LOCATION : JUCONI ORGANIZATION IN GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR

Guayaquil lies in the Eastern lowlands and is situated on the Guayas estuary. Second city in the country. The work takes place in poor shanty towns in and around Guayaquil.

ACTIVITIES

• Facilitator Assistant - Each family has one child facilitator who works specifically with the street working child and one family facilitator who focuses on the parents and the family as a whole. The majority of JUCONI families are big families with many children, creating a large demand for attention for both the child and family facilitators. Therefore, the presence of a volunteer during a family visit to help out with the younger children is a huge asset for the team in being able to work out an issue with the street working child or parent that might need private attention. In addition, the individual attention that the younger children receive from a volunteer whether it be putting a puzzle together, listening to a problem or reading a story together, is immeasurably beneficial in the children’s development.
• Logistical support - Volunteers that can support the logistics of this operation are welcome. Specialised skills and experience in the following areas are sought:
• Translations - Translating proposals, reports, evaluations, scholarship reports, games either to or from Spanish.
• Family food packs - Food packages are distributed once a month to certain families with whom JUCONI works. The packages consist of local inexpensive, non perishable and highly nutritional food. The food must be weighed and packaged before being delivered.
• Website updates & Technical Assistance - Having the abilty to frequently update the website is a great benefit. This could either be for keeping facts and figures current or changing news and stories on the site. Technical assisatance is always welcome as well as training staff on how to use software packages.
• Fundraising/Marketing - Supporting JUCONI with their fundraising, both in Ecuador and in the UK.
• Database Excel - Experience in Excel and other Microsoft Office applications to update and maintain the database.
• Event/Workshop Prepartaion - Helping educators prepare workshops ranging from art and crafts to preparing community events working with groups of mothers, teachers and community leaders.
• Photography and maintenance of photo archive - Assistance with taking photos for materials and visual records.

WHY IT MATTERS

Imagine how bad life has to be at home to want to leave and live on the streets. JUCONI, the local organisation, seeks to address the root cause by working with each child and family through an individually designed education and therapeutic plan. This addresses the four key areas of human development: physical, emotional, cognitive and social.

This integrated, family-based approach has achieved notable success in breaking the negative family cycles that push repeated generations of children onto the streets. Through coordinated action at the individual, family, and community level, street-working children are empowered to make positive and sustainable changes to secure a better and safer future. A principal goal is to achieve successful integration for street-working children into formal education. The overwhelming majority of such children have either never been given the opportunity to attend school, or they severely under-achieve, often dropping out in the early stages.

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

Facilitator Assistant - Those aged 22 or older with relevant experience and a fair knowledge of Spanish. This work is both tough and immensely rewarding. Those applying should have a strong desire and commitment to helping street children and their families. For work in the field, applicants with a background in psychology, social work or education, and similar fields are sought. A telephone or in-person interview may be required prior to placement. You will be required to submit to a background check for these position.

Logistical Assistant - Those aged 22 or older with skills to offer and some Spanish. Volunteers staying with JUCONI for four months or longer will need to send a CV (Resume) and covering letter, in Spanish, detailing their interests and availability. Volunteers are placed on an as-needed basis.

WORK SCHEDULE

This program runs form April-November each year. Volunteers will work 5 days a week for 8 hours a day.

Volunteers working as facilitator assistants should aim to stay for at least a four months. Spending less time is too disruptive for the children and has not worked well in the past.

ACCOMMODATION

There are two options for accommodation. Some accommodation is available in shared/single rooms at JUCONI´s volunteers´ flat in Guayaquil. This is close to the main shopping district. Showers/baths are available.

The alternative is to live with a family in the city (not the shanty towns) or with JUCONI educators. This is a good option for those that want to be submerged in the language. The benfits of home life and the company are also very worthwhile.

GETTING THERE

There are direct international flights on American Airlines, KLM, Iberia and Continental. There are 5-6 flights a day from Quito.

FIXED COSTS

Volunteer South America support and logistics fee - US$236.50

OPTIONAL COSTS

Discount Hotel Accommodation - US$25-40 a night (60% discount)

Spanish Classes - From US$220 per week (4 hours a day)

Homestay with a local family - US$155. Includes accommodation, 3 meals a day and laundry.

TRAVEL AND MEDICAL INSURANCE

All volunteers are required to purchase travel and medical insurance for the duration of their volunteer position. We strongly recommend that minimum coverage includes the following:

• Medical expenses - US$10 million
• Personal liability - US$2 million
• Personal accident - US$40,000
• Personal property - US$3,000
• Loss of Passport etc - US$1,000
• Legal expenses etc - US$40,000
• Cancellation etc - US$6,000