Latin America has more street children per capita than any place on earth, according to UNICEF. The problem is particularly acute in Peru, where there are an estimated 400,000 homeless children in the capital city of Lima alone. These children live in extreme poverty. Education is a distant priority in the day-to-day struggle for survival.
As a volunteer with our Teach English Program, you will help these children develop basic English skills. Knowing English will allow these children to participate in Peru's tourism industry and move forward in life. Your work will take you to small community centers, orphanages, or shelters for street children, where you will assist a full-time teacher who has developed a long-term relationship with the children or set up your own English workshops for small groups of children. Your base will be Cusco, a city rich in ecological and historical treasures. You will experience the finest in Peru's culture while serving the poorest of Peru's citizens.
Accommodations: •Shared, dorm-style rooms (2 people per room) • Shared toilets and showers •Kitchen and dining area •Three meals per day •Room cleaning provided •Home stay also available
Schedule: Volunteers will typically work Mon-Fri in the afternoons, following the children's regular school day. You will most likely work from 3-6 pm or from 6:30-9:30 pm. Volunteers will take Spanish language classes in the mornings Mon-Fri. Exact schedule may vary.
Start Dates: •Any Monday of the year
Cost Includes: •Airport pick-up and drop-off • On-site orientation and training •Accommodations • 3 meals per day •Intensive Spanish classes •TEFLOnline.com teacher certification course •In-country support and coordination •Activities •Volunteer donation
Requirements: Volunteers must be able to handle unfamiliar and sometimes shocking living conditions when working with the street children. Volunteers must also be flexible. The classrooms are underfunded, so teachers must be creative in their methods.
Cusco, Peru Teach English Program Overview
>The Situation
Children continue to be the most vulnerable and unprotected citizens in Peru. Every year, some 20,000 die before they reach their first birthday, while another 25 percent suffer chronic malnutrition. Many have no access to healthcare, especially in rural areas. Needless to say, education is often a low priority. When the choice is between working and starving, learning is of secondary importance.
>What's Being Done
For several years now, the Teach English Program has helped Peru's street children and orphans. In addition to building orphanages and schools, the program has placed "English Learning Rooms" at small community centers, orphanages, and shelters. Volunteers with this program will help teach English classes as well as tutor the children and help them with their homework. The primary mission of the English Learning Rooms is to provide the children with a fixed, consistent program they can rely on each and every day.
>As a Volunteer You May:
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Teach English to impoverished children
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Provide care for orphans
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Provide a role model to abandoned street kids
>Teacher Training
All volunteers in our Teach English Programs receive teacher training before going abroad. By completing our online teacher preparation program, you will earn your certification in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), which will give you the skills and confidence needed to teach English overseas. Read More.
>Airport Pickup and Orientation
When you arrive in Cusco, you will be greeted at the airport by a volunteer coordinator. The coordinator will get you settled and provide a brief tour of the facilities and resources available to you. Your official orientation will begin the day following your arrival. It will include all of the training you will need to have a successful volunteer experience.
>Language Classes
Volunteers will be taking Spanish classes at our partner language school in Cusco. For more efficient placement upon your arrival, we ask that you take our Online Spanish Placement Test to determine your language proficiency. If this is not possible, we will test you upon arrival at the school. You will be placed according to your language level in a group of 12 or fewer students, learning conversational Spanish for two to three hours a day.
>Accommodations
You will stay at the project's volunteer lodge in Cusco. Volunteers sleep two to each bedroom and share bathrooms. This lodge provides three meals per day as well as room cleaning. Volunteers will have hot water, although there may be times when hot water is turned off entirely for three to four hours.
Volunteers also have the option of staying with a host family. Volunteers will have their own rooms and will usually share a bathroom with family members. Families will provide three meals per day. All of our host families are carefully screened and must meet BridgeTEFL's requirements before being accepted as a host family.
>Meals
You will receive three meals a day, regardless of which accommodation option you choose.
>In-Country Support
During your time in Peru, you will receive support from volunteer coordinators as well as field guides and fellow volunteers. We also provide a 24-hour cell phone number for emergencies.
>Activities and Excursions
Cusco is a major destination for adventure and cultural travel. If you have free time during or after your volunteer stay, you will have the opportunity to take part in excursions at your own cost. The following are some examples of activities you can enjoy:
•Paragliding
•Archeological tour
•Whitewater rafting
•Bungee-jumping
•Machu Picchu (overnight)
•3-day trekking adventure
•3-day jungle tour
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Cusco, Peru Teach English Program Overview
