General Impression
Overall Rating: / 10
From the day I booked my volunteering experience in Rio I was so happy. The idea to volunteer and work with children in Brazil was an inspired and quite spontaneous decision; Love Volunteers and their local team in Rio were fantastic at making arrangements so quickly and getting in contact with me. Within days everything had been processed and Dylan (the local volunteer coordinator) was sending me an email regarding my first meet and tour, to start my work at a crèche in the Rocinha favela. The communication was brilliant; in the first email I had clear instructions for travel, money I'd need and an itinerary of the day. On day one I was introduced to the day care centre managers and teachers, they were all very welcoming and it was made very clear what I needed to do and how to get the best out of the experience. Even with the language barrier (I spoke no Portuguese) everyone was smiley and Dylan was great at making the first meet relaxed and informative. The people at the crèche were really flexible about when I worked with them and I loved every moment of it! I worked with the two youngest classes and I did everything from learning through play, nurturing, pastoral care, changes, feed time and nap time. I love children, so I knew I would enjoy the experience but the children were really open to others working with them and engaged with me so well! The teachers were so patient with my lack of Portuguese and we worked out a way I could be of most help! For anyone considering volunteering at this crèche I would recommend that you just get stuck in, be pro active about what the children need, lots of play, smiles and be ready to muck in. Thank you so much to Dylan for everything and thank you to Love Volunteers for a once in a lifetime volunteering experience.