General Info
Mozambique is a true African tropical paradise ... over 2500km of coastline on the warm Indian Ocean, white sands dotted with coconut palms and the spectacular turquoise waters stretching as far as the eye can see... Mozambique is as exotic as it sounds.
Your work will vary depending on what's needed at the time you're there.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
This exciting opportunity has a very tropical feel involving various aspects of community and development work in and around the coastal town of Vilanculos. The project covers a number of different community development initiatives, mornings at a rural pre-school and afternoons on various activities such as Teaching English, home building, language school. The projects are always evolving so are likely to be at different stages upon your arrival, when you're not at the Pre-school you will be involved in a number of other exciting and rewarding community initiatives.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:
-An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into the diverse culture in Mozambique.
-The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and knowing that you made a difference to them.
-New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.
-An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market
-And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
WORK CONTENT:
With a wide variety of tasks involved, this project will be kept you on your feet all the time. Volunteers go to Pre-school every morning Monday to Friday - At the Pre-school each volunteer is given a small class, generating new and exciting ways to interact and teach. Your role is to prepare the children for their next step into Primary school. Some of the work you may be involved in include :
*Singing and dancing
*Fun games
*Basic work at the Pre-school farm
*Basic lessons on colours, numbers letter
Each afternoon varies and you may be doing one of the following activities:
Teaching English
Across 2 afternoons a week you can teach English to a group of about fifty students split into groups depending on ability, ranging in age from young to middle-aged adults. Your role as a volunteer teacher will include:
*Planning fun, interactive, and challenging lessons for the students
*Conducting lessons with the help of a translator in a patient, dynamic, creative, inspirational and passionate manner
*Assigning and correction of homework assignments
*Orphan Care
Your role as a volunteer will also include:
*English and Portuguese lessons with the children with the assistance of visual aids and a translator
*Developmental playtime where the children get to learn new games and play with toys to which they wouldn't normally have access
*Teaching basic lessons about colours, numbers and letters
*Constructive sports games such as frisbee and football
*Giving the children the one on one care and attention that is so critical for their development
*Rural Home Building
*Cyclone Favio hit the Mozambican coast in February 2007 and devastated much of the local area. Through local contacts work has continued with rural home-building for those who do not have the means to build for themselves (monetarily or physically). We work in close conjunction with community leaders to assess the most critical housing needs and then act accordingly. We are currently managing to build 1 home approximately every 2 months (dependent on volunteer numbers!). They are simple and rustic structures typical of construction in the Inhambane Province. The work is sometimes challenging but always rewarding and offers an amazing insight into rural Vilanculos as well as the chance to meet and form working relationships with members of the local community. Other building projects that we undertake include refurbishment at the preschool, such as new classrooms and amenities.
Language Club
Saturday mornings are spent running and supporting a language club, an informal learning group open to the community surrounding the volunteer camp. The students that attend include young children, young women, and adults, all of whom perhaps have missed out on other formal learning opportunities.
Other community projects include;
Beach cleanup, farm maintenance, painting projects and also once a month there will be a cultural day at the project translators family home, a great way to learn about the Mozambique culture. A typical day in Mozambique could be:
7:00 Get up at, have breakfast and start to get ready to leave for the project
8:00 Leave for school
8.15 start your work at the Pre-school
12.00 lunch break, you are then picked up and taken to the volunteer camp where you will be given lunch
14.30 Start of your afternoon activities
17.00 End of your working day. You are then picked up and taken home
18.30 dinner at the volunteer camp
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Dates for the 2010 school holidays are given below.
19th – 30th April
12th – 23rd July
2nd – 30th November
During the school holidays volunteers will run a holiday club. Activities may not be as structures as usual but there will be plenty of work to do.
The project is closed for the months of December, January and February each year, reopening on March 1st.
If you're a little unsure about the idea of standing in front of a class and teaching, you can, before you leave, enroll in our weekend TEFL courses. (www.tefltime.com) to help you teach if you have no previous experience and would like to gain a little teaching knowledge.
ACCOMMODATION:
Your accommodation will be at the rural camp in a rustic yet comfortable thatched A frame bungalows, located a stone throw from the beach. Each bungalow sleeps 6 and they are all unisex.
They have en suite bathrooms with a toilet and shower. The camp shares a swimming pool with people who stay on a nearby camp but they have a separate communal areas such as a kitchen, lounge dining area and an area where you are able to do your lesson planning!
Staff from the project stay very close by, just across the road so they are always available.
You will be provided with 3 meals a day, breakfast is aa buffet style including porridge, creal, toast tea and coffee. Lunch and dinner are full meals that are cooked for you by the volunteer cook, food is provided by project staff at weekends, please note that you will be on a rural project so food is simple but full of nutrition.
A LITTLE ABOUT VILANCULOS:
This project is located in Vilanculos which is based in the Inhambane province of Mozambique. Vilanculos is a coastal paradise, rich in culture, but with a rural, rustic feel.
The main attractions are their endless white sandy beaches and beautiful coral reefs. It is a haven of tranquillity and an ideal location for snorkelling and scuba diving. Divers have witnessed humpback and bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, marine turtles and many large fish such as barracudas and marlins.
Vilanculous is also home to the coastal wildlife sanctuary; the reserve covers 25000 ha of land and sea and is ranked one of the top biodiversity hotspots in Africa. The reserve consists of a variety of coral reefs, swamps, savannah and wetlands.
There are plenty of activities going on in the local area such as sailing, horse riding, snorkelling, diving and deep-sea fishing. For those who want to immerse themselves in the local culture, a spot of shopping for local hand-made crafts at the markets will go down a treat!
TRAVEL and SUPPORT & BACKUP:
You'll fly into Vilanculos, Mozambique where you'll be met by a member of staff from the project. They will take you to your accomodation and get you settled in. You will then receive an induction into the country, and be taken to your placement and introduced to everyone.
You have the option to arrange your own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.) Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up before leaving for your placement.
VISAS: You do need a visa for Mozambique, this can be purchased before you arrive or upon arrival into the country. In countries where visas or immigration documents are required, we'll send you all the necessary forms and information and make the process very easy for you.
Where possible, all flights we arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination country. Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa and the level of your air ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour to get a changeable ticket.
We can also arrange your flight dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating country!
Benefits:
Costs vary depending on length of placement, but starts at £995 for two weeks.
Included is full support from the moment of booking and throughout your placement to your return home. There are support staff 24/7 in all our destinations worldwide and a 24 hour emergency international telephone line direct to the Head Office. All meals are provided, unless otherwise stated. Accommodation is provided (whether a rented house, a hotel/hostel, homestay, apartment or flat).
You’ll be met at the nearest airport on your arrival by our in-country manager who will take you to your accommodation and give you a full induction into the area. He/she will also be on call 24/7 and you’ll see them frequently.
Pre-departure you’ll receive comprehensive information about every aspect of your placement and necessary preparations, ranging from what to pack, to visa information, to what to do on your weekend travel in the country. Your safety, well being and happiness throughout your placement are our primary concerns and we will keep in touch with you throughout. International flights not included.
Requirements:
No qualifications needed, just a big dose of enthusiasm! All projects are open to all nationalities. Unless otherwise stated, you need to be aged 18 +
