Plan your trip>>Volunteer & Eco Travel>>Care Work / Childcare>>Special Needs
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This is a truly worthwhile and rewarding project in the vibrant world of Brazil's colourful border town, Foz do Iguaçu. Are you looking for a wider perspective?
This project will allow you to gain experience in care, or simply to challenge yourself in a friendly environment where your assistance is really needed. This is a challenging and rewarding project, during which you'll spend your time helping children and adults with mental, physical and emotional disabilities.
No qualifications are required for this project - any volunteer who wants to help will be made very welcome!
Nosso Canto is a school for disabled people from all walks of life. The centre’s philosophy is that all disabled people have the right to receive the care they need - even those who can’t afford expensive care homes. Most of the students here come from very underprivileged backgrounds.
Students of all ages come to the centre - from babies to adults. Most suffer from mental disorders like Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism or Hydrocephaly. The aim of the centre is to help these people study, develop life skills, relax and enjoy themselves.
Nosso Canto is a reasonably small institution with a bubbly and friendly staff who are in desperate need of help in caring for the students here. The centre is funded almost entirely by donations, which makes it much harder to find employees as they can only offer them a low wage. Your work here will be enormously valued and appreciated by both the staff and the students.
As the centre deals with a large variety of ailments and has many ‘areas’, you will need to be extremely flexible in the work that you do. Some of the activities you may be involved in include:
- Playing with the younger children
- Helping with arts and crafts or other activities
- Getting involved in sports or music
- Acting as a 1-1 assistant to someone at the centre - helping them move around and participate in activities
- Helping clients eat or go to the toilet
- Helping clients with their physical mobility exercises
- Teaching English to the staff
The centre opens from 8am-12 and then again from 1:30pm-5:30pm from Monday-Friday. There are 150 people at the centre, from babies to adults, and you’ll most likely be working with a wide range of ages during your project. You’ll usually work around 4 hours a day and take either the morning or afternoon shift. You''ll have evenings and weekends free to relax and explore beautiful Foz with the other volunteers! The most important qualifications for this placement are that you’re self motivated, confident working both alone and in a team and have a friendly disposition.
If you have qualifications, that’s great - you’ll be able to help the carers and nurses with the therapies at the centre. If not, that’s fine too - any help that you can give is very welcome.
You may find that your assigned tasks differ depending on your skills and experience, so if you’re not confident in every area don’t worry.
Snuggled in the border of Brazil, on the doorstep of Argentina and Paraguay, Foz de Iguacu is a charming sociable town evolved around the spectacular Iguacu Falls (larger, louder and more impressive than the better known Niagra Falls). At two and a half miles wide these horseshoe-shaped falls are four times the width of Niagara Falls in North America. The falls divide into some 275 separate cascading waterfalls catching the light and creating a kaleidoscope of rainbows in their spray.
With residents and students from Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina this is an international and interesting town. With bars, restaurants, cinemas, bowling and dancing, not to mention to the warmth and interest of the locals and the incredible natural scenery nearby, Foz promises to be an enjoyable and unforgettable Brazilian experience.
Why not combine your volunteering in Foz with a cultural experience whilst you’re there? Travellers can arrange the following for your free time, at your request:
- Learn, practise and play the beautiful fight/dance/art of Capoeira
- Music courses (a variety of local percussion/styles for you to choose from)
- Study Portuguese - immerse yourself in the language and you will be amazed at the effects it brings!
Most volunteers in Foz, extend their stay!
Our users say...
"I've been so busy! Everything is going really well in Foz, I feel like I´ve settled in really well! Brazil as a country is absolutely beautiful! And I'm already in love with all the people - everyone has been so friendly!
I think Foz, for me is the perfect place for my Gap year- and the location of our hotel is great- we do have the internet in our hotel but I've been tending to use an Internet cafe which is just down the road. There are loads of restaurants just round the corner where me and the other volunteers have been eating at nearly every night- also the Mcdonalds is 2 minutes away for emergencies!
Everywhere is great value for money - me and Ursula (another voluteer) ate out last night on under 3 pounds for both of us!! We´ve been to see the falls and they were absolutely beautiful. Just them alone made this trip worth it! Anyway, hope I have been helpful! I'm having a really good time, and I don't want to leave! So glad I've still got 9 weeks left! Love Hannah xxxx" Hannah Webster - Foz volunteer.
from £795
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YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE! Help children, animals and conservation around the world. Gain valuable work experience and new skills. All ages & nationalities welcome. EXPLORE a new culture from the inside on worthwhile, well-structured projects.FLEXIBLE: From two weeks to one year - you choose your dates and duration.
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