Voluntourism & Eco-Adventure

This project is set in the small tropical beach town of Vilanculos. The project involves various aspects of community and development work in and around the area.

How you can help
We spend our mornings at a local preschool and most afternoons involved in a number of other exciting community initiatives including language lessons, orphan care, rural home building and sports coaching.

Mornings at a local preschool.

• Singing and dancing with the children in English, Portguese and Xitsua
  
• Developing the children’s imagination and creative skills through crafts such as painting, drawing and coloring
  
• Teaching basic lessons about colors, numbers, letters and knowledge of the world in English with the assistance of a translator
  
• Giving the children the opportunity to let off some steam through fun games and structured physical education classes
  
• Helping to prepare lunch for the children
  
• General upkeep of the school to keep it a pleasant environment in which to learn
  
• Some basic work at the preschool farm, aimed at providing a source of sustainable income for the preschool

Afternoons, you will help out the local community through a wide array of projects.

• Language Club
  
• Home building
  
• Maintaining the preschool farm
• Painting projects
  
• Beach clean-up

Language Club

Saturday mornings are spent at the language club, an informal learning group open to the community surrounding the volunteer camp.  The students that attend include young children, young women, and adults, all of whom perhaps have missed out on other formal learning opportunities.  The language club is an amazing opportunity for these individuals to pick up some English that can help them procure employment and therefore a more stable lifestyle.  Also, what better way to get to know and form close bonds with your neighbors than learning together? You will be involved in:

• Play creative language learning games such as bingo and pairs game to encourage fun learning.
• Arts and crafts as a means of increasing vocabulary, with themes such as sea-life and the animal world.
• More formal English lessons with advanced students, keen to further their education in their spare time.
• Singing in English and Portuguese

Home-Building
Cyclone Favio hit the Mozambican coast in February 2007 and devastated much of the local area. We are involved in the initial relief work and assisting aid agencies. Through our local contacts we have continued with rural home-building for those who do not have the means to build for themselves (monetarily or physically)  We work in close conjunction with community leaders to assess the most critical housing needs and then act accordingly.

We are currently managing to build 1 home approximately every 2 months (dependent on volunteer numbers!). They are simple and rustic structures typical of construction in the Inhambane Province.  The work is sometimes challenging but always rewarding and offers an amazing insight into rural Vilanculos as well as the chance to meet and form working relationships with members of the local community.  Other building projects that we undertake include refurbishment at the preschool, such as new classrooms and amenities.

Other Community Projects
There are a number of other community initiatives that we are involved in the afternoons. These include maintaining the farm at the preschool, painting projects, beach clean up days and cultural immersion day.

Your beach bungalow offers the ideal vantage point to spectacular views of the Indian Ocean and majestic sunrises as you start your day in paradise!

Optional activities and excursions
Some of the activity highlights for you to do in your spare time include:

• Sailing Dhow excursion to the Bazaruto Islands - Includes snorkelling equipment, National Parks fee and a seafood BBQ cooked for you from the dhow on the beach)
• Snorkelling excursions
  
• Horseback rides on the beach - ride to a local fishing village where a fantastic lunch is provided with coconuts, matapa and freshly caught crab
• Eating out at fantastic restaurants that can either give you a taste of Mozambique or a taste of home
• Deep Sea fishing excursions
• Open Water 3-day PADI Certified Scuba Diving Course. If you are interested, we can arrange the details and it can be easily incorporated into your volunteering stay.

For more information on serving in Mozambique, please contact Joanne Trangle.