Youth Worker / Youth Work Coordinator

  Peru

• All Other Areas in Peru: 
Trujillo

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

Description: SKIP is a charity working with children, young people and their families living in the impoverished district of El Porvenir, Trujillo, Peru.

The teenagers range in age from 12 to 18 years and many have been involved in the SKIP programme since they were in primary school and have been able to engage in education as a result of SKIP's support. We are very proud that one child from the programme will be studying to go to University this year (in Peru you finish secondary education at 16 years and then take two years to prepare for entrance exams into University).

We are currently reviewing the Youth Programme in order to consider our aims and goals for the remainder of the year once summer camp is finished. As such, we particularly need someone to come and take over the coordination of the programme, to identify our new goals with these young people, both in terms of additional educational support, and also organising more 'youth club' style activities.

For the summer programme this year, we have run a highly successful initiative to teach the young people to swim. We have been able to obtain the use of the local swimming pool and are currently teaching about 50 young people how to swim. In Peru, children are not taught how to swim, reflective of this, most of the Peruvian adult volunteers who work with us do not know how to swim. We are using surfing as an incentive for the young people to learn to swim, once they are confident in swimming in the pool, they have the option to surf in Huanchaco (the beach town close by) where we have an agreement for free surf lessons with a local surf coach.

We are also running workshops for the young people. Professionals come to talk about their chosen career and the steps they have taken in order to become qualified. We run a cine club, watching a movie concerning a particular social issue and then having a discussion about it afterwards. There are also workshops to help them with homework and academic studies, we have been able to obtain the support of local teachers to help us with this.

Qualifications: We need people to run the programme with the secondary school children. We are looking for youth workers, social workers, psychologists or teachers. or people with experience in working with young people, aged 12 to 18 years.

We need innovative thinkers who will be able to use our limited resources to have maximum impact for the 120 young people enrolled on the programme. Due to the large numbers enrolled, we feel that a key focus of the work needs to be group activities, so as to reach as many of the young people as possible. As mentioned, the form these groups take, has yet to be decided and we are keen to have a coordinator who could arrive as soon as possible in order to be able to start planning the remainder of the year.

It is important that the coordinator for this programme is fluent in Spanish, as without this it will not be possible to converse with the young people. However, it is possible for others working on the programme to have a more limited Spanish ability.

Cost in US$: see below

Contribution:

$350 (US) per month for first and second month
$250 per month 3-5
$180 per month 6-8
$125 per month 9-12

You will have accommodation provided here but will need to pay for all other expenses such as food and travel.

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: We have a diverse range of people working at SKIP from qualified and experienced professionals to young people hoping to gain work experience before or during their University courses.

Age Range: 18+

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to Peru Independently

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 3-4

Application Process Involves:

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Supporting Kids In Peru (SKIP)'s Mission Statement: SKIP is a non-profit organization helping economically-disadvantaged children in El Porvenir, Peru to realize their right to an education. We promote quality education and foster the capacity of children and families to be the principal agents of change in their own lives. SKIP works in partnership with families through holistic programs focusing on the educational, economic, emotional and social development of each child and family.

Year Founded: 2003