You will be settled in and orientated during the first few days of this trip. However, we do offer a more comprehensive cultural immersion week which many people do as it’s a great way of meeting others, learning local customs and seeing a few sights. If you like the sound of this, then search our ‘Nearby Trips‘ and add it on for your first week.
Teaching Project in Goa
Half way down India’s western coast is the mysterious gem and captivating heart of India, Goa. With sparkling blue waters, lush green paddy fields, dense palm groves, colourful festivals and the friendliest locals you are likely to come across its easy to see why Goa attracts more travellers than any other location in India. This is the perfect destination for those looking to embrace the travelling lifestyle as you immerse yourself in Eastern traditions whilst truly giving back to the local community as a volunteer teacher.
Despite it’s rise in tourism and growing popularity, Goa remains a poverty stricken state where the standards of living for many are reaching dangerously low levels. A lack of financial support and resources apparent in many developing nations has resulted in many children being deprived any kind of structured learning environment. Even for those that are lucky enough to attend school, the majority are understaffed and the teachers are pushed to their limits. There is no underestimating the power of education as a tool for development here, and this could be your opportunity to support this local community and improve the future prospects for these children.
Your Teaching Volunteer Placement
Take part in this teaching volunteer placement and you will have the rewarding job of inspiring and educating Indian children towards a better future. You will be based in a school or learning facility in the beautiful area of Goa in which the placement focuses on educational enhancement for students in local communities. You will be expected to be flexible and open minded throughout this project and able to adapt to different situations depending on the needs at the time.
There is a clear unbalance of wealth throughout India, in which many children from more disadvantaged communities have not had the opportunity to gain the basic literacy and numeracy skills needed for future employment. Despite their circumstances these children are incredibly enthusiastic and eager to learn, making this a truly rewarding experience to watch them improve and develop throughout the learning process. Your enthusiasm, time and commitment could dramatically improve their future prospects by giving them the crucial skills and confidence for later life.
Your Teaching Role
This project is mainly conducted for children in the age group of 3-16 years belonging to migrant families living in slums located on the periphery of the city.
Our indoor and outdoor school was established because of the population of migrant labourers are increasing day by day, which has been the situation in Goa since the last few years. The direct negative impact of this migrant situation has effected children who are in their schooling age. They have to drop out of their schools for 4-5 months every year as their families migrate to different locations every few months.
Most of the migrants are from far away regions of Southern & Northern India (eg., Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Kolkata etc). This migrant community sets up camps on the outskirts of cities and live there for almost a year depending on the various odd jobs they can find. The longer they stay back, the longer the children do not get the opportunity to go to school. And the children end up working at a very tender age to gain extra income for their families. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to encourage these migrant children to focus on their education by giving them the opportunity to continue their learning with us.
Despite the fact that there is a public school already in the vicinity, it has not helped the education of the children in the migrant communities for various reasons such as,
● The community’s understanding that education is less important
● The distance to the school (5km), where the children find it difficult to walk as there are no local transportation provided by the public school
● Financial constraints
● The migratory tradition of the community
To overcome these issues and to make education accessible to these underprivileged population, we have come up with an alternative and have taken the initiative to run a community school at the village, where the education is free of cost and the school is at a walking distance from their homes.
Our main concern is the realisation of sustainable peace and development in which the children, youth, women, adults, and elders are involved in positive activities that will ensure socio-economic welfare in this village. The vision is to educate and inspire the younger generation who are not fortunate enough to be trained or even to go to school because of their backgrounds.
Activities at the School:
You will be involved in various activities such as:
● Provide regular basic education for migrated children in the age group of 5 to 14
● Develop infrastructure in the village such as better access roads, build toilets, construct a rainwater harvesting system, and setting up libraries
● Conduct workshops and training to make kitchen gardens, teaching health, hygiene habits and nutrition
● Conduct environmental camps to spread the awareness of household waste management
● Classes for kindergarten children during the day as their parents go to work. Organising summer camps during the summer vacations of April and May.
● Conduct sports coaching camps in football for the children of the community
Our outreach school educates underprivileged children from slums, whose parents cannot afford to send them to school. The teaching sessions take place in the mornings and afternoons where the participants interact with the children using games and activities to teach them and help them understand the importance of education and developing skills.
CRB/DBS (Criminal Records Bureau) Check
It is required that participants complete a CRB/DBS (Criminal Records Bureau) check in order to take part in this project. We can provide this service for you at an additional cost because some people may already have one that is valid (please get in touch for more details).
Gap Year and Career Break Teaching Placement in Goa
Bask in the Indian sun, soak up the rich cultural history and meet amazing like minded people all whilst giving back to the local community on a volunteer teaching placement in Goa. Despite Goa’s popularity it refuses to be spoilt by such attention and manages to retain a real sense of cultural heritage and Indian charm; with beaches that remain serene and almost untouched it’s easy to let your mind wander and imagine you were the first to discover this fascinating land.
