Yanasara is a remote mountain village, situated two hours from Huamachuco in the province of La Libertad. The school doesn't have enough money to employ well qualified teachers and there is also a problem of finding teachers who are willing to work in the mountains. As a result the primary and secondary schools in the village are understaffed and the children do not receive much English language education. That is where you can help out!
The primary school has around 120 children and the secondary school - 'Colegio 80142 Juan Velasco' -70 to 80 children from 11 to 22 years old. Most of the children live near the school, but some children have to walk for two hours to get to school or stay over from Monday until Friday. The role of the volunteer is to give English classes at the school, however they might ask you to also teach Arts, Physical Education or any other subject. Since the summer of 2009 the secondary school has purchased some new musical equipment (a keyboard, guitars, flutes, clarinet, trumpets, horns, bass drum, small drums). If you play an instrument and you would like to teach the children feel free to organize lessons. The students are very keen to learn to play.
Previously, a volunteer initiated a small project with the students in the first and second grade of high school to have contact with students of their own age from a high school in Holland. This way the students from Peru and Holland can learn about other cultures and improve their English. It would be nice if you could help those kids with writing letters in English to the students in Holland and translating the letters from Holland from English into Spanish.
English is not only important for the children of Yanasara but also for adults, who hope to be able to welcome tourists visiting the hot springs. It is possible to teach them too. The village is surrounded by three rivers and lovely mountains, but the main attraction is the thermal baths. These fantastic thermal baths are free for volunteers!
Volunteer Roles/Working Hours
Working in Yanasara involves for a single person or a couple:
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Teaching basic English to local people
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Teaching English to children at the primary school
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Teaching English to children at the secondary school
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Teaching other subjects as Arts, Music and Physical Education at the secondary school
Please note that there will be no classes during summer vacation here (Mid Dec. to End of Feb.)
Volunteer Requirements
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Minimum Age: 20
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Native English speaker or a very advanced level of English.
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Teaching experience, TEFL certified is a plus.
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Basic to minimum Spanish level.
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Independence and flexibility are very important
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Affection for working with children (11-22 years old) and sometimes younger
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Minimum commitment of 1 month, preferably 2 months
