About the Project:Help children from the poorest backgrounds learn and develop to their fullest potential. The school is innovative in that all lessons are taken in English from Class 8 to give them a head start on completion of their studies. Volunteers are needed by the school to be activity leaders, develop special projects and help with spoken English.
Your Role: As a volunteer you have an opportunity to make a real difference here, there are many factors that conspire to keep these children from school and just the fact that you are present every day will be a motivator for students to attend. The management of the school is very clear as to the benefit of having volunteers and has many ideas for activities to be undertaken with all classes.
This school is unusual in that it teaches in Tamil up to class 7 and then switches to teaching in English up to class 11. As a volunteer there is a lot of scope for interaction in all classes but especially with the older classes age 11 to 15.
In the primary school you can be involved in activities such as learning through painting, songs and games. In the secondary school the Director is especially keen to see cultural exchange happen through volunteers developing and undertaking special projects. Objectives would be set for these projects to show the learning outcomes expected by the children and the subject of the project would depend on the volunteer’s skills and interest. Examples of activities and projects could be devising and undertaking quizzes with the winning group being taken on trips away, researching a current affairs topic with the children, teaching the children about your home town and country or organizing and undertaking class photographs of the children (not as easy as it sounds!).
There is also a community hospital that is run by the same Trust, opposite the school. The hospital wants to undertake health screening of all children and follow up interventions. If you have an interest the Director of the hospital is very happy for volunteers to be involved in this program.
What you gain: This is a wonderful opportunity to see very clearly how interacting with children from the poorest backgrounds can help in developing their future potential. The school is very supportive of volunteers coming to help at any level as they are convinced that just one spark can be all that is needed to motivate the children to higher things.
You will be developing your own projects and activities, be asked to work on your own initiative, with guidance from the teachers. This will give you valuable experience and will help in your future career, whether this is teaching or a different profession.
You will be based in
Bangalore which is a great location for getting out and about to see South India with its wealth of holy sites, wildlife parks and palaces.
Requirements:
What you need- To be over 18 at the date of departure
- To bring energy, enthusiasm and motivation to work
- To communicate clearly and effectively with the children and teachers
- Have patience and understanding that India has a different style of teaching to that of the UK
Accommodation
Wherever possible you will stay in an Indian home or share an apartment with other Gap year volunteers. Home-stay homes and hosts are carefully selected for quality and safety and you would normally share a non-air conditioned room.