I have started
volunteering. Finally! ;-) I want to go back a step first and talk
about the last couple of weeks leading up to the work I am doing now.
It has always been a
dream of mine to be part of a really 'gritty' project, help in any
way I can and really make a difference somewhere. I chose the
language school I am studying in as I knew they offered volunteering
opportunities. At the end of last week I went with one of the
school's teachers to find out how I could help in a project they had
a connection with. I was looking forward to getting stuck in but it
was not at all what I expected. So, I have made myself some rules
that I will try and remember in the future before looking for
voluntary work...
First rule
of volunteering: Don't have any expectations!
I knew it was a school
we were going to and that was about it. I have heard a lot about the
education system here in Bolivia and I had imagined it would be a
public school; too many children in each class, lack of resources,
not enough teachers and a head teacher who would really appreciate
having anyone to help out. The reality was that we had come to a
private school (one of the best in Sucre in fact!); better resources
than some of the schools in England, maximum of 20 students per
class, offering subjects such as Philosophy to twelve year olds and
a head teacher who thought she was doing us a favour by allowing us
to come and help. It was a strange experience having the teachers
actually being annoyed that we were there and not at all keen to have
us help in their classes. I very nearly started volunteering at this
school anyway but then I heard there might be another option and
perhaps I could help out in a local orphanage...
Second
rule: Be certain you can commit to the project before you start!
The orphanage that my
Spanish school had a connection with sounded perfect (apart from the
very early mornings to wake the children up... I am not a morning
person!). We tried to get in touch with them but they wouldn't accept
people who only wanted to come in for a couple of days or even a
week. The minimum would have to be a month and at that point I didn't
want to commit to something I didn't know anything about, hadn't
visited yet and didn't know if it was a good fit. Apparently the
orphanage had been having problems with people saying they would
volunteer, turning up on a Monday, being given a tour and shown the
ropes and then just not bothered to turn up the next day. I can
completely understand why they wanted a minimum commitment of a month
as it just wasn't fair on the staff who would have trained these
people and the children who would have been expecting them back the
next day. Anyway, maybe I will look at it again at a later date but I
thought it better to leave that idea until I was certain I could
commit.
Third:
Don't believe what they tell you!
So, that brings us to
the third project we tried. We (me and another potential volunteer)
were told it was an orphanage just outside Sucre and asked if we
could come that afternoon to see if it was more suitable and wanted
to work there... we went along and it turned out it was actually a
community centre. We met the lovely director and she seemed very
excited to have us there; so much so that she gave me a massive hug
when I told her had worked as a teacher before and I could teach
Music, Art or English.
We were given a small
induction, talked with the director and were told that the institute
was a bit like a youth club where the children could do their
homework and then after have classes in music, art and other
activities. We arranged to come back after the weekend and I would do
singing workshops each afternoon followed by the other
volunteer doing dance workshops. I should have realised that nothing
would be quite as described! We were told the children would be
between 7 and 12... so far we have had some lovely little 4 year olds
and at one point a group of 16 year old boys. We were told there
would be up to a hundred kids each afternoon... one day we had less
than 10 children and the adults almost out numbered them! We were
told we would have lots of support... in fact we weren't introduced
to the children and the director sits in her office with the other
staff and doesn't even come to see what we are up to. Finally we were
told we would have a huge hall that would be ideal for singing
workshops and we could use it each day... we actually have an outdoor
basket ball court and a tiny little classroom that is full to the
brim with tables and chairs!
Final
rule: Even if you're not doing everything, you're doing something!
Despite all of this I
think I am getting the hang of this volunteering malarkey now! I
arrive each day and do homework with the children, sometimes trying
to help 20 at once and other times just one to one with Wilber
(possibly the most gorgeous little 8 year old in Bolivia!). I plan
singing workshops and each time they turn into educational-ish games
workshops instead as we never have the right space, the right amount
of children or the age range is too extreme. Occasionally I need to
be able to think on my feet and come up with a half hour workshop to
occupy half the children while the other half finish there homework.
A lot of the time I can't understand what the children say as they
come from Quechua speaking families and have very strong accents,
other times they are so shy and quiet that I doubt I would be able to
understand what they were saying even if they were speaking in
English! It is completely up to me to entertain up to 60 children and
try to subtly teach them something useful at the same time... I am
loving it!
Okay, so I'm not saving
the world one song at a time just yet, but I know that I can make a
small difference to a small selection of children who don't have
much. There seem to be more children each day and it is obvious that
they are enjoying themselves. I'm pretty exhausted with my own
Spanish classes in the morning and then spending time at the
community centre till the early evening but I am really enjoying the
time I have with such lovely children. Sounds extremely cheesy but
they are definitely teaching me more than I'm teaching them!
