Volunteer in Casa do Caminho Brazil

  Brazil

Rural Areas

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years and over 2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 9-12 weeks

Description: Casa do Caminho is the name of an orphanage, situated in the remnants of the Atlantic rainforest which houses, at the moment, 33 children. It is a non-profitable organisation run by Brazilians with the aim of providing a full-time home to shelter children on a long-term basis.

The orphanage is ideally located in the Atlantic rainforest where the children can be taken away from the violence and poverty of the favelas' (shanty town) in the nearby areas where many of them come from. The area is 30 minutes away from the town of Xerem which itself is an hours bus ride away from the centre of Rio de Janeiro.

Qualifications: Volunteers will need to be conversant to an intermediate degree in Portuguese as there is none with strong English skills on the site. Those fluent in Spanish will find it easy to transfer over to Portuguese. Volunteers of both sexes with the following skills would be most welcome: teachers, child psychologists, volunteers to manage recreational activities, organic farming, artists and artisans - anyone with a strong creative streak and a love for kids.

We prefer it if volunteers can come for a minimum of 3 months. Those staying for short periods of time will already need to be able to communicate in Portuguese. Volunteers planning on spending longer than two months may wish to spend some of that time taking full time language classes.

Cost in US$: We provide simple food and accomodation in exchange for volunteer services. We do not charge volunteers anything.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Kids Worldwide is looking for all types of people to volunteer. No experience or expertise is necessary. We trust that you are someone who loves to work with children and is happy to give their time for them. Each volunteer shares with other volunteers and the children their own talents and gifts.

Age Range: 18 and up (unless accompanied by an adult)

This Program is open to World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel to Brazil Independently Or in Groups

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

KIDS Worldwide's Mission Statement: Kids Worldwide seeks to improve the quality of life for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. We provide nurturing care and educational programmes based upon the universal concepts of Neo-Humanism, which are tailored to the needs of the children in our projects. We run orphanages as well as provide services to already established orphanages and childrens' projects (such as struggling primary schools and kindergartens) through our volunteer outreach programs. Our volunteer programs are notable in that we only request a small donation for food and accommodation that is paid directly to the project itself when the volunteer arrives. There is no administration fee requested to sign up through the program as we have volunteers doing all the web design and co-ordination for free. We ask that each volunteer give US $350 for their first month's food and accomodation and $100 thereafter. That is all - compare this to other volunteering sites on the internet!