from $1471.00

Teach Children in Indigenous Mayan Communities

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Tour style - Learn & Volunteer

15 days

Guatemala is one of the jewels of Central America, packed with ancient ruins, active volcanoes and intriguing Mayan culture. This is one of the most popular volunteer projects, owing to the exceptional volunteer feedback it receives! Join this fantastic venture, aimed at improving the lives and English skills of children living in indigenous communities, a 45 min drive outside of Antigua. Volunteers who join this project may be working with children from nursery through initial primary school levels and will be typically working with children from the ages of 4 and upwards concentrating on basic education and literacy. As their teachers, those volunteers placed with younger children will be helping them master all the classroom basics, from holding a pencil, drawing lines, to their first letters and numbers. For those volunteers with more advanced Spanish, you may be teaching with more advanced children in maths, language and sciences. Classes are structured and interactive with lots of different activities for them to master. Please note that due to project dynamics, volunteers may be required to assist in other classes with the older children from time to time.
more info

Or call 800.781.4040

  • Summary

    Volunteers will arrive on a Saturday and be met by a GVI staff member. You will be transferred to Antigua where you will have an opportunity to meet the other new volunteers and rest. On Sunday you will meet the staff team, who will introduce you to the projects and Antigua. After this you will be introduced to your host family. A typical day usually starts with breakfast with the host family before meeting up with the other volunteers (usually up to four per community) to catch the bus to the project site, arriving to start classes at about 8:30am. Volunteers will work on their project from Monday to Friday. There is a break mid-morning and classes then continue to 11:30am, when the volunteers will have the chance to plan for the afternoon's lessons and eat with a local family in the community. The afternoon classes continue from 2pm until 4pm, with a break, before heading back to Antigua for 5pm. Volunteers have the option to teach their own class or assist other volunteers until they feel comfortable teaching their own class. It is hoped that a new volunteer will work with an experienced volunteer for one to two weeks, with the aim to take over that class once the experienced volunteer has left. Each class size can range from 5-20 children, depending on the collective ability or the attention needed by the children. Lessons range from basic literacy and numbers to educational reinforcement, help with homework and English, games, sports and other activities. Full records are kept of each child's progress on a monthly basis, to facilitate the volunteer changeover and allow continuity of the child's education process. No formal teacher-training is required as each volunteer will be supported by project managers or existing volunteers for the first few days. Teaching manuals, resource books, the Guatemalan curriculum and many other teacher resource books are available for the volunteers' use. A weekly meeting is held in the communities to discuss structure, swap ideas and to work on the following week's classes. A BBQ is also held each week for everyone to get together and unwind before the weekend!

  • Highlights

    - Living with a host family in Antigua. - Learning Spanish (optional). - Teaching indigenous children in remote communities. - Going on an adventure weekends or attending various cultural workshops and/or events.

  • Inclusions

    - Food - Accommodation - Airport pick-up and drop-off - One scholarship for a child to attend school for one year - Criminal Records Bureau check for UK participants - 50 trees to plant - Pre-departure support and discounted services - 24 hour emergency phone and 24 hour in country support

  • Not Included

    - International flights and taxes - Medical and travel insurance - Spending money

more info

Or call 800.781.4040

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