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Special Needs, Foster Child & Pre-School Teaching Project Detail

Priced From:

£785
$1415

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Special Needs, Foster Child & Pre-School Teaching Project

SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN'S TEACHING INITIATIVE

Assist in the care of special needs children at a school within the rural village on the outskirts of the South African coastal town of Port Alfred. The rural village is a poor area with problems of unemployment and a lack of medical and teaching facilities. In a small building in the middle of the village, 26 special needs children are taught, entertained, and fed.

The children, whose ages range between 8 and 25 years old, need as much stimulation and individual attention as possible. Volunteers will assist with classwork, sports, arts and crafts, one on one teaching and games with the children in what would otherwise be time spent at home with little or no stimulation at all. You will also be able to help with preparing and feeding the children their breakfast and lunch and possibly learn to cook local foods! The school has a vegetable garden in their backyard and use these grown vegetables in many of the children's meals.

PRE-SCHOOL TEACHING INITIATIVE

Volunteers can also choose to provide some much needed assistance in one of several crèche's/child care facilities within the village where the staff are overstretched and resources are limited. Volunteers will work within the preschool class, with their teacher, and provide teacher support, notably around the week's learning themes, assist in teaching basic English lessons, play games, sing songs and paint and draw with the children and provide them with the one on one attention that they deserve but may not get in their home environment. The kids are aged between 0 and 6 years and have lots of energy to keep you busy all morning!

FOSTER CHILD INITIATIVE

In the afternoons volunteers will have the opportunity to assist with the care of 6 foster children. You will be able to interact with the children on a one-on-one basis with their homework, followed by some healthy outside playtime!

SPORTS & TEAM BUILDING INITIATIVE

Volunteers on this project will also have the option to assist in the afternoon coaching of rugby, cricket and other team sports to the local disadvantaged children. For 4 afternoons a week a group of children who live in the village meet to participate in a fun afternoon of playing a sport and are specially allocated nearby fields for this purpose.

This initiative was specifically started to promote a sense of well-being among the children and provide them with an after-school activity option. Most of the children in the village do not have access or resources to participate in any sort of sport or other after-school activity and this initiative is aimed at keeping them healthy and off the streets where they may get up to mischief!

The village is a safe and peaceful area with wonderful people and the project is dynamic and exciting with lots of opportunity to really make an impact in the lives you come into contact with.

Rest assured your work will be necessary, rewarding and exciting. We invite you to be more than a tourist...

Please note that this project will be closed during the school holidays, which are as follows:

26 March – 12 April 2010
9 June – 13 July 2010
23 September – 4 October 2010
10 December through to mid-January 2011.

Volunteer with Special Needs Children

The highlights

Work with and enrich the lives of special needs children
Assistant teaching of special needs and pre-school children
Bring fresh ideas and stimulation to the kids
Reading and crafts with children
Work with disadvantaged and vulnerable children
Help uplift a community through education and computer literacy
Immerse yourself in local culture
Make friends for life

Optional activities and excursions

On this project, you'll also experience some awesome travel highlights:

Situated in the heart of South Africa’s Sunshine Coast, Port Alfred is popular town with picturesque surroundings. The town has beautiful beaches, a great temperate climate, and a friendly atmosphere. The area offers many outdoor activities, such as river and ocean water sports, horse rides, and visits to local game reserves.

Volunteers often book onto the beach horse rides, surf school or mountain bike rides. The beach is on your doorstep and offers good swimming, shell collecting, chilling and walking.

Some things you might like to consider doing on your time off include:

Adventure tours
Tandem skydiving
Dune boarding
Abseiling
Mountain biking
Kayaking
Surf lessons
Beach horse rides
Day safari’s
Scuba diving courses (PADI Open Water Dive courses and fun dives)

These activities are not included in your volunteering fee, but ask our co-ordinators to assist and advise you with making the necessary booking arrangements!

Where will I sleep?

Volunteers will stay in a fully furnished house near the seaside town of Port Alfred, overlooking the beach. The house is large and comfortable and has satellite television, a barbecue area and a garden. You will be sharing a room with between one and three other volunteers. All bedding is provided so you will not need to bring a sleeping bag with you, although sometimes it is useful in the colder months (June – September). The house is cleaned on a daily basis and your laundry will be done for you.

And meals?

You will be provided with three meals a day.

Breakfast is on a help-yourself basis and usually consists of fruit, cereals/porridge, toast, tea and coffee.

Lunch will either be a light meal, sandwiches or even a picnic lunch which you could eat on the beach! If you are going to be out over lunch, a variety of foods for will be available for you to make “packed lunches”.

Dinner in the evenings is our main meal. This usually consists of casseroles, pasta dishes and of course you will be able to experience some local South African dishes such as a real South African “braai”. We do cater for vegetarians.

How do I get there and travel around?

We will meet you at the airport!

You will fly into Port Elizabeth, which is just over an hours drive away from Port Alfred. We will welcome you at the airport and drive you to your accommodation.

What does the cost include?

Project Fee: this entails financing that goes directly back into the project that you are involved with. This fee facilitates funding for items such as teaching supplies etc.
All airport transfers from Port Elizabeth upon your arrival and departure
Orientation program
All daily transfers to and from your projects during your stay
Full board and lodging which includes 3 meals a day at our volunteer house
Assistance in your projects from our African Impact co-ordinators.

Project fee excludes:

Personal travel insurance for the duration of your placement which must include cover for repatriation
All transport by air or bus to Port Elizabeth
All items of a personal nature, such as curios, gifts, clothing (work and other)
Email/Internet and telephone calls
Soft drinks, wines and spirits
Any excursions over and above your planned itinerary in Port Alfred

Do I need experience, is there orientation?

During the first two days of your stay in Port Alfred all volunteers are involved in a comprehensive orientation, which is included in your fee. This is facilitated by your project manager and entails:

An introduction to Port Alfred and the communities you will be working in
A basic Xhosa language and culture lesson
An introduction to the projects you will be working on

And support?

Throughout your stay in Port Alfred you will have the support and guidance of our experienced project managers. They are part of our support team, which will provide you with competent 24-hour field support and assistance.

What's the age limit?

Minimum 18 years, maximum decided on potential participants’ health

A day in the life

An example of a day in the life of a volunteer on this project may be something as follows:

(Please note that your itineraries may differ from this, depending on your own experience and the number of other volunteers on the placement at the same time, and this is simply to give an example:)

7.00 Time to wake up and have breakfast
7.30 Transfer to your morning project
8.00 You will be transported to the rural village and spend the morning doing arts & crafts with the children.
12.00 Help with the kiddies lunch – preparing and giving lunch
12.30 Lunch time for you! You can choose to go back to your volunteer house or enjoy a packed lunch depending on what you are doing for the afternoon.
14.00 Spend the afternoon with the children at the crèche, play with and give them some one on one attention.
17.00 You will be picked up from your afternoon project and driven back to the volunteer house, where you can relax until dinner time.
18.30 Dinner time, after dinner, you may choose to go out for a drink at one of the local bars, or to simply relax at the volunteer house.

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