Volunteer in a Special Needs School in Bolivia

Project Summary: We are currently working with 3 schools that take care of the blind, deaf and individuals with Down Syndrome. These groups are in much need of international volunteers as they tend to be under funded.

The Deaf School

There are roughly 100 students who attend this small mixed-gender school for deaf students. The students are classified in 5 levels and their ages range from 6 to 15 years. Subjects such as math, literature, sciences, history and sports are taught at the school. There are roughly 15 to 20 students per class, and 10 teachers working at the school. In addition to normal classes, there are also workshops in cooking, dressmaking, cosmetology, and carpentry held at this school. Workshop attendees are people with hearing disabilities aged between 15 to 23 years old. Sometimes local volunteers from nearby universities attend these sessions to help out.

The Blind School

Santa Cruz's special school for the blind supports more than 120 children and adults with visual disabilities. This school provides basic and specialized education to their students and also offers additional services for blind people in the community. The school provides services such as clinics for blind people with limited resources, seminars directed to parents and professionals regarding integrating blind people into the local community as well as occupational therapy and training in areas such as gardening and textile making. If you are an agronomist or if you have gardening skills, this could be a perfect project for you. If you are a trained oculist you will be interacting with professionals from the same field and in contact with people that will need your medical services, but special skills or prior experience are not required for this project.

Down's syndrome school

This school is geared towards helping students develop skills in areas such as ceramics, cooking, gardening and computers so that they have the tools to support themselves in the later stages in their lives. There are 150 students classified in 3 levels of progress. Individuals with Down's Syndrome require a high-level of care and attention. As a result there are only 5 students per class with 22 teachers and staff employed at the school. You do not need special skills for this project placement; just a healthy attitude towards helping.
There is also a need for specialized skills in areas such as phono-audiology, psycho pedagogy, psychology, physiotherapy and genetic specialists. Please let us know on the application if you are specialized or certified in any of the above areas.

Why these placements needs volunteers

These specialized schools are commonly under-funded and under-staffed. They need assistance in order to provide adequate care and attention to their students, who are usually disregarded in the rush towards development. By having volunteers available at these schools, the faculty is able to concentrate their resources, and students are able to receive more individual care, allowing them to learn and progress more efficiently within their societies.

Program Requirements

Volunteers involved in special care projects in Santa Cruz need to be highly patient and motivated and sometimes need to be highly skilled (see above). It is important to understand that these students learn at slower rates due to their disabilities and that they require much more time and care. No prior training or background is necessary to participate in these projects but if you have a background in medicine, therapy or psychology, your skills would be welcomed and highly valued. But more importantly, you should be open-minded to the challenges that may arise from dealing with children and adults with disabilities.

Your role as a volunteer

Your role will be to assist teachers of your chosen school with their daily duties and classes. There are also opportunities to become involved in numerous after school activities and sports. If you have medical training or a background in therapy or psychology, you can dedicate your time towards collaborating with local professionals and swapping working practices or even educating them about updated methods of diagnostics and treatment.

Program Schedules/Working hours and days

Depending on which school you are placed in, your working hours will vary, but generally you will work Monday to Fridays around 4 to 6 hrs/day. Working hours are quite flexible with these projects and also your working hours will be depend on how many extra curricular activates you partake in.