St. Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School in Kibera Slum of Nairobi, serves bright, AIDS-affected children. It is a completely free, college preparatory high school (including books, uniforms and breakfast and lunch on school days), sponsored by Christian Life Community-Kenya. Since there is no free-secondary education in Kenya and these youth are caught up in dire poverty, they would not be in school were it not for St. Aloysius. We are trying to provide a holistic value-oriented education which enables our students to become men and women for others. The school’s model is: “to learn, to love and to serve”. Each volunteer will be expected to approach the Activity in a spirit of learning and giving. During the Activity, volunteers will be expected to engage in support-work in the school which will include one or more of the following tasks according to the volunteer’s interests, skills and talents:
1. organisation of extra-curricular activities teaching special skills through informal learning;
2. promotion of sports and healthy eating;
3. interaction with students during breaks;
4. teaching particular, supplementary classes in the area of expertise of the volunteer;
5. befriending students;
6. offering support and encouragement;
7. helping with minor office- or I.T.- work if the need arises..

www.sagnairobi.org

Chile (full-up) JULY 2010 - JUNE 2011

Hogar de Cristo is a Chilean non-profit institution, founded in 1944 by the Jesuit priest Fr. Alberto Hurtado, sj.  The Hogar works to relieve and overcome human suffering.  Its primary concern is the poorest of the poor who are excluded from society. Our main objective is to give shelter, love and overall attention to babies, pre-school children, adolescents, young people, homeless people, adults, women, elders, and people with mental or physical disabilities. We help every day over 40.000 people in Chile. Our Foundation promotes a culture of respect, justice and solidarity. The primary concern which the Hogar de Cristo addresses is poverty on several levels, and aims at empowerment of the weaker members of society.

www.hogardecristo.cl

The Kidane Meheret Children’s Home at present houses around 160 children, from new born babies up to youths of 17 years. The Home cares for abandoned children; street children; orphans and children of parents who are HIV/Aids positive. Its Objectives are to uplift the moraleof the children, and to provide a good upbringing in an environment that provides them with family love and care. The activities we carry out in our Home cater for their overall wellbeing, focusing on education and health (inside and outside the house), while providing opportunities for play, work and prayer. Apart from these activities, children who will be adopted are assisted to integrate into their new environment via language courses and culture awareness.

Practically speaking, the role of the volunteer in the Kidane Meheret Children’s home ranges from the care of babies and toddlers, up to the education of the older children, teaching them the basic subjects, as well as that of animating the moments of recreation. During these times of recreation the volunteer will share particular aspects of his/her European identity, through the choice of crafts, games, music and other cultural experiences. Opportunities for the children offered by the volunteers will also include sessions on ‘life-skills’ as well as healthy nutrition and sport.

www.fcj-kmch.org

The Jesuits and Brothers Association for development offers a wide spectrum of services to the underprivileged, and volunteers will, according to their own skills, contribute in any of the following areas: out-of-school studies, after-school studies and general animation to enable those with less opportunity to improve their formal and informal education; extra-curricular activities offering a range of educational crafts and games and also imparting of specific skills such as use of computers, library reading, theatre, needlework and manual work and languages with particular emphasis on English and French; the organisation of educational seminars and workshops, sporting activities and other projects which put emphasis on social development, advancement of women, literacy, and personal growth and formation. Depending on the skills of the volunteer, the slant of his or her work could be social, educational, medical, agricultural etc.

Application