Mobile School - The perfect project for energetic, creative, and outgoing people

  Venezuela

Santa Elena de Uiaren

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

Description: The Mobile School was originally invented by a Belgian organization which sought to serve street children. Peace Villages has adapted this original purpose to use the school as a tool to teach children who are not served by a school system, helping them with the goal of getting them to enter into the public educational system.

We also educate children who are already in school, reinforcing what they learn through their traditional education. Teaching on the streets of Santa Elena, the Mobile School presents educational material in a lively and engaging manner. We aim not only to educate, but also to have fun! We help raise the childrens self-esteem by teaching them that they are valued members of their communities.

The core themes with the Mobile School are literacy, mathematics, creative therapy, health care education and human rights. We are also able to create our own educational themes. Clean water conservation and waste/pollution awareness are two examples of such themes. Background: Santa Elena is a town which is growing far too quickly for infrastructural services to keep up. The existing school systems are overpopulated, which keeps them from reaching their full potential of quality education.

As a result of the poor quality of education, children have little motivation to continue attendance, and many children drop out at a very early age. The problem is aggravated by the rising numbers of invasions. Located in the outskirts of Santa Elena these are residential zones of poor and landless families. The families come to Santa Elena looking for improved lives for their children and better economic opportunities. These invasions often do not have basic infrastructure. Electricity, running water, and sewage are unlikely to be found, and the children who live there are often not served by an education system.

The Mobile School visits children in these three groups on a regular basis. Peace Village Foundations Mobile School Program focuses on three groups of children: those who have dropped out of the traditional school system, the local indigenous communities, and the children who live in poorer settlements on the outskirts of Santa Elena.

Highlights:
ACTIVITIES CAN INCLUDE:
* Helping to plan and prepare the classes, and regular maintenance of the Mobile School
* Assisting in the movement of the Mobile School to street locations in Santa Elena and to other communities
* Helping to teach literacy, math, creative therapy, health care education, children's rights and other topics
* Assist with supervising sport, recreational and development activities, organizing special events
* Helping with Mobile School administration work: Reports, Statistics, general planning, documentation

LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS
The town of Santa Elena de Uairen is the headquarters of the Peace Villages Foundation in Venezuela and the heart of La Gran Sabana National Park. The town has about 15.000 inhabitants and is at an altitude of 900m - 1000m (3000f - 3250f) with a nearly perfect climate (16°C / 45°F - 28°C / 79°F all year round). The town was founded in 1922 as a Capuchin mission, and grew in the 1930s with the establishment of gold and diamond mines in the region. Santa Elena is surrounded by breathtaking scenery, and a wealth of nature.

The region is one of the oldest geological sites on the planet where prehistoric flat topped mountains are like ecological islands with endemic species such as carnivorous plants and lots of other natural treasures.

You will find good shopping opportunities, restaurants, internet cafes, postal and telephone services, clubs, pool halls and nightlife opportunities, as well as a wide variety of tourist travel destinations. Santa Elena is also a good place to arrange adventure tours into La Gran Sabana and Mount Roraima in particular.

The area known as La Gran Sabana, "the Great Savannah" is located in the south-eastern corner of Venezuela, at the border with Brazil and Guyana. It is a high plateau, a land of wide open spaces (75,000 square kilometers), tropical forest, spectacular tepuys (flat-topped mountains), rivers and gorgeous waterfalls. It is also home to the Pemon aboriginals. It is unknown when La Gran Sabana was first occupied, but there are artifacts that demonstrate that indigenous peoples were occupying the Orinoco Delta at least 2 to 3 thousand years ago.

At the time of the arrival of the first Europeans. La Gran Sabana was inhabited primarily by Pemon aboriginals. The Guayana shield, located in La Gran Sabana, is the earth's oldest surface. It is estimated to be 2 billion years old, and was formed when South America and Africa were still part of the super continent Gondwana.

Besides flat plains, La Gran Sabana also features tropical regions, jungle and cloud forests, rich in palm trees, fern trees, orchids, bromelias and also animals including tapirs, jaguars, pumas, deer, anteaters, snakes, are all native to the different ecosystems of La Gran Sabana.

TREKS/TOURS
While Peace Villages is a volunteer based NGO, we recognize the importance of seeing other parts of La Gran Sabana and having a well rounded experience while you are here. Some trips can be done on weekends, otherwise we will help you to schedule tours so that you can see everything you want to in Venezuela, while still achieving your volunteer commitments with us.

It is always best to plan to be here for a longer period of time so you can fit in a tour and still feel satisfied with the impact of your volunteer work. Peace Villages Foundation is not a tour operator but a volunteer charity!

The Adventure Tours are organized and offered by local tour operators. If interested, we will help you to make contact with companies which use ecological criteria for enjoyable nature-based Adventure Tours throughout the beautiful and diverse Gran Sabana region, here in south-eastern Venezuela. Peace Villages also assists volunteers to self-organize their trip.

A cheaper method than booking organized tours is to organize a trip yourself. When volunteers are interested in this option, we can assist them to make the necessary arrangements. Volunteers then share the direct costs of a guide, porter, food and transport, instead of buying a complete package. Costs depend on the number of group participants to share with.

Hiring indigenous guides, drivers, boat operators, and hosts directly benefits local economies and, at the same time, adds an intimate and connected feeling to your adventure. Indigenous guides will enrich your Gran Sabana adventure tour experience with their knowledge, their kindness and their dedication and enthusiasm for these places.

Qualifications:
REQUIREMENTS:
No previous experience or special skills are required, but participants need to be enthusiastic, willing to learn, ready for a challenge and have a desire to work with children. Friendliness, care, commitment and patience are among important qualities. Take delight in the childrens progress through interaction and play, as well as the charming nature of the bonds formed between children and volunteers.

Some knowledge of Spanish language would be advantageous. You do not necessarily need to have previous teaching experience. Staff and other volunteers will support you when you start teaching.

A typical volunteer with this program comes without a lot of previous experience but has a number of ideas and enthusiasm, takes initiative and dedicates a lot of caring and passion to the position. However, Volunteers with experience are strongly encouraged to apply.

AVAILABILITY:
Ongoing throughout the whole year

VOLUNTEERING WITH PEACE VILLAGES
Volunteering is a great way to experience another culture, make new friends and learn new skills. The beauty in volunteering lies in the fact that you are not simply passing through as a tourist. You are interacting with the community, building relationships and making a positive impact. It is an experience that may well change your life! Volunteers are the driving force of Peace Villages' work, both through their volunteering and through their financial contributions.

We have various programs currently underway and run by volunteers, as well as the long term expectation of opening a large multi-faceted Therapy Center. Volunteers, through their donations and through volunteer work done on the Foundations grounds are helping us to create this center.

We encourage volunteers to form schedules which work for them, and to work in any combination of programs. Volunteers decide how many hours they want to work.

We recommend a minimum of 4 hours daily for 4 days a week. You may work as many days/hours you wish. We emphasize that we focus on excellence and not on quantity! All travel costs to Santa Elena, Venezuela must be covered by the volunteer.

Budget at least 35 ¬ Euro for in-country travel (including meals along the way) on top of whatever your plane ticket costs (likely at least 330 ¬ Euro depending on where you´re coming from).

Cost in US$: There are three accommodation options - Prices depend on length of stay

Most volunteers will spend less than Euro ¬ 60 a month on other personal expenses while here, but this depends on how you like to live.

Credit Available: yes

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: A typical volunteer with this programs comes without a lot of previous experience but has a number of ideas and enthusiasm, takes initiative and dedicates a lot of caring and passion to the position. He/she is willing to learn and ready for a challenge. Friendliness, care, commitment and patience are among important qualities. We welcome individual volunteers, families and groups regardless of age, experience or background. You don't have to speak fluent Spanish as we provide full support and 24 hour back-up from our local staff. Volunteers are the driving force of Peace Villages' work, both through their volunteering and through their financial contributions. Volunteering with us is a great opportunity to work side by side with locals, learn new skills, study Spanish, and immerse oneself in the Latin and indigenous culture. The beauty in volunteering lies in the fact that you are not simply passing through as a tourist. You are interacting with the community, building relationships and making a positive impact. It is an experience that may well change your life!

Age Range: 10 years old and up

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 Venezuela Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups of 2 - 4

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Resume

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad

Peace Villages Foundation's Mission Statement: Peace Villages Foundation support disadvantaged communities and their members in the process of achieving sustainable development, social justice and peace and promotes Culture of Peace through enriching cross-cultural exchange and voluntary community service for people of all ages, races and nationalities. We provide additional opportunities in humanitarian, educational, recreational and environmental fields and assist our beneficiaries to develop their potential and improve their own lives. Our vision is to share the values of peace, justice and tolerance, fundamentally focusing on the preservation of indigenous cultures and the empowerment of young people while valuing local knowledge and working with cultural sensitivity. Because local people know and understand what is appropriate for their own communities, we assist them in carrying out the objectives they deem important. Our Volunteer opportunities are truly the microcosm of a world where people join together giving priority to improving life for humanity and promoting a Culture of Peace as a practical way to both prevent and resolve conflict.

Year Founded: 2000