers will spend less than Euro € 60 a month on other personal expenses while here, but this depends on how you like to live. For more detailed information check
http://www.peacevillages.org
TYPICAL VOLUNTEER
We welcome individual volunteers, families and groups regardless of age, experience or background. You don't have to speak fluent Spanish as we provide full support and 24 hour back-up from our local staff. Volunteers and interns are the driving force of Peace Villages' work, both through their volunteering and through their financial contributions. Volunteering with us is a great opportunity to work side by side with locals, learn new skills, study Spanish, and immerse oneself in the Latin and indigenous culture. The beauty in volunteering lies in the fact that you are not simply passing through as a tourist. You are interacting with the community, building relationships and making a positive impact. It is an experience that may well change your life!
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
The town of Santa Elena de Uairén is the headquarters of the Peace Villages Foundation in Venezuela and the heart of La Gran Sabana National Park. The town has about 15.000 inhabitants and is at an altitude of 900m - 1000m (3000f - 3250f) with a nearly perfect climate (16°C / 45°F - 28°C / 79°F all year round). The town was founded in 1922 as a Capuchin mission, and grew in the 1930s with the establishment of gold and diamond mines in the region. Santa Elena is surrounded by breathtaking scenery, and a wealth of nature. The region is one of the oldest geological sites on the planet where prehistoric flat topped mountains are like ecological islands with endemic species such as carnivorous plants and lots of other natural treasures. You will find good shopping opportunities, restaurants, internet cafes, postal and telephone services, clubs, pool halls and nightlife opportunities, as well as a wide variety of tourist travel destinations. Santa Elena is also a good place to arrange adventure tours into La Gran Sabana and Mount Roraima in particular. The area known as La Gran Sabana, "the Great Savannah" is located in the south-eastern corner of Venezuela, at the border with Brazil and Guyana. It is a high plateau, a land of wide open spaces (75,000 square kilometers), tropical forest, spectacular tepuys (flat-topped mountains), rivers and gorgeous waterfalls. It is also home to the Pemón aboriginals. It is unknown when La Gran Sabana was first occupied, but there are artifacts that demonstrate that indigenous peoples were occupying the Orinoco Delta at least 2 to 3 thousand years ago. At the time of the arrival of the first Europeans. La Gran Sabana was inhabited primarily by Pemón aboriginals. The Guayana shield, located in La Gran Sabana, is the earth's oldest surface. It is estimated to be 2 billion years old, and was formed when South America and Africa were still part of the super continent Gondwana. Besides flat plains, La Gran Sabana also features tropical regions, jungle and cloud forests, rich in palm trees, fern trees, orchids, bromelias . . . also animals including tapirs, jaguars, pumas, deer, anteaters, snakes, are all native to the different ecosystems of La Gran Sabana.
TREKS & TOURS
While Peace Villages is a volunteer based NGO, we recognize the importance of seeing other parts of La Gran Sabana and having a well rounded experience while you are here. Some trips can be done on weekends, otherwise we will help you to schedule tours so that you can see everything you want to in Venezuela, while still achieving your volunteer commitments with us. It is always best to plan to be here for a longer period of time so you can fit in a tour and still feel satisfied with the impact of your volunteer work. Peace Villages Foundation is not a tour operator but a volunteer charity! The Adventure Tours are organized and offered by local tour operators. If interested, we will help you to make contact with companies which use ecological criteria for enjoyable nature-based Adventure Tours throughout the beautiful and diverse Gran Sabana region, here in south-eastern Venezuela. Peace Villages also assists volunteers to self-organize their trip. A cheaper method than booking organized tours is to organize a trip yourself. When volunteers are interested in this option, we can assist them to make the necessary arrangements. Volunteers then share the direct costs of a guide, porter, food and transport, instead of buying a complete package. Costs depend on the number of group participants to share with. Hiring indigenous guides, drivers, boat operators, and hosts directly benefits local economies and, at the same time, adds an intimate and connected feeling to your adventure. Indigenous guides will enrich your Gran Sabana adventure tour experience with their knowledge, their kindness and their dedication and enthusiasm for these places.
