Volunteering
in a Costa Rican school comes with a large portion of responsibility because you
will be a role model to the students.
There
will be a volunteer coordinator who will help guide you through the activities according
to the interests of the children, something that has worked well in the past.
Even though there will be someone to help you, you should be able to plan and
coordinate on your own with energy and creativity. Staying in close contact
with teachers and parents is highly recommended so that you can gain as much knowledge
as possible from your trip.
While you
are working in one of the schools, your tasks may include:
- 2-4 hours per day
of childcare, usually in the afternoon, but also some mornings
- Preparing and
carrying out English workshops
- Organizing sports
and arts activities
- Supporting
teachers during classes
- Administrative
tasks at school
- Daily operational tasks
at school
- Maintaining,
preparing, and supplementing teaching materials
- Preparing and
implementing school events
- Participating in
the recycling projects
- Helping with playground
construction and painting
At some schools you can volunteer to assist the teacher in class during the morning hours between approx. 7:30 am to noon. However, at some schools volunteers mainly carry out projects with the children outside of regular school hours in the afternoons between 2 pm and 6 pm.
Prepare yourself for the most sparse material equipment in schools. So you are challenged in terms of creativity and a talent for improvisation in order to make interesting offers for the children with few resources.
You should enjoy working independently, have a good level of self-confidence, be curious, open-minded, communicative and cooperative and have the desire to make a difference.
Note: The tasks may vary. They depend on factors such as number of
volunteers, weather, season, current needs of the project, as well as
self-motivation. Not every volunteer may be fully involved in all these
tasks.
