The kindergarten project is located in a shantytown called Villa Los Angeles, near Huanchaco. Unfortunately, the area doesn’t bear any resemblance to it's U.S counterpart. The poverty rate in Villa L.A is extremely high and this is the only social project around for the underprivileged inhabitants of the area; most of whom are immigrants who moved to the coast full of hope, leaving behind their roots in the highlands to find a better future. Reality wasn’t that kind and they didn’t get full-time jobs or have any other option but to work in agriculture and construction on a daily basis, getting very little money with which to survive.
In this sad picture, education suffers. The parents never completed their own basic education and therefore they cannot be fully in charge of the education of their children. In 2010, the kindergarten started off in a little wooden cottage hosting 8 children to develop their basic skills before going to primary school. As their parents are not charged any fees, the group of children is growing. This year, they built another wooden cottage, a playground and bathrooms to offer a better environment for the kids.
Although the kindergarten is working in cooperation with the Municipality of Huanchaco to be sustainable in terms of financing, the tiny budget for operations they get, especially because it’s a brand new initiative, means they cannot afford teachers, assistants and qualified staff to work with the kids. Currently only one teacher and one member of the community are entirely involved. With the help of volunteers, they envision to reach a larger group of needy children.
The main goal of the project is to give children who live in the shantytown Villa L.A a good chance to access basic education and encourage them to exercise their citizenship and find better opportunities in life. If you want to see these kids flourishing, take off and come here to volunteer!
Volunteer Roles / Working Hours
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Assisting the main kindergarten teacher in everything required assuring the kids are making progress according to their age group.
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Managing the nursery room and supervising the children using the playground and outside areas.
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Organizing extra activities and games for the enjoyment of the children.
The kindergarten is open most of the year (from March to mid-December).
Volunteers work Monday to Friday 9:00am - 12:30pm.
Volunteer Requirements
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Basic to Minimal Spanish level
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Minimum commitment: 6 weeks but it’s open to discussion.
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Able to deal with streetwise children.
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Creative, responsible and independent personality.
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Genuine interest in working with children.
