Info

In Colombia there are many schools that do not have enough staff, money or equipment and in many cases the teachers are under-qualified.

This problem is not just primarily with the teaching of English. The children here might never have a chance to learn a wide range of other subjects, therefore Colombian volunteers will assist with the teaching of as many subjects as possible. In Colombian schools the teaching of mathematics, sciences, humanities, music, sports, dance and art are just as important. The volunteers are not only here to assist and teach these subjects but to encourage the children to find their dreams. The children need to have a goal and even though they might come from the poorest backgrounds we want to make the children believe they can be the doctors, teachers, sport stars, artists and mathematicians of the future. This work is highly rewarding. As soon as you walk into that classroom you will realize just how much this means to the children. We want our volunteers to share their knowledge and experience and show them that with a bit of hard work anything is possible. NB - Volunteers DO NOT need to be a qualified or experienced teacher.

IVHQ PLACEMENT: Colegio Ricaurte De Soacha
This school is located in Soacha in the south of Bogota. It is in a poor neighborhood outside of the city centre, approximately a one hour bus ride from the apartment. The school is split into two buildings, one for kindergarten and crèche and the other for children in first grade to ninth grade. The schools are very close so the volunteer has the choice of which building to work at (this is also dependent on volunteer numbers at the time and availability of placements within the school). There are about 30 to 40 children in kindergarten. The volunteers will help assist the two teachers with lessons, play times and feeding. The lessons will consists of drawing, building and teaching things like the numbers and the alphabet in Spanish. There is a lot of fun to be had with the children during the playtimes and the feeding is generally a small snack. There are also children with learning difficulties here so they need a bit of extra care, attention and affection. In the other building the volunteers will teach and help assist with the children from grades 1,2,3 and 4. These children are always very excited to be taught anything from our volunteers. You can teach them are wide range of subjects, anything from English to math to sports. There are also children with learning difficulties in these classes so the volunteer can choose to stay with these students if they wish and give them one to one teaching. The school starts at 6.30am and finishes at 1.00pm. We do try and get there as early as possible and generally stay for at least 3 hours. On Saturdays the school holds a dance and acting class for the children with learning difficulties. We give the volunteers a choice if they wish to attend. It's a lot of laughs and smiles and is a great opportunity to interact with these children a little bit more. NB This is only an example placement which is one of many offered by IVHQ in Colombia and not necessarily the one you will be working at.