Project Medellín

Heb impact als vrijwilliger in Medellín (Colombia)

English teacher/co-teacher WHAT?

With Intercambio, we strongly believe that learning other languages at a young age is valuable for the development of one's personality and offers interesting chances for life. That’s why we organize English classes (A1 A2) for the children of “La Divisa”, an underprivileged neighbourhood in the hills of Medellín, Colombia.

We are looking for an open-minded volunteer with a good level of English, with good communication skills and at least a basic level of Spanish (and the motivation to improve) who can help us with the English classes.

One of the most important conditions for working with teenagers is building a relationship of trust which takes time. Therefore, we recommend a stay of at least three months.

Your mission as an English teaching volunteer will be teaching English to students with a basic level of English, and organizing activities which promote the use of the language (cinema club, language camp, cultural exchange, book club,…).

Most of our students are between 8-16 years old. The English classes are part of a bigger program to prevent children getting into prostitution, drugs or criminal activities. Besides this we want to prepare the children for jobs in tourism or obtaining scholarships with the possibility of studying abroad.

La divisa (Medellin)/ WHERE?

The “Divisa” neighbourhood is part of “Comuna 13”, which used to be one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the world. It was run by violent drug trafficking organizations, who used the poor barrio as a transit route in and out of the city, and served as a stronghold for guerrillas, gangs and paramilitaries.

On 16 October 2002, Operation Orion began in Comuna Trece, an action by the Colombian army (supported by the government) aimed at regaining power in the neighbourhood and so on to make the neighbourhood safer. This action lasted two months and caused numerous casualties.

In addition, in 2004, the Colombian government began to build escalators and a metro cable connecting Comuna 13 to the city, which made it easier for people to enter and leave the neighbourhood. Thanks to these measures, the neighbourhood evolved into a place of flourishing culture, art, music, sport and dance.

Medellín is the second largest city of Colombia and it is known as the city of eternal spring because of its pleasant warm weather all year round. There are tons of possible activities in the city: you can visit some of the museums, go for hikes to amazing viewpoints to catch a good sunset over the city, hop on one of the chivas (party bus), enjoy a local football match in El Estadio, take salsa classes, cycle around in the city, and many more.

Practically? TASKS and MATERIAL

You are expected to be in the classroom three hours per day from Monday through Friday. We will ask you to prepare each class thoroughly, which should take two hours a day maximum, so in total you’ll be working 25 hours a week. We work with 3 different groups of children: all between 8-16 year old.

You’ll only work during the week, on the weekend you’ll have time to discover Medellin and the Antioquia region. Depending on the season you’re going to work, you’ll also have days off to discover the rest of Colombia.

Besides the classes we’ll ask you to think about ways to expand the project, to organize a fundraising, design games, social media, ..

To organize the classes, you’ll have the following material at your disposal: a whiteboard with markers, notebooks, computers, a projector and an intercambio teaching manual which includes the standard practices of teaching + lots of games + tips and activities to make the classes interactive.

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

You’ll have the opportunity to share your culture with the Paisas (inhabitants of Antioquia) who are truly the most genuine friendly people of Colombia. Besides this, not so many people speak English in La Divisa, so you’ll have to use your Spanish during the time you spend in this neighbourhood.

Every two weeks we’ll invite one foreign guest (traveler, expat,…) to present his/her country. As of the experiences we’ve had so far these are very popular and enriching classes. For the children it’s a nice way to learn about other countries and present their own country to the guests. We’ll ask you to be the facilitator during this process.

In a way to strengthen your competences we’ll organize a workshop once a month. Possible topics are: culture shock, design games, interactive learning, organize fundraising, …

Accommodation?

You’ll have a private room in a shared apartment in the Laureles Neighbourhood (one of the nicest neighbourhoods of Medellin, with a lot of parks, bars, sport facilities,...).

You’ll live together with both Colombians and international people. The apartment has all the necessary equipment: there is a kitchen with a gas stove, fridge, microwave, washing machine and two bathrooms with showers. There is wifi as well.

Once a week the landlady cleans the bathroom, kitchen and living room. However, we do expect volunteers to keep this place clean during their stay, as it’s a form of respect for the people who you’ll be living with.

This should go without saying but be aware that drugs and prostitution in the apartment aren’t allowed. For us this is an important condition, because you are going to work into a program that focuses on the prevention for children getting into these sectors.

What's included?

Private room
Taxi from Medellin airport (Jose Maria Cordova) to your room.
Transport metro card with 30 rides a month
Guidance in finding a Spanish language course
Assistance with booking the airline tickets, vaccination schedules and travel insurance.
Intercambio guide with recommendations for visits, contacts, info about food, activities in Medellin,...
Three trips: Guatapé (bus ticket + entrance ticket for La Piedra + one night in a hostel), Jardín (bus ticket + one night in a hostel) + Agua Bonita finca San Carlos (bus ticket + one night in a tent).

(send us an email (intercambio.npo@gmail.com) or contact us via our socials to get more information/price)

How to apply?

Send us an email (intercambio.npo@gmail.com) with your cv and/or motivation and we'll get in touch with you within two working days.