A Week with Ayni

It's impossible to give an exact outline of what the week will look like, but here is a rough idea:

Monday to Friday

Monday -Thursday mornings you will travel with the rest of the volunteer team by regional bus about 35 minutes south to Alto de los Mores, which is the village where we operate. Depending on the number of volunteers and your own teaching experience, you will either take your own class or share it with another volunteer. You will teach either one or two classes, again depending on how many volunteers we have at the time. Each class lasts for 45 minutes and afterwards volunteers stay during recreation time and provide these under stimulated children with games, sports, arts 'n' crafts, dance... generally activities that activate the kids and make them smile.

Unless something else comes up*, we usually get back to Piura between 12-1pm. Then volunteers have lunch wherever it suits them, together or not. The afternoons are filled up with whatever project we have ongoing at the time. We have in the past been involved with a local orphanage as well as taught English to street children and city teenagers. Afternoons can (and should) also be used for lesson planning, which is rather time consuming - especially for inexperienced teachers. We have a fair amount of teaching supplies and worksheets in our little 'office' (now located at the school in Alto de los Mores) that volunteers should use.

On Friday mornings volunteers and the project coordinator meet in the 'office' to talk about the week, exchange teaching ideas and materials, brainstorm solutions to existing challenges and plan upcoming events. This gathering is a workshop/meeting just as important as the rest of the work, and volunteers should be prepared to actively participate each week.

*It could be taking a sick child that needs urgent attention to the clinic, visiting a family to find out why their child is not attending school anymore, staying longer in one class due to that their regular teacher is off sick and so on. Volunteers need to be open to sudden changes and willing to help out when there is a need.

Weekends

Weekends are usually free. Occasionally we organize class fieldtrips, birthday parties, or a community project that is scheduled to a weekend day. It's essential that volunteers are flexible and help out with enthusiasm even if it's on a weekend. Having said that, you will have plenty of weekends to do shorter trips around the region, for example camping on the beach, go see Inca findings, hike in the mountains, visit Shamans..... you name it!

Brother Andre students - Matt, Barbara and Chris - at the local beach