This street children project needs gap year and career break volunteers with an interest in singing, teaching English, games, teaching dance or art. The children are from difficult backgrounds and need volunteers to provide them with an education, constructive play and much needed love and laughter.
Description of Project
This is a well run centre for a large number of vulnerable children who do not attend normal school. Their homes are normally a single room shared with the whole family. Volunteers are needed to teach small groups a variety of subjects, including English, reading and life skills such as self worth and health. This is done through role play, art, games, dance and singing and other activities. The children and staff speak Spanish so it is a perfect opportunity for volunteers to become fluent in the Spanish language.
Volunteers are also needed to give private tuition to children who do not attend school. This project would be ideal for volunteers with a desire to help fun loving children from poor unstable backgrounds where abuse is common. You would be expected to be sympathetic with their Christian beliefs. Morals are a strong component of the project. It provides a vitally important role in keeping the children off the streets and out of trouble with the police. It also gives them a family and a home.
"As soon as we left the airport everything I saw was so exciting I was unable to get to sleep! It was about 00.30 when I arrived at my host family's house. It was the real Mexico!"
Ross Burns. Street Children Project. Mexico
Summary
Project Code: M11
Main Activity of Project: Assisting with the care and education of poor
children.
Minimum Period of Stay: One month.
Cost: One month: £1430. Three months: £2965. For full details of our prices please see our costs page.
Articles / Volunteer Evaluations
After a somewhat stressful twenty eight hour journey I was hardly able to keep my eyes open when I finally stepped off my plane and met "Greta" (the outreach co-ordinator/life saver) in Mexico. This changed in a matter of seconds. As soon as we left the airport everything I saw was so exciting I was unable to get to sleep! It was about 00.30 when I arrived at my host family's house. It was the real Mexico! My "door" was a sheet on a pole I was able to pull back and forth, and my ventilation...the odd hole in the wall! I loved it! I When I woke up the next day I was able to have some basic conversation with Caren (the eldest in the house of siblings I was staying at) using broken Spanish, English and a fair few hand signals! I was cooked a traditional (and massive)Mexican breakfast which gave me even more of a taste for the culture of which I was about to submerge myself into. Only a week or so later it felt so good being able to communicate more fluently. The Spanish lessons were all conversational and geared towards getting us speaking. They worked and gave all of us confidence.
On the Monday I visited my project for the first time which was situated just on the outskirts of Puerto Vallarta; a place called Mojoneras. The children where so friendly and all smiles and hugs. I knew I´d chosen the right project. The following day I was thrown in at the deep end as I was still yet to have any Spanish lessons before starting my project. Teaching was hard without having any real lessons before hand but I managed to communicate thanks to some last minute revision and reading of the Outreach teacher training course notes! Thanks to the children's friendly nature however it didn't seem too intimidating.. Apart from my bad Spanish the only other negative point is that I wish I could be with the children more! I know Mexico has a bad reputation, but they must be doing something right. The strength and importance of the family bond plays a really enormous part in life here. Even the children I am working with who come from "the worst" sorts of families, have nothing but smiles on their faces.
Four months has just disappeared and I'll be back – probably very soon. It was great to start with . Exciting new tastes, smells, the children, fellow Outreach volunteers and the project. Greta was always supportive – thank you. As the months went by it just got better and better. My first proper Spanish conversation, my invite to the rodeo
(and cock fight) , hanging out with the children and going back to their houses and on the rickety buses. I'll be back!
This is a challenging project needing volunteers to work from 11am to 5pm, five days a week.
Singing, dance, music, craft and art are all encouraged. There are also weekend activities that you
could get involved in. It's important to have a concern for poor, humble but street-wise children and
be fully committed to the role of the centre even when the going is difficult. In addition to
teaching, volunteers are needed to help with meals and other pastoral / caring type work. The children
put on concerts (mainly singing) and you may be asked to help with these. There are also workshops that
have started for parents of the poor children, to encourage them to earn their own money and to
promote self-help. These are usually crafts or sewing. Lessons in drugs awareness and family planning
are particularly important. These children are particularly vulnerable and significant numbers suffer
from drug abuse and work as child prostitutes.
You could make a real difference – to others and yourself!
Outreach International need volunteers to work abroad in schools,
hospitals, orphanages, with the disabled, animals and animal rescue, wildlife, physiotherapy, medical projects, sports and on humanitarian and conservation projects in South America, Central America, Africa and Asia, including Ecuador, Mexico,
Costa Rica, Cambodia, Nepal, the Galapagos Islands, Kenya and Sri Lanka. We're always looking for Gap Year students or anyone who wants to take a career break, Summer holiday, Easter or Christmas vacation break or a few months or a year out volunteering
overseas.
