This is a truly worthwhile and rewarding
project in the vibrant world of Brazil's colourful border town, Foz do
Iguaçu. Are you looking for a wider perspective?
This project will allow you to gain experience in care, or
simply to challenge yourself in a friendly environment where your
assistance is really needed. This is a challenging and rewarding
project, during which you'll spend your time helping children and
adults with mental, physical and emotional disabilities
No qualifications are required for this project -
any volunteer who wants to help will be made very welcome!
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ABOUT THE CENTRE
Nosso
Canto is a school for disabled people from all walks of life. The centre’s
philosophy is that all disabled people have the right to receive the care
they need – even those who can’t afford expensive care homes. Most of the
students here come from very underprivileged backgrounds.
Students of all ages come to the centre – from babies to adults. Most suffer
from mental disorders like Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism or
Hydrocephaly. The aim of the centre is to help these people study, develop
life skills, relax and enjoy themselves.
Nosso Canto is a reasonably small
institution with a bubbly and friendly staff who are in desperate need of
help in caring for the students here. The centre
is funded almost entirely by donations, which makes it much harder to find
employees as they can only offer them a low wage. Your work here will be
enormously valued and appreciated by both the staff and the students.
ABOUT YOUR WORK
As the centre deals with a large
variety of ailments and has many ‘areas’, you will need to be extremely
flexible in the work that you do. Some of the activities you may be involved
in include:
Playing with the younger
children
Helping with arts and crafts
or other activities
Getting involved in sports or
music
Acting as a 1-1 assistant to
someone at the centre – helping them move around and participate in
activities
Helping clients eat or go to
the toilet
Helping clients with their
physical mobility exercises
Teaching English to the staff
You must be comfortable with
assisting in a variety of areas in any other activities the centre requires
of you – the list above is by no means exhaustive. You must be prepared to
get your hands dirty and have your patience tried and your heartstrings
tugged. This is an excellent project which volunteers really enjoy, but
isn’t always an easy ride, so come prepared!
It’s also very important to use your
initiative on this project. You should ask questions, ask for work if you
feel like you’re at a loose end and generally make yourself helpful in any
way you can. The staff at the centre are very busy and the volunteers can’t
always be their top priority, so you’ll need to be prepared to put yourself
forward for tasks and be inquisitive about everything you do. If you can do
this, you’ll get far more out of your project – you get out what you put in.
The centre opens from 8am-12 and then again from
1:30pm-5:30pm from Monday-Friday. There are 150 people at the centre, from
babies to adults, and you’ll most likely be working with a wide range of
ages during your project. You’ll usually work around 4 hours a day and take
either the morning or afternoon shift. You''ll have evenings and weekends
free to relax and explore beautiful Foz with the other volunteers! For information on living in
Foz and your accommodation, please see here
The minimum project time on this project is 4 weeks.
The most important qualifications for this placement are that you’re self
motivated, confident working both alone and in a team and have a friendly
disposition.
If you have qualifications, that’s great – you’ll be able to help the carers
and nurses with the therapies at the centre. If not, that’s fine too – any
help that you can give is very welcome.
You may find that your assigned tasks differ depending on your skills and
experience, so if you’re not confident in every area don’t worry.
Travellers will also go through the usual internal acceptance procedure, for
which you will need to fill in the questionnaires found on the volunteer
extranet. It is only once we hear back regarding your final acceptance that
we will be able to book your flights and confirm you on your placement, so
the speedier you can be with sending all this in, the better!
Travellers will also go through the usual internal
acceptance procedure, for which you will need to fill in the questionnaires
found on the volunteer extranet. It is only once we hear back regarding your
final acceptance that we will be able to book your flights and confirm you
on your placement, so the speedier you can be with sending all this in, the
better!
SPECIALS, EXTRAS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
TRAVEL AND SUPPORT
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.
For Foz, you'll more than likely fly into
Sao Paulo, as this is the nearest international airport. From
there you can either fly to Foz do Iguaçu
or you have the option to take a comfortable bus/coach ride instead. The trip
takes about 12 - 14 hours and is an excellent way to see some of the country.
For Rio, you'll fly
into the international airport.
When you arrive, you'll be welcomed by
our local Organiser and introduced to the people you'll be living and working
with.
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 meet you at the airport regardless of whether you make
your own travel arrangements or not.
VISAS:. All requirements regarding visas will
be arranged by our office and the process of obtaining a visa will be made very easy for you.
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 and wondrous country!
To see what support we provide in our countries,
please read Support
and Backup
PRICES
To see the Prices of this project and all
our other projects in Brazil, please
click here
Prices
include
Accommodation and
breakfast while on your project,
2 T-shirts, if required
for your project
All support and backup
during your programme
Meeting you at the
nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.
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+44 01903 502595
