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Who qualifies
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Anyone
who is positive, works well with others, has something to contribute
and possesses a natural affection for the people we are trying
to help (poor children and abandoned mothers). Age, sex, race,
religion and nationality make no difference. Although it is not
part of our entry criteria we strongly recommend that you have
a basic level of Spanish before joining us. This will help you
to get the most out of your experience as none of the children
and very few of the teachers you will be working with in schools
speak English. You will therefore be teaching the children to
read, write and do maths in Spanish. The minimum term of volunteering
is one month. We welcome any questions you may have......info@serendipitykids.org |
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Types of work Available
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Most volunteers come to help as
teaching assistants in the classroom; whilst some have teaching
experience, most do not. In addition to teachers, Serendipity
Kids also needs Project Directors, fundraisers and people with
public relations experience. As school finishes for the children
in mid-December and does not start again until January we recommend
that you time your work with us to take this into account - during
the two brief annual breaks the rest of us are busier than ever
recruiting and testing new children for the next term (and volunteers
are welcome to join in), also our other projects; such as poverty
eradication and abandoned pregnant teens often conmtinues as usual.
In March there is also a short break between the summer school
finishing [remember, seasons are exactly opposite
here in the Southern hemisphere] and the longer school
session starting (late Feb./early Mar.) when there is no school.
During this time teachers go out into the poor areas of the city
looking for children who are working but who should be in school.
There is plenty of work, just not teaching |
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Accommodation and food
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Our volunteers accommodation during
their stay with us is normally arranged by the volunteer agency
which recruited and booked the volunteers with us..They also normally
provide three meals a day, five or seven days a week (weekends,
holidays and days are sometimes not included). If your volunteer
agency has not made arrangements for your accommodation and board
while you are serving in one of our projects - or if in fact you
do not have a volunteer agency to book you, you can contact us
directly at: info@serendipitykids.org |
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There is no cost to register and
volunteer with us. Mose volunteers come via a volunteer agency
who do charge a fee for finding and qualifying volunteers for
us. We ask everyong who comes to believe in the usefullness of
our projects to help raise funds to sustain our work. Volunteering
with us is not contingent upon your fundraising for our projects,
it is an elective. |
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Teaching Language classes
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Serendipity
Kids (in some cities) runs English, French and other language
classes for local children and adults which are taught mostly
by volunteers. These are taught during weekday evenings, usually
from Monday to Thursday. There are textbooks that volunteers can
use to teach the classes as most of the volunteers who come to
Serendipity Kids are not qualified language teachers. All volunteers
teach 1 or 2 classes a night, each of which lasts an hour. Before
you start your volunteer work with Serendipity Kids you may want
to look at a grammar book to prepare you for teaching English
classes when you arrive. |
A typical day in the
life of a volunteer
For photos of volunteers in action
click here
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In the morning volunteers
make sandwiches for the children before eating their own breakfast.
Volunteers then start teaching with their Peruvian teacher.
In some cities children come into the centres for lessons, in
other cities the schools are located both in the city centre
and further away in the barrios (the poorest parts of town).
The morning is spent teaching literacy and maths to the children.
Some volunteers help generally with all the children in the
class, others will have a specific group or child of their own
to teach, depending upon the needs of the class. The Peruvian
teachers decide what the volunteer needs to do within the classroom
but often volunteers are left to teach the children for whom
they are responsible as they see fit. At least one day a week
the children also play sport. At the end of the morning the
children have lunch. In some centres volunteers eat lunch with
their children, in others they return to the centre to eat with
the other volunteers.
During the afternoon,
depending on the centre
...· volunteers will
do the following
...· More
teaching of the children
...· Participating
in a Serendipity Kids Club for children already in state school
...· Spanish
lessons · Free time
Evening meals are
usually ready around 5 or 6pm, after which most volunteers teach
English language classes (mostly to young adults and people
of low income). Classes last for one hour and run during the
evening from 6pm - 9pm. The students of these classes pay a
small tuition fee for their lessons which helps to fund our
programmes with the children.
Volunteer days will
vary slightly according to the centre in which you are volunteering.
To read a description of a typical day at each of the centres,
go to the ´Centres in Peru´ box at the top of the page and click
on the relevant centre from the drop-down menu.
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Present and past volunteers at
Serendipity Kids
we normally have between 20 and 45
International Volunteers and 30 to 55 Peruvian volunteers serving
at any given time
(in spite of the large number of volunteers who have served
in our programs, we remain a small organization).
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In fact we are all volunteers;
doctors, dentists, three economists, lots of social workers, even
more university students (medicine, systems, education, psychology,
communication, architecture), cooks, lots and lots of teachers,
child minders, psychologists, attorneys, engineers, a biologist,
nurses, musicians, artists and laborers. The longest time anyone
has volunteered so far is two years. The list below includes former
and current volunteers.
Demographics
| Austria |
4 |
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Ireland |
32 |
| Australia |
70 |
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Israel |
11 |
| Belgium |
6 |
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Italy |
10 |
| Brazil |
8 |
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Japan |
25 |
| Canada |
102 |
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Korea |
2 |
| Chile |
1 |
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Lebanon |
1 |
| Cornwall |
2 |
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Netherlands |
25 |
| Cuba |
2 |
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New Zealand |
12 |
| Denmark |
6 |
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Norway |
5 |
| England |
189 |
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Panama |
5 |
| (Expat) Peru |
5 |
|
Local People |
598 |
| Finland |
2 |
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Scotland |
12 |
| France |
49 |
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Singapore |
2 |
| Germany |
30 |
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Spain |
31 |
| Hungary |
2 |
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Swden
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15
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| Iceland |
1 |
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Switzerland |
10....
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| India |
1 |
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U.S.A. |
233. |
| Indonesia |
1 |
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Wales |
1 |
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Total .1,558
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How
to volunteer
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Begin by filling in the VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FORM and we will
respond as soon as possible. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
...· Can I choose
the centre I work at?
If you have one of our locations in mind, do let us know about
your preference in your application. We do our best to accommodate
everyone, however some centres may already be booked for the
time you wish to come. Also, each volunteer has particular skills
and experience which we learn about through the application,
and apply to what we know about the needs and opportunities
of particular centres. When an applicant is accepted we normally
let you know in our first message if you can get into the centre
of your choice; or make alternative suggestions in it is already
booked. If you are a couple and would like a double room (no
extra cost) full payment must be made upon notification that
a double room is available in the centre you have applied to,
for the dates you have requested. Double rooms are available
on a first come first serve basis
...· Is there a minimum
length of stay?
Usually 1 month. [There is no maximum stay - the recod stay
so far is 6 yrs. 6 months]
...· What type of
accommodation is provided/how many people share a room?
Accommodation ranges from dormitory style (4 to 6 people) to
individual rooms for long-term volunteers and couples. Photos
of accommodation can be seen by viewing the relevant Serendipity
Kids pages.
...· What hours do
people work including evening teaching?
Volunteers work on average a 6-7 hour day excluding preparation
time for the lessons with the children and for their English
classes in the evening.
...· Are there breaks
allowed for longer term volunteers?
Breaks are allowed for longer term volunteers but we would ask
volunteers to give as much notice as possible so that we can
plan in advance how to cover your work while you are away.
...· How do you renew
your visa if you stay longer than 3 months?
After 3 months you have 2 options. You can either leave the
country and re-enter (sometimes in the same day) to gain a visa
for a further 3 months. Alternatively you can extend your visa
for 1 month at a cost of €20 plus 26 soles administration fee.
You can pay to extend your visa twice but after that you must
leave the country and re-enter to renew your visa.
...· Is there an Information
Pack available to volunteers before they arrive to help prepare
them for their work with Serendipity Kids?
Yes. When an applicant has been sellectd we give you a web address
where you can read or download the Welcome Pack for the centre
where you will be serving.
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| Finding out more |
If you would like to speak to
a current or ex-volunteer of Serendipity Kids then please email
us at: .info@serendipitykids.org and a volunteer will contact
you. If you are interested in speaking to someone in particular
eg male/female, a volunteer at a particular Serendipity Kids centre,
particular nationality etc, please let us know in your email. |
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