PROJECT OVERVIEW
By volunteering on the Special Education Project, you will be able to apply specialist skills to assist children with special needs and help with their day-to-day learning.
Students with physical, mental or developmental disabilities can often find it frustrating when trying to learn inside a standard educational environment. Volunteer for the Visayans has partnered with an elementary school to address some needs of children with impairment and disabilities. The role of the volunteer is to help mentor the children and assist teachers in conducting their classes.
Volunteers for this project must have experience in working with children with special needs. There are categories of classes, each class addressing a specific need.
- Multiple disabilities. This class teaches children with more than one disability.
- Intellectual disability. Included in this class are children with Down Syndrome.
- Autism.
- Hearing Impairment
- Learning disability/visual impairment. Among the children in this class are those who have difficulty in writing, reading, and recognizing numbers.
- Transition (pre vocational). It is a class of children who “passed” from the above 5 classes.
Ideally, a Special Education class should only have a maximum of 10 pupils at a given school year. However, due to the limited number of public schools that cater to children with special needs, a class can be bigger. Having an extra hand to assist the local teacher helps minimize the teaching load. Due to the circumstances of the children, a class has to be divided into morning and afternoon session, each session only having a couple of pupils. There are also some pupils who require a one-on-one session that last an hour.
Volunteers under the Special Education Project must be skilled and experienced in working with children with special needs.
WHY WE NEED YOU
There are few schools that cater to pupils with special needs and even fewer qualified teachers to handle classes. One public school in Tacloban City has a unit devoted to children with special needs. With only one teacher to handle a class of pupils that need special attention, a volunteer’s assistance is greatly needed. The project could benefit from dedicated individuals who have the passion to make a difference in the lives of these special children. With the volunteer’s help, the burden on the teacher is lessened and the children receive more individual attention. Due to complexity of the children involved in the project, it can be challenging but at the same time rewarding once the volunteer sees progress in them.
PROJECT FACTS
Project Location: Tacloban City
Cost: $1,190 US Dollars for 4 weeks, $120 for each week thereafter. Find out more about program fees.
Requirements: Minimum age 18
Availability: First week of September – Third week of June
Training: Pre-Departure information sent during application process; in-depth local orientation conducted upon arrival.
Project Duration: 4 weeks (minimum) – 6 months (maximum)
Experience: Experience in working with people with hearing and visual impairment, and autism is an advantage. Knowledge in International Sign Language or any type of sign language is important in teaching deaf children.
Activities: Conduct classes for children with special needs, act as teacher assistant, create lesson plans, assist in English, Mathematics and Science classes.
What is included: What is included: Airport Reception, Accommodation with local host family, 2 meals a day (breakfast and dinner), program orientation, Waray Waray language lesson, 24 hour local staff support
What’s Not Included: International or Domestic Airfares, Insurance or Visa