The placement we offer combines both caring and teaching in a local centre.

The centre was set up by an Italian based association some ten years ago. Since that time the centre has grown and Bill and Cecelia Thompson have become increasingly involved in its day to day running.

Tragically their daughter Julia was killed in an accident. Bill and Cecilia sent up a trust in memory of their daughter. Having travelled to Canavieiras on holidays they recognized that the local children (from the poorer neighbourhoods in town) needed help and support.

This is where you come in…

Your duties will be working with those children from the ‘favela’ (slums). These children come from poor families – many of them born to large families or to one parent families. Some of the children have mothers who are only teenagers themselves!

To try and help the families somehow escape the downward spiral of poverty the centre was set up to help give the parents the opportunity to work and earn money. The children walk to the crèche and school every day (Monday to Friday) and are left in a secure environment whilst the parents go to work.

Your day will start at 07.30.

In the morning you will be teaching conversational English to local adults and teenagers who are completing a catering course. At present their English is really non existent so you will be starting from nothing. The classes are taught by a trained teacher and you are there to support that teacher. For those who have work experience in catering and hospitality there will be the opportunity to link up to other parts of their catering course if you want to. At the same time these students will be learning IT so again there are possibilities there to have some input.

Later in the morning you will go to the crèche. Here the children are 2 to 5 years of age. Your role here is to care for the children – the learning environment is relaxed and informal. The children play games and have fun. At the centre they are taught personal hygiene (their homes lack running water!) including cleaning their teeth, they learn to share equipment and play together. They are taught the basics in reading and writing and simple number work – the local teachers are excellent and welcome any help and support you can bring. There are around thirty children in the crèche and they are put in to groups for their various activities.

The children at the crèche have lunch (you will too) and in the afternoon enjoy a nap of around an hour and a half. This is your free time to plan for the rest of the day.

Later in the afternoon the activities at the crèche continue.

The local junior school children arrive to the centre from the school (next door) in the afternoon. They come to the centre because their parents work. In the afternoon their teachers give them help in their homework and they play games and have fun. It is their time to relax. There is plenty of opportunity for you to have a huge input here. Not only will you be encouraged to teach English (at present their understanding is limited to hello and good bye and ‘My name is…’!) but you can make up fun activities as well. If you enjoy sports and games you are in for a treat!

You day will end at around 4 and this is the time to hit the beach and relax after your long day!

It is possible to concentrate on one or more of these placements – depending on your areas of interest and expertise. The more input you can have the better.

The centre is well resourced but lacks any books, games and written material in the English language.

The centre welcomes volunteers who are outgoing and friendly. You will struggle if you are introverted – the Brazilians are not slow in coming forward. You will need to take the initiative and make conversation and for this reason we think teaching the local adults and teenagers can only add to your network of friends. You will need to learn some basic Portuguese before you leave home as this will make a big difference to your first few weeks in Canavieiras.

Ideally you should have some experience in teaching although this is not entirely compulsory. Experiences working with kids (cubs, scouts) would really help you especially in the early stages of your placement as you settle in. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) would be extremely useful.