Job Discussion Forums

[naturegirl321]

Here are some volunteer links in case anyone is interested

http://www.OasisDeAmor.org Honduras, orphange
www.livezone.com/maya/volunteer.html Guatemala, field worker, food
www.commonhope.org Guatemala, family development
www.safepassage.org Guatemala, street kids
http://www.cenitecuador.org/volunteering.php Ecuador, teaching
http://www.kingschildrenshome.org Belize, orphange
http://amanecer-bolivia.org/voluntee.htm Bolivia, education

www.idealist.org Many
bolt.icestorm.com/lyric Many

[kaililynn]

per naturegirls request, a little (a lot of) info on a volunteer thing i did in ecuador. its called La Casa de la Ni�ez, part of La Fundacion PAN, sponsored by El Patronato Municipal San Jose. if they get their website back, its

www.patronatomunicipalsanjose.com

There is no fee, which is one of the reasons why I chose it (i had no money at the time, plus its hard for me to see spending lots of money on volunteering). There are two groups of kids at La Casa, street kids, who live there all the time, and impoverished kids (mostly of indigenous descent) who recieve financial aid to go to school and in return have to go to the Foundation every day to recieve homework help. La Casa also offers a full meal to the children, some get it for free, others pay $0.10, $0.25, based on their financial situation. La Casa also works with the bus station nearby in employing some of the boys as janitorial staff, these are boys 14 and up who work at the "Terminal Terrestre" and usually study (Ecuadorian school is half-days). The street kids, if they improve, and stay at the foundation a good amount of time, are also eligible for employment at the Terminal.

As you know, gender is still an issue in Ecuador, so being a female you will most likely be working with the impoverished kids, tutoring them, etc. This sounds uninteresting, but with 4 or 5 volunteers and 100 kids, its hectic! They also have a small computer lab where the kids can go after doing their homework to play educational games; this makes learning fun and also helps them develop computer skills. Now, I believe they are working on "talleres" for the street kids, to give them some kind of skill.

The goal of the foundation is to get kids off the streets, rehabilitate them (if they have a drug issue), teach them respect/discipline, teach them about nutrition, FEED THEM, give them a safe place to be, and eventually return them to their families. This is the ultimate goal, and some kids have an arrangement where they spend a certain amount of time with their families and a certain amount of time at the Foundation; or they spend the days at the foundation and sleep at their home.

The other goal is to ensure that the at-risk kids (impoverished) get an eduaction. Most of these kids' parents moved down from the higher mountatins to Quito and work selling produce or delivering things in the Old Town, so they are "uneducated" and also do not have the money to pay for uniforms, books, etc. The Foundation helps these kids by providing those things, and also gives them the support they need to actually learn the material, get good grades, answer their questions, etc. These kids do not have the ideal learning environment or home situation, so it is important that they have the support of the people at the foundation.

Sounds great! What are the downsides?

Well. IF you want, you can live at the foundation for free, and eat for free as well. It is supported by El Patronato Municipal San Jose, and they have a big building; I think it used to be part of the police station, with lots of bedrooms and a huge kitchen/eating area. The street kids sleep there along with at least one paid staff member, and then volunteers can also stay. When I lived there, I was the only girl who lived in the house so I had my own room and bathroom. There were two male German volunteers who shared a bedroom and bathroom. This is ideal if you are on a tight budget, but can really strain your nerves. You don't get much "time off," my schedule was kind of 9-5, but at dinner I also was with the street kids, helping prepare the meal and keep them under control. After dinner they like to play games and would usually request that I play with them, I tried to always do that, but sometimes I was just exhausted after 5 hours straight of "se�orita! se�orita!" Kids are one of my constant joys in life, so for me to be tired, it must be hard work.

I had weekends off, since I worked mainly with the schoolkids and they didn't come on the weekends, but I was always invited to go with the streetkids on trips they would take around Quito, or sometimes we would go to the pool outside of Quito.

The Germans had 2 days off every week, but they were irregular and they didnt usually have the same day off (as in, both guys off on the same day). This isnt a problem when you come alone, but it was hard on them because they didn't have a friend to hang out with on their days off. If you've traveled alone though, you know how to make friends, and its usually not an issue. I had taken some salsa lessons and made friends that way, and I usually spent time with them on my time off.

Also, there is a "deep cleaning" every Saturday morning. The streetkids help keep the Foundation clean, it is their "house." Unfortunately, the cleaning started at 6 or 7am! And they would sweep the halls and bang the brooms into my door (not on purpose, obviously). Also there were always dogs barking at night, or sirens, etc. I won't lie, its in one of the worst (but not THE worst) parts of town.

There were a few issues with some of the staff when I worked there, but those people no longer work there, and I went and visited the Foundation this summer and the kids seemed happier, it seemed like the staff was treating them well. The jefas (yes, the place is run by two chicks!! ...its a good thing) are a little wary of your ideas, they say that you just need to learn more about Ecuadorian culture and you will see they are right. That may be true, and in most cases my ideas were well-recieved (mostly the ones about how to make things more efficient), but when it came to the kids, they usually wrote us (the germans and I) off.

It's not too expensive to live in Ecuador (I got a furnished place in one of the best parts of town for $320 a month, and you can find a LOT cheaper, I only rented it one month, haha). The waiters, etc of Ecuador make $120-150 a month, and they do it, so it can be done. If you were really interested and wanted to do it, I would suggest maybe living in the foundation for the first month or so while you get your bearings. They are really nice and understanding about things, and I dont see why it would be a problem to move out and continue volunteering there, if you wanted some peace.

Also, if you are an obvious tourist, you have to be extra careful because after all, it is Ecuador, and the foundation, like I mentioned, is not in the best part of town. A few Ecuadorians called me crazy for living there (but they were pretty rich and lived on the outskirts/suburbs of Quito). There were two Swedish volunteers (chicks, one about 5'9'' and blonde/blue eyes, the other shorter with blonde hair and blue eyes), who dressed uber-european and had this kind of cluelessness about them (they were awesome people, but screamed tourist, even though they were volunteers, haha). They got robbed twice in the 2 months they were there. I also have blonde hair and blue eyes, and worked there for 3 months, and then traveled around the country for 3 months (including hitchhiking) and never had any problems. I'm also pretty low key and at least know how to PRETEND that I know what I'm doing. And spot sketchy characters.

It's a lot of info, but I had NONE of it going into the whole thing, so I just want to let you be as informed as possible. If you have more questions, obviously I would be more than happy to answer them. I think there are a few organizations like this one in Ecuador that have free room and board, but usually its a matter of showing up and finding them, which can be a little hard and stressful.

[kaililynn]

oh yeah. the kids.

working with streetkids sounds romantic and idealistic.. i'm sure it is, before and after. mostly before. its really really hard, especially without a degree in psychology or at least previous experience. i had experience working with kids before, but that was at camps, not 10 year olds who were addicted to drugs, or had been raped, or robbed in order to eat. its a strange paradox because at times they are your traditional, adorable, fun-loving kids, but in a second you can see that they've lived more in their decade of existence than you may ever live.

thats my only "warning." know what you're getting into. you obviously can't know if you've never done it, but be prepared psychologically i guess, for some rejection and a rude awakening. i love every single one of the kids i worked with, and when i went back almost 2 years later, they still remembered me. but its not teaching english to people who are paying for classes (i'm not depreciating that in any way, its what i'm working to do!), nor is it always working with someone who wants your help. but it IS working with someone who needs your help, more than you'll probably ever realize.

good luck!