Volunteer Programs in Bahia, Brazil

  Brazil

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

Description: AEC-TEA offers an open invitation to interested Brazilian and international volunteers who would like to do participate in our projects while helping out with the daily functioning of our association and volunteer household. We give preference to those who can commit for three months or longer.

Possible activities could include:
- Helping in courses in our association (foreign languages, art, yoga, theater or whatever one would like to propose)
- Organizing activities in our computer lab
- Restarting our weekly community radio program in collaboration with local youth
- Assisting in the community daycare center
- Helping organize the Afro-Brazilian percussion group with local youth
- Updating and revising our website and publicity materials
- Helping out with repairs and construction

AEC-TEA is an educational-cultural association in Capim Grosso, a small town in the Bahian interior. We offer courses, projects and events both in our center and in the community which provide unique educational opportunities and incentive for local youth to study and volunteer.

Highlights: As a volunteer, you will live and work as part of an international team in the AEC-TEA center. In Capim Grosso, the culture is very group-oriented and there is little separation between work, family, or friends, and this is reflected in our organization. It is also a place where anything can happen...or not happen. Volunteers should be patient, flexible, creative and able to improvise.

While you may be invited to fill one of the positions below, we ask volunteers to be open in helping out as needed. Our main objective is not necessarily to teach English, for example, but rather to help maintain a space in which people from the community are exposed to new possibilitie, build self-esteem and discover their potential.

AEC-TEA started as the idea of a few people in our town, a posting on idealist.org and the collaboration of a series of Brazilian and international volunteer groups. Now in our third year and having hosted over 50 volunteers from 15 different countries, AEC-TEA is proud to be completely organized by local youth! We are seeking open-minded, flexible volunteers who would like to support our efforts while learning about our community.

Qualifications: While teaching experience and knowledge of Portuguese is helpful, AEC-TEA gives greater preference to a volunteer who can make a commitment to:
- being open and eager to learn about local culture, make connections in the community and take initiative in diverse activities
- working and living as part of a group and international team
- exercising patience, flexibility and willingness to look for solutions to challenges
- living simply and working creatively with minimal resources
- having realistic expectations and a sincere desire to work within a new, local association
- trying to see his/her contribution as one small, yet essential, piece of a longer process

Minimum Education: Associates

Cost in US$: 125

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: Our international volunteers are usually young adults who have recently finished undergraduate studies. We also received some couples and seniors. The local volunteers are usually teenagers and yong adults.

Age Range: 18 to 70

This Program is open to American, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi, South African and Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Brazil Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 6

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Resume

Post Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad

AEC-TEA Association - Free volunteer opportunities in Brazil's Mission Statement: The Tarcilia Evangelista de Andrade Educational Cultural Association is a volunteer-run, locally-based association with the objective of increasing educational and cultural opportunities in the community of Capim Grosso through courses, projects, a community radio program, talks, events, a computer lab and a library. AEC-TEA also aims to encourage local participation in volunteer work as a question of citizenship and community responsibility.

Year Founded: 1997