Location
Located in the heart of South America, Bolivia is an amazingly diverse country with a rich history and culture. The department of Santa Cruz borders Brazil to the East and Paraguay to the South and is mostly tropical and sub-tropical. Santa Cruz is a modern and prosperous city and Bolivia's financial center.
About the project
This project is in a Catholic School of about 1,900 pupils from kindergarten to primary and secondary school. There are current
ly only 3 teachers teaching basic to intermediate English. Each teacher works with one or two volunteers and each class has about 30 pupils in the morning and about 15 in the afternoon.
Volunteer work and contribution
Volunteers will be involved in:
- Helping the teachers prepare the class activities
- Providing classroom assistance
- Teaching English
- Helping the children with daily assignments and homework
- Leading the children during physical education activities to promote good health and physical conditioning.
- Organizing workshops and contests such as craft, painting, English clubs, etc.
Working Hours and days: Normally volunteers work 4 to 5 hours a day from Monday to Friday. There are also English workshops on Saturdays. The volunteers are welcome to take part in these additional activities.
The classes are in the morning and the afternoon but the volunteers normally work from 7:20 am to 12:10pm as these hours are the busiest.
Accommodation
Volunteers will stay with a Bolivian family. Please note that there may be other volunteers staying there as well. The family will serve 3 meals a day - breakfast, lunch and dinner - mainly Bolivian food consisting of vegetables, rice or noodles and/or potatoes, sometimes red meat, chicken or fish. Vegetarians should be fine but it is advised to inform the family on arrival.
Travel highlights
Santa Cruz may be the most populated city in Bolivia but it has kept its colonial charm and has a lot to offer such as a butterfly sanctuary, the ecological park Yvaga Guazu, the Jesuit missions and much more.
Minimum requirements
- Minimum age 18
- Good level of English
- Basic Spanish. It is recommended to learn as much Spanish as possible before coming in order to make your stay more enjoyable. Classes can be arranged for an extra cost.
- Good physical fitness
- Motivation to work with children
- Full travel & medical insurance
- Immunizations (please consult your doctor)