TEACH UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN LIVINGSTONE IN ZAMBIA

Zambia encompasses everything magnificent about Africa - wildlife, birds, safaris, lakes, rivers, culture and adventure sports! Teaching takes place in Livingstone town, a quaint but lively area very close to Victoria Falls. You'll have plenty of opportunities to participate in the multitude of activities that surround the Falls, from white-water rafting and canoeing on the magnificent Zambezi River to bungy jumping or game spotting in the Reserve.

The schools we work with, although private, 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.

On this page:

• Project Overview

• Teaching Arts, Drama and Music

• Accommodation

• Travel and Support & Backup

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Your help will form an important part of the children's educational and social development. Livingstone is a very friendly place and the schools are no exception!

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! "The kids are so keen to learn and were without a doubt the best part of the trip! My time in Zambia was perfect." Joseph Sladen

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Africa and the fascinating culture in Zambia.

• The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and knowing that you made a difference to them.

• New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional development.

• An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head and shoulders above most others in the job market

• And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!

WORK CONTENT:
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.

The schools we work with are private but very poor schools that need as much support from volunteers as possible. 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.

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.

"Thank you so much for organising everything in Zambia! I had an unbelievable time! It was such a wonderful school and the pupils were so friendly and willing to learn (as were the teachers). I made so many new friends and discovered that I really did enjoy doing this kind of thing! Livingstone was a great place to be as it had amazing character and was so close to Victoria Falls. It was an amazing experience and one which I will never forget, I'll be sure to pass on the word to people" Hamish Brown
 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Click here to see the Teaching in Zambia Video
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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

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.

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.

If you have skills or knowledge in an area not listed above, 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.

You'll live 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 will be required to share a room with other other volunteers or guests of mixed gender. Food and drink is not provided on this placement. There is a local supermarket for you to buy food from and the hostel has cooking facilities for you to use or you can pay for meals at the hostel if you wish. Even better still why not try out some local dishes for a real Zambian experience!

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 centre!

Many guests comment on the quality of the Hostel staff. They are their greatest asset and many have worked for them for over four years and some have been there since the Hostel opened. Staff turnover is very low and a family atmosphere has been created that adds tremendously to their guests' enjoyment.

The Hostel is also involved in a number of community projects. Recently they raised over US $2,000 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 tourists.