Brazil: Integração dos Anjos

About the local hosting organization

Our partner association is an organisation founded in 2005 aimed at the development of children from needy communities. It works as an informal and complementary educational environment that stimulates the kids to develop abilities and skills, providing them support and assistance. The project receives 60 to 80 children from 6 to 15 years old, divided in two big age groups (6 to 9 and 10 to 15 years old): in these groups, the educators promote pedagogical and recreational activities. Volunteers (local or international) can promote workshops according to the projects needs and resources. The children who study at school during the morning stay in the project during the afternoon and vice versa; all are from poor communities close to the project. There is also a kindergarten with a good structure, where the little children from 0 to 6 years old receive assistance all day long so that their parents can go to work (only female volunteers are accepted in the kindergarten).

Presentation of the programme

The volunteers will participate in the educational activities and sports, helping the educators; in particular, it could be interesting if he/she likes football, as it is the favourite sport that the children always want to play. Very welcome are volunteers who would like to run one or more workshops like building and playing with recycling material - Music, percussion, dance, theatre - Games (inside or outside) and sports.

About the accomodation

The volunteers will stay with Brazilian host families.

About the food

In Porto Alegre, volunteers will have the opportunity to taste a variety of delicious dishes. Among the regional specialties not to be missed are churrasco, a barbecue of various meats, feijoada, a stew of black beans and meat, and barreado, a slowly cooked beef dish served with manioc flour and fried bananas. Volunteers can also enjoy traditional desserts such as cuca, as well as the famous local drink, chimarrão, made from yerba mate leaves.

About the location

The project is located in Porto Alegre, which is the capital of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil. The city has a population of 1.500.000 inhabitants approximately, being very big and urbanized. The neighborhood is called Petrópolis, it has 35.069 inhabitants and is about 20 minutes away from the city center by bus.

About the leisure activities

In Porto Alegre, volunteers will have plenty of opportunities for exploration and discovery. They can visit historical sites such as Farroupilha Park and the Rio Grande do Sul Art Museum, as well as enjoy nature by strolling along the lakeside promenade of Lake Guaíba. The city also offers a vibrant cultural scene with theaters, art galleries, and musical events throughout the year. Volunteers can also indulge in local cuisine at the city's numerous restaurants and cafes.

Requirements

The role of the volunteers in the social project is important. The educators are expecting a volunteer who will be enthusiastic and willing to get involved. Most projects don't have a specific role to offer for the volunteer. The volunteer should strive, be creative and self-confident to develop their own activities/workshops while keeping in mind the responsibility of asking the people involved (project coordinators, staff) about the possibilities of doing such things. In social projects in Brazil, most people do not know a second language - such as English - and may not be able to help you so much at your arrival in the project… For this reason, a basic Portuguese knowledge (or Spanish) is required in order to get an ongoing communication: the more Portuguese you know, the easier work activities get and the more opportunities appear for you. Long Term Volunteers normally will be working about 35 hours weekly, every day from Monday to Friday, with a free morning or afternoon. The projects provide the volunteer lunch at midday and snacks during the morning and the afternoon, depending on how long the volunteer will be staying at the project.