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TEACHING PROJECTS

Zambia encompasses everything magnificent about Africa!

Teaching takes place in Livingstone town, a quaint but lively area very close to Victoria Falls. The schools we work with are private schools, but these are very poor schools that need as much support from volunteers as possible.

You may be asked to teach anything from English to Maths and Sports to children aged between 2 and 16 years. Your help will form an important part of their educational and social development. Livingstone is a very friendly place and the schools are no exception!

You don't need any qualifications to take part in this programme.

 

On this page:

      .

Voluntary projects in Zambia
Teaching Projects in Livingstone: Africa is all about colour!
Livingstone: Africa is all about hope and colour!

Return to the Zambia Home Page and
the list of all our projects in Zambia

ABOUT YOUR WORK:
You will normally assist the teachers to start with, but depending on your ability, you may be given complete control of a particular class or group. You will receive a lot of help and support from the teachers and staff at the schools to help you prepare for your lessons and settle you into your role as teacher.

Download and print additional
information on this project
 
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The schools we work with are private schools, but these are very poor schools that need as much support from volunteers as possible. See the video!
(courtesy of Tongabezi Lodge)
Schools can be both secondary and primary and you will generally be asked to help out with any age groups. You will be able to teach a specific subject of your choice if you wish to, such as mathematics or science.

In addition, for those of you who enjoy sports, you will be glad to know that sports are also a very popular subject for the children, and they would love for you to help out with the game periods which the schools have.

The facilities are poor, but football and volleyball have quite a following. Some sports take coaching takes place throughout the day, but most is after 3pm for an hour or two.

The schools themselves are quite small and incredibly basic - you will feel part of the family immediately! School sizes range from 100 to 150 pupils at one given time. This means that class sizes are also fairly small and very manageable, normally ranging from 20 to 30, although occasionally you may have smaller classes.

One particular primary school was established by a UK volunteer and is funded purely by external donations. There are only four qualified Zambian teachers and one assistant teacher employed to teach primary classes. Their dedication and enthusiasm have resulted in fun and lively classrooms full of interest and activity.

Your help is most needed to free time for these hard working teachers to dedicate to other important work, and help supplement the education of these exceptional children. This school also has a feeding programme in place for needy children and they hope to extend this to all children with the support of donors.

They have also helped with funding to build homes for orphaned children. The children here are fantastic and the hard work and attitude of the teachers is heart warming.

The level of education of the children in Zambia does differ, and it will be up to you and the Principle to find out how best to use your skills.

Most of the children are very shy to speak English and it’s in this area that the help of our volunteers is needed – to give the children to confidence to speak the language. They ask for your support to help push the children’s’ education forward, and to help improve teaching techniques for the existing teachers, where possible.

The children and teachers that we work with in Zambia are are fantastic - you will be greeted with huge smiles and a very warm welcome. Usually the children don't want to let you go and may even resort to clinging on to your legs to stop you from leaving. You are sure to enjoy every minute of your teaching experience!

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2008 in Zambia:
Dates for the 2008 school terms (semesters) are given below.

  • 1st Term 7th January to 4th April

  • 2nd Term 5th May to 1st August

  • 3rd Term 1st September to 28th November

Teaching is not available during school holidays, so if you're planning to participate in a placement, please take the above school term dates into account when planning the timing of your project. On the other hand, if a holiday falls during your proposed placement, you could use this time to do any independent travelling and sightseeing.

Before you go - you can enroll in a 1-day intensive open teacher training course (optional) to help you teach if you have no experience.

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TEACHING ARTS, DRAMA, MUSIC AND OTHER SUBJECTS IN ZAMBIA:
If you have some know-how, some initiative and lots of enthusiasm, you can also get involved with teaching Drama, Music, Dance or Arts and Crafts lessons. If you enjoy being creative, then you can share your talents and enthusiasm at the various schools we work with.

Teaching Arts subjects is an excellent way of engaging children’s imaginations and encourages them to communicate with few constraints. What’s more, it is very satisfying to watch their confidence grow as they learn and develop new skills.

At some of our schools in our other destinations, volunteers and pupils together have produced plays and concerts, and performances have been put on in the evenings for parents, students and visitors. Because the schools are poor, the volunteers and children have had to be very creative in putting together costumes and sets – but all productions have been a resounding success!

Volunteers have found that producing short plays written by the children that address local social issues has been a successful means in educating the children on issues such as AIDS awareness, cultural relationships, peer pressures, and bullying. It gives the children an informal forum and a means of sharing their concerns and learning to deal with issues.

You can either teach one or more of these subjects for the whole of your placement, or you can combine one of or all of these subjects with teaching conversational English.

Please email or call us (+44 (0)1903 502595) for more details – we will certainly be able to find a way to utilise your talents, ensuring a fulfilling placement for both yourself and your students.

ACCOMMODATION:

You will be accommodated in a small, modern, and lively hostel situated in the center of Livingstone. The hostel has a very large private garden shaded with huge mango trees, and a crystal clear swimming pool. It also has a lively, sociable bar area where many activities are arranged.

Livingstone has a colonial feel to it and you will find a wide variety of restaurants, bars, and shops. Your accommodation is ideally situated and can offer excellent trips to places such as Lusaka.

You'll share a room with 3 or 4 other Travellers volunteers. Breakfast and evening dinner will be provided by the hostel but you will need to arrange for your own sandwiches to take to the school, which can be bought at a very cheap price from the local shops.

At the time of writing, facilities at the hostel include; a swimming pool, recreation room with TV, internet cafe with internet access, a dining and kitchen area where food can be stored and access to telephones.

The hostel also has an in-house booking centre, where many local activities can be booked (wildlife safaris, river cruises, river gorges, bungee jumping, white water rafting, treks, etc). They guarantee to offer the best deals in town and to beat any other lodge or booking center!

The hostel also looks into Community Projects and staff empowerment. Many guests comment on the quality of their staff. They are their greatest asset and many have worked for them in excess of 4 years with the longest serving 8 (since they first started). Staff turnover is very low and a family atmosphere has been created that adds tremendously.

They are also involved in a number of community projects. Last year they raised over US$2000 for a local school. They sponsor a local youth football team, the police regatta team, local fund raising events and an annual day out for orphaned children on World tourism Day. They also sponsor Independence day celebrations.

There are plenty of opportunities to socialise with other volunteers, and there will more than likely be a group of you out there at any one time.

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The hostel in Zambia has a nice pool and shaded garden area

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.
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.

Support:
You will fly into Livingstone Airport where you will be welcomed by a member of our Project staff.

He/she will arrange your transport to the project.

You'll be introduced to everyone, including your Supervisor and other volunteers and staff.

VISAS:. In countries where visas or immigration documents are required, we'll send you all the necessary forms and information and make the process very easy for you.


Students from a school that Travellers has been supporting financially for the past 5 years. Read more...

To see what Support & Backup we provide in our countries, please click here.

SPECIALS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Volunteer Feedback
How your money helps
Read about how your placement and money contributes to helping an extremely poor community school in Zambia and to paying for the education of the poorest children

 

PRICES:
Children making a small garden

To see the Prices of this project and all our other projects in Zambia, please click here

Prices include
  • Food & accommodation 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.

Return to the Zambia Home Page and
the list of all our projects in Zambia

TO APPLY FOR A PROJECT, PLEASE CLICK HERE

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Last modified: April 24, 2008