Favella Renovation in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  Brazil

• Rio de Janeiro: 
Rio de Janeiro

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks

Description: Want to help paint a town red?

Competing against forest-clad mountains to the right and the cool Pacific Ocean to the left, Rio's enthusiastic residents have somehow managed to create a city beautiful enough not to let down the neighborhood! Why not pay them a visit and help some of the poorest favellas become as bright as the rest of the city? This project mixes hands-on work renovating local buildings with attempts to educate youngsters about sexual health and the dangers of drugs. Rest assured your day will be varied, from painting, cleaning, and gardening to developing community events within the renovated public spaces. What's more, when you finish admiring your handy work you're free to explore the most exciting city on the planet.

Find out more about i-to-i, watch their short video here: http://video.i-to-i.com/site-videos/video.html

Highlights: What were the highlights of your trip that you couldn't wait to tell your friends about?

"The experience of the favellas- they are both captivating and thought provoking and their inhabitants express beauty though their intense spirit of community and the ugliness of human nature stripped bare. The amazing in country support- I have spoken to other volunteers the other groups and i-to-i has seemed to come out on top for me. Our volunteer coordinator was amazing- Felipe Murray, he even translated for me to get a haircut because I couldn't speak Portuguese." (Max Alexander)

Work will be split between both physical and mental activities:
1) Painting, cleaning, decorating and fixing the public spaces, and also gardening.
2) Developing awareness campaigns regarding the maintenance of the public spaces, structuring community events within the renovated public spaces, and organizing recreational activities in the community.

The objective of this particular project is to renovate 20 public spaces in the Morro dos Prazeres in Santa Teresa along with an awareness campaign that will help maintain these spaces. The project will include 5 youths and 10 children from the Community. Each public space should take around 30 days to complete.

Qualifications: Ideally, the project is looking for volunteers who have experience with environmental education and gardening, but the most important criteria are creativity, imagination, good sense of humor, and rapport with children. Basic Brazilian Portuguese and/or Intermediate Spanish is recommended.

Cost in US$: US$ 1495.00 for 2 weeks, US$ 200.00 for every week thereafter

Experience Required: no

Age Range: 18 years old and up

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network

i-to-i Meaningful Travel's Mission Statement: Founded in 1994, i-to-i is an award-winning organization providing unique opportunities for you to travel, work and live abroad. Thousands of travelers aged 18 to 80 have joined our volunteer vacations and over 50,000 have learned to Teach English as a Foreign Language through our tailor-made TEFL courses. With over 400 projects on 4 continents, you can join the worldwide i-to-i volunteer community on an extended adventure in areas such as teaching, community development, sports coaching, conservation, building or internships in tourism, marketing, journalism, or health.

Year Founded: 1994