VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
We also provide volunteering opportunity for local and international volunteers.
What we offer to volunteers in terms of service and learning opportunities.
We shall provide them with tools and materials needed for them to realize the tasks.
We shall involve them in planning, designing and provide them with equal opportunities to participate in community activities.
Roles of the volunteers in the project.
- They will on specific occasions serve at the Reception & Office,
- Serve as assistant teacher in classes,
- They will take children out to play, swim and other outdoor activities.
- They will help with marking and recording examination results for pupils
- They will provide life skill education to the pupils at the centre and those in the community including the youth and develop a mentorship programme.
Visit homes of our orphans at least twice a week.
- They will help out with homework supervision on a daily basis and organize club activities including debate within the centre and those with other education centres in the community
Volunteer activities.
Some will be assigned to administrative work: Under administrative, the volunteer will make entries such as materials picked for outdoor activities, materials returned, general inquiries, receiving food brought by care-givers and guardians and tagging them accordingly. He/she will also be involved in outdoor activities with the children.
Attached to preschool: He/she will be an assistant teacher in baby-class, nursery and pre-unit supporting the local class teachers in some subjects such as English, Environmental and Science and also help in Creative and Arts, Music and movement activities, class health checks ,serving breakfast and lunch meals to the children. He/she will also be involved in outdoor activities with the children.
Serve in primary: He/she will be an assistant teacher in class 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 supporting the local class teacher in some subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science ,Computer and Foreign Languages , class health checks, debates, serving breakfast and lunch meals to the children. He/she will also be involved in outdoor activities with the children.
Community Visit and Street Children: Volunteers will also be visiting the homes where our orphans live, work in our community project like dress making, hairdressing and beauty. They will also be serving lunch for the street children eating at the centre and teach sexual reproductive health to children at our centre and the community at large
What we will offer to volunteers in terms of service and learning opportunities.
We shall provide them with tools and materials needed for them to realize the tasks.
We shall involve them in planning, designing and provide them with equal opportunities to participate in community activities.
List of tasks and frequencies of tasks (on-going, occasional?)
Outdoor activities-twice a week(Tuesday and Thursday)-
Helping with home work-Daily
Picnics ,swimming and school trips –Occasionally
Teaching of foreign languages(French,german,Portuguese,itallian,korean-daily the whole week
Computer classes for pupils-Daily (Monday –Friday)
Assisting in class work-Daily
Tagging and giving food to school children and street children-Daily(Monday to Friday)
Community Services including visiting the homes of the vulnerable children’s-Occasionally (at most twice a a week)
Debates and clubs -Three days a week.
Health clinics and follow ups –on going basis.
Class health checks-Daily.
Administrative duties-daily
Their initiated projects in the centre and community-on going.
Attending staff and other school meetings –Occasionally,
We need volunteers throughout the year because we have activities that also runs throughout the year.
We are very flexible on this we can accept volunteers from those having short vacation to those who are having long vacation with the least time being one week.
We cook the local foods that none of our volunteers have had a problem with but those who might not be comfortable with our foods are free to purchase the foods of their choice .We also provide accommodation but for only those who are comfortable with that arrangement,there are other cheap options for those would like to be living away from us.
Fortune Learners Centre is a project of Fortune Community Centre which was started in January 2013 with the aim to provide orphans and vulnerable with education and economic empowerment for their care givers to help sustain their education and future.
Volunteer cost varies and it depends on various factors.Volunteers who are free to stay where we stay (same house and even ready to share a spacious bed and eat our local foods) can volunteer by paying $10-15 day.Those who need privacy can be arranged for where they can have a separate room at their own cost with most of nice rooms going @ $ 10-15 per night.The other cost are also depending on an individual volunteer for example a volunteer would like to visit a tourist destination/attraction centre in Kenya that will be at his/own cost.
We also charge $50 to pick our volunteers from the airport.
$50
The project face a lot of challenges in meeting its daily cost because most of the children we support are orphans and other are coming from the poor families so any one who is willing/in a position to help is highly welcome but it is not a condition for volunteering with us,you can only help when you are in a position and willing to do so.
Our project in based in Kayole informal settlement in Nairobi,13 kilometers from the City Centre.
Current challenges at the project.
Classrooms: The school project has some of the worst classes in the area, there floors are worn out and could breed jiggers causing harm to the young children. The roofs are leaking. The toilets either are not in good condition to add on the poor drainage system, they are also not sufficient.
Feeding Program: Food is so expensive and is needed on a daily basis, some of our children are forced to go hungry at a time because they do not have parents, others with parents are also facing same challenges because some of the parents are jobless cannot provide breakfast, lunch and supper, this affect their health and concentration in class.
School Premises/Building: The premises is rented and is paid for monthly amounting Kshs. 40,000 per month, considering the income from few paying parents this rent is high and we struggle to pay it, but we cannot afford any other place because this is one of the cheapest places around.
Teachers and Support Staff: We have 10 trained teachers (6 females and 4 males), we also have three female support staff and the Director who also work as a volunteer. The teachers are given small allowance which cannot really sustain them, this has made us to lose some of our good teachers because even with the little allowance, they don’t get anything when the schools are closed in the month of April, August and December, most of our children are orphans and vulnerable children and the few who pay (45 children with parents) cannot help the management give something more than what they get.
Kenya